Philippians 2:19-30 – “Someone to lean on”
By James Galbraith
First Baptist Church, Port Alberni
October 22, 2006
Text
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.
25 But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. 26 For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. 27 Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow. 28 Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety. 29 Welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor men like him, 30 because he almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for the help you could not give me.
Introduction
We can all list people in our lives that we have leaned on in hard times.
It is inevitable that we all, at sometime in our lives, need the help of others.
The apostle Paul, just like us, also needed people to lean on.
There are two reasons why the apostle Paul wrote this letter to the
Philippians: to let them know how he was faring and to address the
problem of petty squabbling that he has heard about.
Now that he has discussed these things, he takes a few minutes to share with his readers his appreciation for two people who have been very close to him throughout his difficulties in prison.
They have been people that he has had to lean on very much. It’s good to see Paul doing this – we might be tempted to think of him as this almost superhuman Christian who needs help from no one.
Nothing could be farther from the truth; Paul was very open with people about his weaknesses and his needs.
He makes a point here of thanking and praising two very special people:
Timothy, his closest protégé and
Epaphroditus, the messenger who brought the Philippians’ gift spoken of in the beginning of the letter.
Both men are examples of the type of Christian that Paul has been calling the Philippians to be.
Now, just before we go deeper, I want to point out that on many occasions Paul takes time to recognize the contributions of the women who share in the work of the gospel with him.
** Lydia, whose household was at the core of the Philippian church.
** Priscilla, who together with her husband Aquila helped mould Paul into a missionary of the gospel.
** Timothy’s mother and grandmother, who raised Timothy up to be a strong young Christian man despite his father not being a believer.
In this particular passage Paul is speaking of two men,
but we must not let that overshadow the fact that he saw women as partners in the work of the gospel and as people that he could lean on, too.
PART ONE - TIMOTHY
He speaks first of Timothy, the young man who Paul has invested many hours into training to be a servant of Christ.
Timothy has been the closest thing to a cell mate that Paul has had. He is named as a co-author in this letter and in other letters that Paul has
written from prison.
It is doubtful that he is under detention, for his name is never mentioned in reference to any charges. Paul also speaks of sending Timothy to the Philippians, but he could not have sent him anywhere if he was a prisoner!
Paul and Timothy go pretty far back –
in Acts 16 we read that Timothy, as a teenager, joined up with Paul and Silas on their missionary journey of 49-52 AD in the city of Lystra.
He was with Paul the first time they came to Philippi, just a few months after he left his home in Lystra.
His introduction to mission work was pretty intense - in a few short weeks in Philippi Paul and Silas, with Timothy in company, manage to:
confront a sorceress and cast out her demon,
provoke a small riot,
receive a beating in the public square,
get themselves jailed,
be visited by an angel that opens all the prison doors,
bring the jailer and his family to faith,
confront the city officials over the fairness of their beating,
and finally be escorted out of the city by Roman soldiers with a "request" to leave the city!
Timothy is present for all of this, but apparently escapes the more brutal episodes and remains behind with the newborn church in Philippi.
His name comes up more and more as he matures, and by the time Paul is writing to the various churches from his prison cell Timothy is considered a full partner in ministry.
Paul’s purpose in sending Timothy to Philippi is to get an update from him before he leaves Rome to join them. Notice in verse 19 how Paul says that he is sending Timothy so that,
"I MAY ALSO BE CHEERED WHEN I HEAR GOOD NEWS ABOUT YOU".
This would require Timothy to travel to Philippi, take stock of the
situation, and either travel back to Rome, or send a message to Paul.
Remember, this is first century Rome, and travel is a little slower than it is today. Timothy’s journey requires about 400 miles of land travel and at least one sea voyage. We can finish this in a day, but Timothy would have been travelling for weeks.
It is also evident from Paul’s words in our passage that Timothy has a deep
affection for the Philippians.
Verse 20 tells us that Tim sincerely cares about the Philippians. This no doubt arises from his experiences in Philippi years ago.
We all develop an attachment to places where powerful events have shaped our lives. I compare Timothy’s feelings to the time I spent at Lake of the Trees Bible Camp in 100 Mile House.
I worked there as a counsellor soon after becoming a Christian, and to this day I remember the spot as if I was there yesterday.
Timothy, after witnessing the power of God at work in Philippi, must have kept the church in a very special place in his heart.
The next 2 verses show us that Timothy has a special connection with this church:
21-22 - 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.
Paul is taking a moment to reassure his readers that Timothy is one of the people who really cares for them as a church.
Earlier in this letter, Paul had mentioned that some people were preaching the gospel for selfish reasons, like attracting attention to themselves.
Paul wants the church to know that Timothy is not one of these selfish speakers, so he uses this language to show that Timothy interest’s in coming are pure, and that he can be trusted.
He wants to set Timothy apart from the false teachers by affirming his sincerity. He then vouches for Timothy as a father vouches for his own son.
READ VERSE 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.
This both confirms Timothy’s readiness for the task and Paul’s love of this special person. Timothy is not just ready for the task because Paul says so; he has proven to be reliable for over ten years of active ministry.
His training in the gospel is like the son of a tradesman growing up. In Paul’s day, the sons would work with their fathers in the shops or fields, learning every nuance of their father’s trade. By the time they reached adulthood they were masters of their father’s craft.
Sending Timothy would like sending a extension of himself, and Paul was
looking forward to sending him as soon as possible.
There is just one thing he is waiting for...
READ 23-24. 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.
Paul is holding Timothy back until he is certain of how his trial goes. He
is sure that he will be set free, but the trail is still pending and the
Philippians need to know how it turns out.
SO Paul is holding onto this young, bright, honest, caring servant of the gospel, at least until he knows what the immediate future holds for him.
There is another man in this passage that Paul is ready to send back to the Philippian church:
PART TWO - EPAPHRODITUS
The other half of the passage talks about Epaphroditus,
the man who ends up being the deliverer of this letter to the Philippians.
READ VERSE 25 But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs
Who is this man, who is only mentioned here in all of the New Testament?
We don’t know much more than this verse tells us; he is the messenger that the Philippians sent to bring Paul support and the latest news.
It is fair to conclude that Epaph. is one of the members of the Philippian church, especially when you read the rest of the paragraph.
We do not know a lot about him, but Paul speaks highly of him and his work. He relates Epaph. to a military figure fighting for a worthy cause. It is possible that Ep. is a retired soldier, but that’s speculation.
What’s more important to realize is that Paul considers him a partner in ministry. His arrival with support and encouragement has enabled Paul to remain alive and well, preaching the gospel.
Paul considers him a true brother. There is no question that Ep. has played an important part in what has been accomplished for the sake of the gospel. But the work was not without a price.
We see in the next verses that he suffered greatly while he was with Paul.
26-27. 26 For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. 27 Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow.
Ep. took gravely ill while with Paul. He has recovered, thankfully, and must have been healthy for some time. I say this because if you look at the order of events, you’ll see that,
1. news of his illness has already made it back to the Philippians
2. their reaction has made it back to the Paul, and that is what he is addressing in verse 26.
3. Paul is prepared to send him back to Philippi so that they can see that he is healthy again.
The worry of the Philippians is normal, they don’t yet know that he is healthy, and when people took sick in those days, death stared people right in the face.
But look at Ep’s reaction –
HE LONGS FOR ALL OF YOU AND IS DISTRESSED BECAUSE YOU HEARD HE WAS ILL...
This guy’s just come through a life threatening disease,
and he’s worked up because the Philippians’ are worried for him!
He must have a real heart for these people.
That is why Paul, after expressing his relief that God spared him the loss of his new-found brother in the gospel, decides that he would be the best person to deliver this letter to the Philippians.
READ VERSE 28-30 28 Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety. 29 Welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor men like him, 30 because he almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for the help you could not give me.
What a surprise they are in for when he shows up with this latest word from Paul! They’ll be delighted to see their brother in good health.
He has walked to the brink of death for the sake of the gospel, but God has brought him back and put him to good work. He is fully deserving of any good reception the Philippians can muster.
Paul’s last words seem a bit judgemental - TO MAKE UP FOR THE HELP YOU COULD NOT GIVE ME.
To see it this way, however, is to read something into that simply is not
there. It is simply a statement of fact. The whole Philippian church was
not able to deliver the letter - they had to send someone to do it.
Ep. took up the challenge, and almost paid his life for doing it. This has
earned him a special place in Paul’s heart, and Paul is saying that it
should earn Ep. a special place in their heart too.
SO, WHAT DOES THIS TALE OF TWO MEN TEACH US TODAY?
1. As the title implies, we all need someone to lean on.
Paul has shared with us about two of the people that he leans on in time of need, and there were many more.
The church is not meant to be filled with lone rangers and superheroes; we are a family of believers that needs to support and strengthen each other.
Leaders and innovators will always stand out, but that doesn’t mean that they are meant to work alone!
Every church should be working on building relationships amongst the members and friends that support and encourage each other.
2. These "heros" are real people - they get sick, they’re young, they
are certainly not "untouchables". Even Paul, the Super-Apostle Paul, is
forthcoming with his need to stay in touch.
Many stories paint their heroes in light which makes them a minor god,
but these were real guys with real weaknesses, and God used them to do huge, huge things.
We’re just like ’em. We come to God full of quirks, faults,. God
uses us anyway, showing his great strengths through our weakness.
3. We see their willingness to serve God whenever and however!
Timothy is willing to sit around with Paul in Rome, despite being a young
and probably adventurous man.
Ep. is willing to brave the journey back to Philippi, if only to deliver this letter to the Philippians.
Both show a willingness to be used of God, and in ways they may or
may not have expected. It’s easy to serve God when we do it on our terms, but these guys are opening themselves up to what is beyond that.
They are putting the needs of Paul and the Philippians ahead of their own. What they do takes all of what they have - everything is on hold so that they can serve God.
We are busy people, and we live in a world which does not give us much room for letting up.
But, if we were to make some changes that would allow God more time to work in our lives and with our lives, what would come of it?
These men made room, and we witness the evidence of their labour. Men and women two thousand years ago made room, and the world changed forever.
What can happen if we make room? There’s only one way to find out:
Give God some more room to work in your life, and see what happens!
