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TIMOTHY’S FRIENDSHIP!

Most of us in this class can remember the time when Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis played off each other in one movie after the other. In the early 1950’s they became an overnight sensation in movies like At War With the Army where in one scene Jerry did battle with an ornery soda pop machine. That was in 1950, in 1953 they did The Caddy where they tossed the golf clubs and became club entertainers. This is the movie where Donna Reed was Dean’s love interest and it’s the one where Dean sang That’s Amore.
But the friendship, if there ever was a friendship, turned into a feud. By 1956 when they were filming Hollywood or Bust the feud was raging. The two were so bitter with each other that they only spoke to each other on camera. Off camera the partnership was anything but a comedy; those in Hollywood knew it, and the public outside of Hollywood sensed it. Soon after this last picture the kinetic duo split up and went there separate ways.
For a moment, I want you to try and think of other working partnerships and speculate on whether it was a friendly partnership or simply a working partnership. Let’s see, there was:
- Gilbert & Sullivan
- Rogers & Hammerstein
- Torvill & Dean
- Rolls & Royce
- Sears & Roebuck
Did you think to include Paul and Timothy? Probably not, for we tend to think of Paul as being surrounded by a host of individuals with Timothy simply being one among numerous others. That perception is reinforced as the Third Missionary Journey comes to an end. For in Acts 20:1 - 6 we read:
When it (the uproar in Ephesus) was all over, Paul sent for the believers and encouraged them. Then he said good-bye and left for Macedonia. 2 Along the way, he encouraged the believers in all the towns he passed through. Then he traveled down to Greece, 3 where he stayed for three months. He was preparing to sail back to Syria when he discovered a plot by some Jews against his life, so he decided to return through Macedonia.
Several men were traveling with him. They were Sopater of Berea, the son of Pyrrhus; Aristarchus and Secundus, from Thessalonica; Gaius, from Derbe; Timothy; and Tychicus and Trophimus, who were from the province of Asia. 5 They went ahead and waited for us at Troas. 6 As soon as the Passover season ended, we boarded a ship at Philippi in Macedonia and five days later arrived in Troas, where we stayed a week.
Here Timothy and others were traveling with Paul to Jerusalem. Paul, as you may recall, was delivering the relief offering that had been taken up on behalf of the poverty-stricken church in Jerusalem. Other than Timothy, most of these men were on the last leg of this trip to express their oneness with the church in Jerusalem and to see that the money was used in a legitimate manner. Undoubtedly, men like Sopater returned to their home church and gave a report as to how the funds were used.
For our purposes we need to note that Timothy was among those who traveled with Paul to Jerusalem. We also need to note that on this trip there were numerous warnings that prison and hardship faced Paul. In Acts 20:22- 24 as Paul was saying farewell to the Ephesian elders he said:
“ And now I am going to Jerusalem, drawn there irresistibly by the Holy Spirit, not knowing what awaits me, 23 except that the Holy Spirit has told me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead. 24 But my life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about God’s wonderful kindness and love.
When the party reached Tyre in Syria Paul was warned a second time. In Acts 21:3 - 4 we read:
We sighted the island of Cyprus, passed it on our left, and landed at the harbor of Tyre, in Syria, where the ship was to unload. 4 We went ashore, found the local believers, and stayed with them a week. These disciples prophesied through the Holy Spirit that Paul should not go on to Jerusalem.
Then in Caesarea a minor-prophet by the name of Agabus came down from Judea and used a multimedia approach to warn Paul a third time. In Acts 21:7 - 15 we read:
The next stop after leaving Tyre was Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and sisters but stayed only one day. 8 Then we went on to Caesarea and stayed at the home of Philip the Evangelist, one of the seven men who had been chosen to distribute food. 9 He had four unmarried daughters who had the gift of prophecy.
During our stay of several days, a man named Agabus, who also had the gift of prophecy, arrived from Judea. 11 When he visited us, he took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands with it. Then he said, “The Holy Spirit declares, ‘So shall the owner of this belt be bound by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem and turned over to the Romans.’” 12 When we heard this, we who were traveling with him, as well as the local believers, begged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.
But he said, “Why all this weeping? You are breaking my heart! For I am ready not only to be jailed at Jerusalem but also to die for the sake of the Lord Jesus.” 14 When it was clear that we couldn’t persuade him, we gave up and said, “The will of the Lord be done.”
Shortly afterward we packed our things and left for Jerusalem.
Do you think Timothy was confused by this time? Suppose you were leading a Bible study and some stubborn cus, who happened to be your best friend, is determined to go to a war-torn country in Africa. His intent is to deliver some relief funds to the local church and to preach the gospel to whoever will listen to him.
As the leader of the small-group Bible Study you don’t sense that this is God’s will for the guy. As his friend and as the shepherd of the house-church that meets in your home you do everything you can to dissuade him from going to Africa. You do everything except play the song “Please Don’t Send Me To Africa” since this guy is biting at the bit to go to Africa.
But you nor the members of your house-church dissuade him. Just so, the house-church in Caesarea as well as those traveling with Paul failed to divert him from going to Jerusalem. They touched his heart with their united concern for his well-being but they did not change his mind.
Well maybe the worst-case scenario didn’t happen in Jerusalem. Maybe Paul went and proved that everyone was misreading what the Holy Spirit was saying to them. Nope! Paul went to Jerusalem, he was seized by an angry crowd, beaten, and arrested which was the only good thing that happened on that particular day. For in being arrested he was delivered from death.
The next day he appeared before the Sanhedrin but since they couldn’t agree on what to do with him and they couldn’t guarantee his protection he was soon transferred in pink underwear to Caesarea where he was under house arrest for two years before being transferred, upon appeal, to Rome. In Rome, he was again placed under house arrest for about two years.
What was Timothy doing all this time? On three different occasions Paul had ignored the counsel of others and stubbornly gone on ahead to Jerusalem. In Caesarea Timothy undoubtedly pulled him aside and tried to discourage him from proceeding to what was nothing but trouble. Maybe he argued that others could easily deliver the relief fund to the church in Jerusalem while Paul made his way to his home church in Antioch.
But Paul refused to listen to Timothy or anyone else and now found himself at the mercy of the government officials in power. And most of these officials cared less about Paul and more about staying in power. To them Paul was simply a pawn to be pushed forward only when it was to their advantage.
So what did Timothy do after Paul was arrested? Did he go home? After all, it had been three years since he had seen his family. He may very well have gone home on furlough for Paul may have urged him to go see his family; arguing that there was nothing he could do in Caesarea. But if so, he didn’t stay long.
He didn’t stay long because Timothy stuck close to Paul during this time. Now you might think that I’m simply speculating that Timothy stuck close to Paul during this time since Paul was a prisoner and as a prisoner was in need of others. But in this matter there is no need for playing our hunches. We can be certain that Timothy came alongside Paul during this time and stayed with him as he was transferred from one location to another.
We know this because of what the first verse of each of the four “prison” epistles tell us. For during Paul’s first imprisonment four letters were written and the four have become known as the “prison epistles.” They are Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. Now look at the first verse of each epistle. In the order as found in Scripture we read:
This letter is from Paul, chosen by God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. It is written to God’s holy people in Ephesus, who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus.
This letter is from Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus. It is written to all of God’s people in Philippi, who believe in Christ Jesus, and to the elders and deacons.
This letter is from Paul, chosen by God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy.
This letter is from Paul, in prison for preaching the Good News about Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy. It is written to Philemon, our much loved co-worker, 2 and to our sister Apphia and to Archippus, a fellow soldier of the cross. I am also writing to the church that meets in your house.
It appears that Ephesians was written strictly by Paul. But the other three we’re co-authored by Paul and Timothy. What this means is that during the time Paul was under house arrest he and Timothy had a working partnership. The partnership, of course, developed prior to Paul’s imprisonment. But it is here that we see the two working side-by-side as equal partners.
Now I know what you’re thinking or, at least, what is nagging you. You’re thinking, or being nagged by the thought, that Paul was the one who wrote these epistles and included Timothy’s name simply as a courtesy. After all, in regards to these letters as well as the two letters to the church in Thessalonica and the second letter to the Corinthians all the scholars refer to them as being written by Paul.
But the first verse of all six letters proclaim that Paul is not the sole author. The two letters to the Thessalonians claim to be written by Paul, Silas, and Timothy. And the other four letters, II Corinthians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon, claim to be written by Paul and Timothy. Aside from the claims of the introductory verse the letters themselves show that when Paul uses “we” he means “we” in the normal sense of the word. If not, why would he switch to “I” when he wants to take a moment and speak for himself in the letters? For example, in Colossians 1:28 we read:
We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. 29 To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.
Why would Paul switch to “I” if his “we” was simply a pompous “I”? The simplest explanation is the one right in front of us - the letters mentioned above were a joint effort. Quite frankly, it happens all the time. The elders of Bethany or any other church discuss what ought to be in a letter that needs to be written and they then ask someone on the board to draft the actual letter. Whoever drafts the letter is going to use the word “we” and use it in its normal sense.
But this is more than a working partnership. Unlike the partnership of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, these two were friends. They worked together well and held each other in high regard. In fact, Paul held Timothy in such a high regard that it can be argued that Timothy was to be Paul’s successor. To see this, look at what Paul wrote to the Philippians and we know this was strictly his thinking since he used the word “I” in the 2:19 -24 passage.
Phil. 2:19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. 20 I have no one else like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. 21 For everyone looks out for his own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. 23 I hope, therefore, to send him as soon as I see how things go with me. 24 And I am confident in the Lord that I myself will come soon.
If Philippians was the final “prison epistle,” and I believe it was, this passage can be an eye-opener. Even though Paul was confident that he would soon be released he wasn’t certain. In the unlikely event of his death, this passage could be interpreted to mean that the Philippian church, and other churches, were to turn to Timothy for the help and encouragement Paul would have normally given to them.
So what’s the point? First, not everyone receives the credit they deserve in this life. Timothy never did, but to his additional credit we went on ministering to others. Second, as a Proverbs 17:17 friend he stuck with Paul through thick and thin.

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