2 Timothy 1:15 - Meaning and Application

After urging Timothy to hold to sound teaching and to guard what had been entrusted to him (2 Timothy 1:13, 2 Timothy 1:14), Paul points out how many had fallen away from Christ’s doctrine in Asia. It appears that even in the church’s best and purest days, some people had embraced the Christian faith and later turned away from it. Paul does not say only that they turned from Christ’s teaching, though that seems to be true, but that they turned away from Christ himself. They deserted him and refused to stand with him when he was in trouble. And should we be surprised, when many turned away from one far greater than Paul, the Lord Jesus Christ (John 6:66)?

Paul then mentions one man who stayed faithful, Onesiphorus, a believer from Ephesus who had shown special kindness to Paul. He often refreshed Paul and was not ashamed of Paul’s chains, meaning he was not embarrassed by Paul’s imprisonment or disgrace. His kindness was not just a one-time act. He helped Paul repeatedly, and even when he was in Rome, he searched very carefully for Paul and found him. A good man looks for chances to do good and does not avoid them when they come. Timothy knew about Onesiphorus’s earlier service to Paul at Ephesus, where he had also been helpful and kind.

Paul answers that kindness with prayer. He says, “The Lord give mercy to Onesiphorus” (2 Timothy 1:16). It is likely that Onesiphorus was away from home and with Paul, so Paul asks that his household would be preserved during his absence. Some Roman Catholic writers have claimed that Onesiphorus had already died, and from Paul’s prayer for him they try to prove that we should pray for the dead. But who said Onesiphorus was dead? It is not safe to build such an important doctrine or practice on a guess, especially one that is so uncertain.

Paul also prays for Onesiphorus himself, asking that he may find mercy in that day, meaning the day of death and judgment, when Christ will count all the kindnesses shown to his poor people as done to himself. That day is a solemn day, and it may rightly be called “that day.” We need nothing more to make us happy than to find mercy from the Lord on that day, when those who showed no mercy will face judgment without mercy. Even the best Christians will need mercy then, since they are still looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ (Jude 1:21). If we want mercy then, we must seek it now from the Lord. Mercy comes from the Lord alone, and unless he shows it, the pity of men or angels cannot help us. We should ask the Lord for mercy, because he is the one who gives it, and because the Lord Jesus Christ has satisfied justice so that mercy may be given freely. We should come to the throne of grace so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. The best thing we can ask for, for ourselves or for our friends, is that the Lord will grant that they may find mercy from him in that day, when they pass out of time into eternity and stand before the judgment seat of Christ. May the Lord grant to all of us that we may find mercy from the Lord in that day.