II Timothy 1:1-14
The Heading of the Letter (1-2)
The heading of this letter is very similar to First Timothy, so similar than one can assume that it is a pattern, which could be used as naturally as a modern day church leader uses his printed letterhead or a secretary forms a heading of a letter according to a certain model even when one writes to a close co-worker.
The Apostle and His Disciple (3-12)
After the formal opening, the letter has a very personal tone. It shines through how fondly attached the apostle is to his spiritual son. The divorce has been very painful and he longs to see him again. At the same time he is very thankful to have such a son in the faith. We are informed about what a good inheritance Timothy has received from his mother and grandmother. Paul calls them by name. This is one of the many small details, which speaks for the authenticity of the letter. One may ask whether the grandmother really had had time to become a Christian, or if she was dead when Paul came to Lystra. It is not impossible that Paul talks about her as a pious Jew. After all, he says about himself that he serves God, “as did his ancestors”. They lived in faith in the coming Messiah. Paul had seen him come. For Paul, this was the same faith. The only difference was that the fathers lived in the time of promise, while he himself lived in the time of fulfillment. He and they worshipped the same God “with a clear conscience,” in the same sincere faith in his word. This was exactly what Paul had said when he first defended himself before the Governor Felix in Caesarea (Acts 24:14f), something that is pointed out by those who believe that this letter is written shortly after.
Paul reminds Timothy that is was he who once ordained him into that office, which he now exercises. It occured during the laying on of hands by the council of elders (presbyterna) and by Paul himself. At that time Timothy received a spiritual gift (a charisma), which Paul here does not name, although he indicates that is was a gift of power, love and self-discipline. This charisma Timothy is to revive - or “to fan into flame”, as Paul literary says. Thus, a charisma does not work automatically. It has to be revived and kept alive, like anything else in the Christian life.
The heading of this letter is very similar to First Timothy, so similar than one can assume that it is a pattern, which could be used as naturally as a modern day church leader uses his printed letterhead or a secretary forms a heading of a letter according to a certain model even when one writes to a close co-worker.
The Apostle and His Disciple (3-12)
After the formal opening, the letter has a very personal tone. It shines through how fondly attached the apostle is to his spiritual son. The divorce has been very painful and he longs to see him again. At the same time he is very thankful to have such a son in the faith. We are informed about what a good inheritance Timothy has received from his mother and grandmother. Paul calls them by name. This is one of the many small details, which speaks for the authenticity of the letter. One may ask whether the grandmother really had had time to become a Christian, or if she was dead when Paul came to Lystra. It is not impossible that Paul talks about her as a pious Jew. After all, he says about himself that he serves God, “as did his ancestors”. They lived in faith in the coming Messiah. Paul had seen him come. For Paul, this was the same faith. The only difference was that the fathers lived in the time of promise, while he himself lived in the time of fulfillment. He and they worshipped the same God “with a clear conscience,” in the same sincere faith in his word. This was exactly what Paul had said when he first defended himself before the Governor Felix in Caesarea (Acts 24:14f), something that is pointed out by those who believe that this letter is written shortly after.
Paul reminds Timothy that is was he who once ordained him into that office, which he now exercises. It occured during the laying on of hands by the council of elders (presbyterna) and by Paul himself. At that time Timothy received a spiritual gift (a charisma), which Paul here does not name, although he indicates that is was a gift of power, love and self-discipline. This charisma Timothy is to revive - or “to fan into flame”, as Paul literary says. Thus, a charisma does not work automatically. It has to be revived and kept alive, like anything else in the Christian life.
Right now it is important not to lose heart because Paul is in prison. Unfortunately, we do not know where. It may have been in Caesarea, on the Mediterranian coast, farthest to the east, somewhere in the Roman Governor’s residence, as a prisoner on trial, accused by the Jews for revolutionary activity, but still treated respectfully as a Roman citizen. In that case, it should have been around 58 AD. But it is also possible that it is six to nine years later in Rome. In the previous case, it cannot have been too long since he departed from Timothy, since he had just travelled to Jerusalem with Paul in 57 AD, the trip which for Paul ended with the tumult in the temple, where he almost was lynched. Many believe that Timothy then went to Caesarea to help Paul with work he could do from prison. They think that it was during this time that the letters to Colosse, to Philemon and to Ephesus, and maybe also the letter to Philippians were written. In three of them, Timothy is mentioned as a co-author. He must have sent to Ephesus soon after this - all this presuming that 2nd Timothy is written in Caesarea.
Paul now asks him to be of good cheer. For the Christians it was, of course, troublesome that one of their leaders was imprisoned, accused of treason. But Paul reminds that he suffers without shame. It is, after all, for the sake of the gospel. In a few short sentences he reminds about the main points in this gospel: not because our works, only through God’s gracious decision, made before the ages begun and manifested through Jesus Christ, who abolished death. Paul knows in whom he believes. He knows what kind of message he is bringing. He has received something that has been entrusted to him. He uses (as in 1 Tim 6:20) the word “parathéke”, a deposit, a treasure which he is to manage and which he will be accountable for “on that day”. But he is certain that in the end God is the one who will preserve the treasure and is the one who is responsible that it does not go to waste - whether Paul is in prison or not.
Faithfulness to the Confession (13-14)
Now Timothy has to guard this “parathéke” - once again Paul uses this word. His task is not to be creative. He is to repeat what he has learned from the apostle. But it does not mean only a repeating by heart. No one can render the sound doctrine right without help from the Holy Spirit. He is to trust that he has access to this help. After all, the Spirit lives in us who are baptized and believe. The one who has the Spirit does not make up new doctrines, but is able to lay out the apostolic truth “in the faith and love which Christ Jesus gives” (Giertz translation). The Gospel is thus something fixed, which never changes; at the same time as it is to be brought forth with a personal conviction and with love toward the ones who are listening.
Luke 17:1-10
v. 1-3a - The Inevitable Temptation
In this fallen world one can’t avoid evil, and where sin is, there is always the risk that people will fall into sin (“kommer på fall” - Swedish idiom) Jesus here uses a word which one can translate “temptation” or “offense” and which originally denotes that part of a set trap which triggers it to snap shut, if one touches it. Such traps one has to count on, but woe to the one who sets them, says Jesus. It is better to be drowned, than to draw a single one of these “little ones” into perdition. By “little ones” Jesus means those who believe in Him, as is shown in parallel passages (Matt. 18.6; Mark 9.42) - it can be people in all ages. They are “little” according to the world’s way of evaluating and measuring. They are in one way or another dependant on others. It is because of this, therefore, that it is such a great sin to abuse one’s authority and influence to take their faith from them.
v. 3b-6 - Unlimited forgiveness and Miracle-working faith
If a Christian encounters evil in a “brother” - which in the New Testament means one who believes in Jesus - he has a double obligation: one the one hand (å ena sidan) to speak up and try to correct him and, on the other hand (å andra sidan) to forgive. And there is no limit for that. Jesus surely uses this image which is on the edge of absurdity deliberately: someone sins against you as often as seven times the same day and asks for forgiveness seven times. The meaning is clear: Just as God does not tire of forgiving, neither should we.
It is difficult to say if there is any connection between the different pieces in this chapter, or if Luke here has collected various sayings of Jesus and stories that he wanted to put together. It is at least possible that there is a connection between Jesus’ words about unlimited forgiveness and the apostles’ request about increased faith. After all, the apostles were to be commissioned representatives and act on his behalf. They were to admonish and forgive as he did. They were also to heal the sick. It is understandable if they asked for “increased faith,” but Jesus answers that it is not increased faith that they need. If one only has the slightest hint of the faith in question everything is possible. Apparently, this is the “miracle-working faith”, which according to Paul is one of the spiritual gifts (1 Cor 12:9). Jesus never questioned the fact that also the weak disciples, the ones he calls incredulous, believed in him and belonged to him. At the same time he admonishes them - and us - that they do not have the faith which makes the impossible possible. He uses an image which deliberately talks about something impossible. A mulberry tree was considered to be deeper rooted that any other tree. That it would be uprooted and planted in the sea was a marvellous thought. Jesus does, of course, not mean that his disciples should do such things - but maybe things that seem just as impossible, yet that God nevertheless commissioned them to do.
v. 7-10 Unskillful Servants
At such words every Christian feels like a unskillful servant. But even if we were able to do such things, we would still only be unskillful servants, who would not expect any praise. Jesus tells this using a parable, one of the many which only Luke has preserved for us. It is, as usual, an image from everyday life, such as it is in this evil world. A poor slave comes home after his labor in the field. Now he has to continue with the tasks at home. Only when his lord has been waited on and had his food is the servant allowed to eat. He does not receive a thank you, and has not expected this either. After all, he cannot demand anything. And neither can we from God. Even if we have done everything which was commanded - and when have we done that? - we have to say: We are unskillful servants, who are not good for much. Here Jesus uses a strong word, which means useless, incompetent or bad, the same word which is used about the worthless servant who hid his talent in the ground (Matt 25:30). The servant knows that even when he seems to have done well, he is not that remarkable. He does not deserve any praise.
In this fallen world one can’t avoid evil, and where sin is, there is always the risk that people will fall into sin (“kommer på fall” - Swedish idiom) Jesus here uses a word which one can translate “temptation” or “offense” and which originally denotes that part of a set trap which triggers it to snap shut, if one touches it. Such traps one has to count on, but woe to the one who sets them, says Jesus. It is better to be drowned, than to draw a single one of these “little ones” into perdition. By “little ones” Jesus means those who believe in Him, as is shown in parallel passages (Matt. 18.6; Mark 9.42) - it can be people in all ages. They are “little” according to the world’s way of evaluating and measuring. They are in one way or another dependant on others. It is because of this, therefore, that it is such a great sin to abuse one’s authority and influence to take their faith from them.
v. 3b-6 - Unlimited forgiveness and Miracle-working faith
If a Christian encounters evil in a “brother” - which in the New Testament means one who believes in Jesus - he has a double obligation: one the one hand (å ena sidan) to speak up and try to correct him and, on the other hand (å andra sidan) to forgive. And there is no limit for that. Jesus surely uses this image which is on the edge of absurdity deliberately: someone sins against you as often as seven times the same day and asks for forgiveness seven times. The meaning is clear: Just as God does not tire of forgiving, neither should we.
It is difficult to say if there is any connection between the different pieces in this chapter, or if Luke here has collected various sayings of Jesus and stories that he wanted to put together. It is at least possible that there is a connection between Jesus’ words about unlimited forgiveness and the apostles’ request about increased faith. After all, the apostles were to be commissioned representatives and act on his behalf. They were to admonish and forgive as he did. They were also to heal the sick. It is understandable if they asked for “increased faith,” but Jesus answers that it is not increased faith that they need. If one only has the slightest hint of the faith in question everything is possible. Apparently, this is the “miracle-working faith”, which according to Paul is one of the spiritual gifts (1 Cor 12:9). Jesus never questioned the fact that also the weak disciples, the ones he calls incredulous, believed in him and belonged to him. At the same time he admonishes them - and us - that they do not have the faith which makes the impossible possible. He uses an image which deliberately talks about something impossible. A mulberry tree was considered to be deeper rooted that any other tree. That it would be uprooted and planted in the sea was a marvellous thought. Jesus does, of course, not mean that his disciples should do such things - but maybe things that seem just as impossible, yet that God nevertheless commissioned them to do.
v. 7-10 Unskillful Servants
At such words every Christian feels like a unskillful servant. But even if we were able to do such things, we would still only be unskillful servants, who would not expect any praise. Jesus tells this using a parable, one of the many which only Luke has preserved for us. It is, as usual, an image from everyday life, such as it is in this evil world. A poor slave comes home after his labor in the field. Now he has to continue with the tasks at home. Only when his lord has been waited on and had his food is the servant allowed to eat. He does not receive a thank you, and has not expected this either. After all, he cannot demand anything. And neither can we from God. Even if we have done everything which was commanded - and when have we done that? - we have to say: We are unskillful servants, who are not good for much. Here Jesus uses a strong word, which means useless, incompetent or bad, the same word which is used about the worthless servant who hid his talent in the ground (Matt 25:30). The servant knows that even when he seems to have done well, he is not that remarkable. He does not deserve any praise.
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