2 Timothy 4:9–22

4:9 Paul desires Timothy to come to him. The situation in which he makes the request is stunning. The apostle Paul—the one who saw Jesus on the Damascus road, was commissioned by Jesus as the apostle to the Gentiles, and was caught up to the third heaven—now waits in a Roman prison. The picture is not the medieval caricature of an exalted apostle floating above the stone floor, wearing a halo and gently holding up three fingers. The man lies on a cold stone floor, in squalid conditions (cf. comment on 4:13), awaiting the executioner’s notice. From what he says we see that he feels as anyone would feel in such a moment: alone. And so he calls for his dear brother and child in the faith, Timothy. He calls for fellowship.

4:10–12 Paul explains why he is alone: all of his ministry companions have left him for one reason or another. He has lost nearly everyone dear to him to either betrayal or the gospel ministry. One man (Demas) deserted Paul because he was “in love with this present world.” Others have been sent out by Paul to continue the mission to the Gentiles. Only Luke is left with him, and Paul clearly desires the fellowship of Timothy as well, so he calls for him. Astonishingly, in a complete reversal of previous acrimony, Paul calls for Mark as well (cf. Acts 15:37–41). In his most desperate moment, he does not isolate himself in grief or depression. He reaches out for help. He does not draw away from the fellowship of the saints; he presses in.

4:13 Paul’s request for Timothy to bring his cloak reveals the practical difficulty of his imprisonment. Prisons in the first century in Rome were nothing like prisons in the twenty-first century in the West. Obviously, they were not climate-controlled. There were no “three squares” a day. If the jailers provided anything to eat, it was barely enough to survive. “Poor ventilation created conditions of dangerously stale air, suffocating heat and dehydration. . . . Where pallets were not available one slept on the floor, perhaps using one’s outer cloak as a cover against the cold.”¹ The cells were often devoid of natural light. Iron chains “chafed and corroded the skin over time.”² B. M. Rapske describes the despair that such conditions would have induced: “It is not a surprise that these awful conditions caused such profound distress of body and soul that prisoners, if they did not become sick and die . . . wished themselves dead or actively sought suicide.”³

This is likely Paul’s condition as he writes to Timothy. Among the other trials of imprisonment, Paul is cold, so he asks for his cloak. Even in this austere condition of deprivation, however, Paul asks for Timothy to bring “also the books, and above all the parchments.” The rendering “above all” reflects the traditional interpretation of this text, which suggests that Paul asks Timothy to bring all of the books, but, if that is not possible, then at least to bring the parchments. However, T. C. Skeat has argued that the term translated “above all” (Gk. malista) sometimes means “namely” or “specifically.”⁴ If Skeat is correct, Paul specifically asks for the parchments, an ancient writing material. We have no idea what these parchments contained. The word translated “books” is used elsewhere to refer to Scripture (e.g., Ex. 24:7; Luke 4:17, 20; John 20:30; Gal. 3:10; Heb. 9:19). Howard Marshall suggests, “If there is one group of materials, then copies of Scriptures and possibly Christian writings are most likely.”⁵ If this understanding is correct, Paul is calling for his copies of Scripture and his own personal notes. In his most desperate hour, Paul calls for the Word of God—his concern for God’s Word lasts to the very end.

4:14–15 Paul’s commitment to the Word appears not only in his request for the parchments but also in his warning against Alexander the coppersmith. This is likely the Alexander mentioned in 1 Timothy 1:19–20, who rejected the faith and was delivered over to Satan by Paul. Alexander did Paul great harm, perhaps even having a hand in Paul’s imprisonment. Paul warns Timothy about him not because of the personal harm but because “he strongly opposed our message.” For Paul, Alexander’s great sin was to stand against the very Word that is so precious to Paul. If Alexander has been a threat to Paul’s gospel, then he will be to Timothy’s as well, for Paul and Timothy preach the same message. Again, Paul is finishing well in the Word even in his remarks about Alexander.

4:16–18 Paul’s “first defense” should be understood in light of a second Roman imprisonment (cf. Introduction to the Pastoral Epistles: Author). If this understanding of Paul’s timeline is correct, then this “first defense” likely refers to his preliminary hearing before Caesar during his current imprisonment.⁶ There is an echo of Jesus’ prayer from the cross in Paul’s words. Jesus prayed for his enemies even as they betrayed him and crucified him: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Now Paul prays the same for those who “deserted” him when he needed them the most. He prays, “May it not be charged against them.” No doubt, Paul’s generosity of spirit toward those who have not stood by him is enabled by the one who did stand by him: “But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me.” Paul was not utterly forsaken, for the Lord was with him even when no one else was. Paul believed that he was rescued from that moment of peril so that the gospel could continue to go forth to the Gentiles.

Because of the Lord’s faithfulness to him in that trial, Paul has confidence that the Lord will deliver him from the ultimate trial of death. He trusts in God’s word and is faithful to it even to his own hurt because he entrusts all judgment to God and knows that, in the end, God will deliver and vindicate him.

4:19–22 The final verses of the letter comprise elements that are standard fare in the conclusion of a Pauline letter: greetings, personal matters, and a benediction. Paul sends greetings to “Prisca and Aquila,” ministry partners of Paul (Acts 18:2, 18, 26; “Priscilla” is a diminutive form of “Prisca”). Paul again honors the “household of Onesiphorus” with a final greeting (cf. comment on 2 Tim. 1:16–18). Paul may mention the absence of Erastus and Trophimus in 4:20 to add urgency to his appeal in 4:21: “Do your best to come before winter.” Paul sends greetings from four people mentioned nowhere else in the NT: Eubulus, Pudens, Linus, and Claudia.

The benediction is in two parts. “The Lord be with your spirit” is directed to Timothy alone, as seen in the singular Greek “your” (cf. Gal. 6:18; Phil. 4:23; Philem. 25). “Grace be with you” is addressed to the entire church, as seen in the plural “you.” Thus Paul intends his final benediction not merely for Timothy but for the entire church at Ephesus, and also intends the letter to be read before the entire congregation (cf. Col. 4:16; 1 Thess. 5:27), whom he wants to see sustained in the unmerited favor of God.