HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1466
2 Timothy
T H E M O R N I N G of the prisoner’s execution dawned cold and gray.
Within the next hour his life would end. “Do you have any last words?”
the warden asked. “What would you like to say to those you leave
behind?”
If this were you, what would you say?
What you will be
Paul was in prison in Rome, on death row for
reading about
being a follower of Jesus. He had been there
before, as described in Acts 28. This was actually
1:1-18
Paul encourages Timothy to
his second imprisonment in Rome. Apparently,
be faithful
he had been released from prison for a while
2:1-13
and was able to travel to many of the churches
How to handle suffering
he had visited on his first three missionary journeys. But then he was arrested again when the
2:14-26
Living out the Christian life
Roman emperor Nero stepped up his persecution
of Christians. Paul was chained in a dark cell,
3:1-9
The last days will be very
abandoned by many of his friends; it had become
difficult for Christians
dangerous to associate with a man condemned as
3:10 – 4:18
a Christian. Only a faithful few, such as Luke and
Paul’s charge to Timothy
Onesiphorus, visited Paul, risking their own lives
4:19-22
to do so.
Paul’s final greetings
Timothy was one of Paul’s closest companions, and Paul knew that the mantle of leadership had to be passed along to
others. Paul had great confidence in Timothy’s abilities and had sent Timothy
to the church at Ephesus to counter the false teaching that had arisen there
(1 Timothy 1:3-4). Now Paul wanted to write him one last letter to encourage
him to continue to grow in faith and be a godly example.
The book of 2 Timothy is Paul’s last known writing, his “famous last words.”
He expected that he would be executed (4:6). Was there something he wanted
to say before he died? Yes, Paul wanted to write to his dear friend Timothy to
give him words of encouragement and help for his ministry. He wanted to ask
Timothy to visit him one last time. We assume Timothy was not able to do that,
for it is thought that Paul’s trial was moved ahead several months and that he
was executed shortly after he wrote this letter.
If you were to die soon, what would be your “famous last words”? What would
you say to young believers to encourage them in their faith? Would your life’s
actions have been a living example of your last words? Become familiar with
Paul’s last words so that your life might be an effective witness for Jesus Christ.
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