Lesson 09/04/05

TIMOTHY’S FAILURE!

Groucho Marx made the observation that “No one is completely unhappy at the failure of his best friend.” He’s probably right for any number of reasons. We’re not “completely unhappy” when our best friend fails because . . .
A. it gives us a reason for living.
B. it quietly massages our ego.
C. it’s a good reminder that no one can do everything.
D. it allows us to also fail at something.
E. it . . .
Despite the possible benefits of seeing someone else fail we don’t like to talk about our failures. We’d rather pat ourselves on the back by boasting of our successes. We’d rather spell out the things we’ve done right; thinking that others would do well to follow our example. For example, I’d rather share with you how I beat one of the better chess players in Phoenix rather than tell you the number of times I’ve lost to him. The former makes me look good, the latter tells you in bold letters that I am no better than an average chess player.
Nevertheless, you know and I know that some of the best lessons we have ever learned have been learned the hard way. I’ve learned the hard way that when it comes to home projects the right tools make all the difference in the world. I’ve learned the hard way that in teaching you can’t push a kid into a corner without him or her pushing back. I’ve learned the hard way that my style of teaching has to fit my personality. For as much as I might admire the style of another teacher, adopting their style just doesn’t work very well for me.
Just so with Timothy, some of the best lessons he learned he learned the hard way. And he learned them where he learned most of his other lessons - in Corinth. You will recall that during The Second Missionary Journey Paul, Silas, and Timothy spent a year and a half in Corinth. It was during this time that Timothy learned a number of valuable lessons. For example, it was in Corinth that he learned to preach. And it was in this city where he learned to fully depend upon God to meet his every need. These lessons, however, weren’t learned the hard way.
It isn’t until the Third Missionary Journey that we see Timothy learning a few things the hard way. You will recall that Paul, Timothy, and others are in Ephesus where they spent about three years. During the third year Paul sent Timothy and Erastus to Macedonia while he continued the work in Ephesus.
Luke, in Acts 19:22, gives no hint as to the purpose of this trip into Macedonia. But from the letter addressed to the Corinthians it’s clear that Paul wanted to take up a collection from the churches in Macedonia to help the famine-stricken church in Jerusalem. For in I Corinthians 16:1 -14 we read:
Now about the money being collected for the Christians in Jerusalem: You should follow the same procedures I gave to the churches in Galatia. 2 On every Lord’s Day, each of you should put aside some amount of money in relation to what you have earned and save it for this offering. Don’t wait until I get there and then try to collect it all at once. 3 When I come I will write letters of recommendation for the messengers you choose to deliver your gift to Jerusalem. 4 And if it seems appropriate for me also to go along, then we can travel together.
I am coming to visit you after I have been to Macedonia, for I am planning to travel through Macedonia. 6 It could be that I will stay awhile with you, perhaps all winter, and then you can send me on my way to the next destination. 7 This time I don’t want to make just a short visit and then go right on. I want to come and stay awhile, if the Lord will let me. 8 In the meantime, I will be staying here at Ephesus until the Festival of Pentecost, 9 for there is a wide-open door for a great work here, and many people are responding. But there are many who oppose me.
When Timothy comes, treat him with respect. He is doing the Lord’s work, just as I am. 11 Don’t let anyone despise him. Send him on his way with your blessings when he returns to me. I am looking forward to seeing him soon, along with the other brothers.
Now about our brother Apollos—I urged him to join the other brothers when they visit you, but he was not willing to come right now. He will be seeing you later, when the time is right.
Be on guard. Stand true to what you believe. Be courageous. Be strong. 14 And everything you do must be done with love.
Judging from this passage, it appears that Timothy and Erastus had the specific task of preparing the churches in Macedonia for this relief offering. We know from II Corinthians 8:1 - 8 that the two were successful in this particular endeavor. We read:
Now I want to tell you, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done for the churches in Macedonia. 2 Though they have been going through much trouble and hard times, their wonderful joy and deep poverty have overflowed in rich generosity. 3 For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford but far more. And they did it of their own free will. 4 They begged us again and again for the gracious privilege of sharing in the gift for the Christians in Jerusalem. 5 Best of all, they went beyond our highest hopes, for their first action was to dedicate themselves to the Lord and to us for whatever directions God might give them.
So we have urged Titus, who encouraged your giving in the first place, to return to you and encourage you to complete your share in this ministry of giving. 7 Since you excel in so many ways—you have so much faith, such gifted speakers, such knowledge, such enthusiasm, and such love for us—now I want you to excel also in this gracious ministry of giving. 8 I am not saying you must do it, even though the other churches are eager to do it. This is one way to prove your love is real.
But in the midst of trying to figure out why Timothy and Erastus were sent to Macedonia we are given a glimpse of Timothy’s failure in Corinth. We know from I Corinthians 4:14 - 21 that Paul sent Timothy to Corinth. We read:
I am not writing these things to shame you, but to warn you as my beloved children. 15 For even if you had ten thousand others to teach you about Christ, you have only one spiritual father. For I became your father in Christ Jesus when I preached the Good News to you. 16 So I ask you to follow my example and do as I do.
That is the very reason I am sending Timothy—to help you do this. For he is my beloved and trustworthy child in the Lord. He will remind you of what I teach about Christ Jesus in all the churches wherever I go.
I know that some of you have become arrogant, thinking I will never visit you again. 19 But I will come—and soon—if the Lord will let me, and then I’ll find out whether these arrogant people are just big talkers or whether they really have God’s power. 20 For the Kingdom of God is not just fancy talk; it is living by God’s power. 21 Which do you choose? Should I come with punishment and scolding, or should I come with quiet love and gentleness?
Timothy, now in his mid-twenties, delivered this first letter to the Corinthians. He was to deliver the letter and give them further instructions. Now if anyone could repeat Paul’s teachings and explain what he meant it was Timothy. If anyone shared Paul’s concern for the church in Corinth it was Timothy. And if anyone could speak for Paul, as if he was Paul, Timothy was the man.
But Timothy walked into Corinth under a double disadvantage. First, he was Paul’s representative which meant that those who had sided with others, such as Apollos, automatically discounted Timothy. Second, as Paul’s representative he was just a representative. He wasn’t Paul, he was a mere substitute for Paul and there is evidence that the Corinthians considered substitutes as inferior. For Paul to send a substitute to Corinth was taken as an insult by some of the Corinthian believers.
In fact, when Paul asked Timothy to be the courier for this letter and to remind the Corinthian believers of everything that was being taught to the churches he sensed trouble. Why else would he urge the Corinthians, in vv 10 - 11 of chapter sixteen. to treat Timothy with respect? He urged them to do so because he suspected many of them would look down upon Timothy. He felt they would show their disrespect by ignoring him.
I don’t know what Timothy said to the Corinthian church. I don’t know whether he tried to be like Paul or not. That is, I don’t whether he tried to wear Paul’s forceful style or not. I do know that whatever Timothy said and did in Corinth he failed to make a dent in their behavior. It is as if he went from one house-church to another and simply met with resistance and hostility. Perhaps he tried to read the letter to them and found that most refused to even listen to its contents - much less an explanation of Paul’s words.
How do we know this to be the case? First of all, we neither see nor read a joyful report as we saw after Timothy visited Thessalonica on the second journey. On the contrary, Paul evidently wrote a troubled letter between I and II Corinthians which expressed his “distress” over the church in Corinth. By the time he wrote this “second” letter to the church in Corinth he had moved beyond his anger as seen in I Corinthians to grief. ,
Second, it was Titus and not Timothy who encouraged the Corinthian church to give generously to the relief fund and it was Titus who was sent to Corinth to follow-up on this matter. Paul could’ve sent Timothy with this second, or third, letter to Corinth since Timothy co-authored the letter. But the Corinthians, for whatever reasons, were unresponsive to him. They responded to Titus and so it was Titus who was sent to bring their gracious act of giving to a completion and not Timothy.
So what did Timothy learn from this experience? I suppose the biggest lesson he learned is that different courses suit different horses. There are some tracks, some courses, some ministries that we need to learn to say no to. It may flatter our ego to be invited to participate in this ministry or that ministry but in saying yes we fail in two ways. First, we fail because we won’t do the job well ourselves. We’re simply not suited to it so we either do it poorly or we don’t do it at all. Second, we fail because we step in the way of a Titus who could do the job better.
Unfortunately, we don’t enter the church with a finely tuned awareness of our strengths and weaknesses. Some of them we discover only by trying – and failing. It’s painful to fail, but if we learn to fail forward the experience in the long run will prove to be a blessing.
Timothy also learned that our ineffectiveness in an area of ministry doesn’t excuse us from maintaining good relationships and being supportive of others who are doing a good job in the very area we found difficult. It is perhaps for this reason that Paul included Timothy in the writing of what we call II Corinthians. In short, we can say that in Corinth Timothy received a heavy dose of humility.

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