There are people whose success brings them to a place of praise and exaltation. Folks love to associate with them and if possible to enter their charmed circle. Such are the movie stars, the celebrities in the world of sport, the Nobel laureates, and some of the popular evangelical megastars. But there are others whose success ushers them in a place of impoverishment, in a situation of loneliness where one is forsaken, or worse, rejected. Such was the apostle Paul. After decades of arduous work he found himself deserted by many. Some of his closest associates were ashamed of him to the point of fearing his presence. There, in the midst of opposition, Paul had to stand alone with the One who had sustained him all along.
To Timothy he wrote: “At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them” (2 Tim. 4:16).
He had already exhorted Timothy with these revealing words:
Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God” (2 Tim. 1:8).
In this brief post I would like to invite you to glance at the last years of Paul’s life, at the time when God was promoting him to a higher degree of trust as He had done with Job long before.
The context of 2nd Timothy
The second Epistle to Timothy—from where the two verses mentioned above were taken—give an account of the last words recorded by the apostle. It was actually written while Paul was incarcerated, as were Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians and Philemon. But the circumstances surrounding 2nd Timothy were very different, for the Epistles mentioned above were written during Paul’s first imprisonment. But in contrast, 2nd Timothy was written during his second imprisonment, and as we are about to see, the difference between these two incarcerations was humongous.
Paul’s first imprisonment
Luke introduces the first captivity this way: “Now when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard; but Paul was permitted to dwell by himself with the soldier who guarded him” (Acts 28:16).
We also learn through the writings of Luke that:
Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him” (Acts 28:30,31).
So things were not too bad for this great warrior acquainted with sorrow (Rom.9:2—Phil. 2:27, 28). Added to it, he had a hopeful sense that he would be released:
But I trust in the Lord that I myself shall also come shortly” (Phil. 2:24).
Paul’s second imprisonment
On July 19, AD 64, ten of Rome’s fourteen districts were burned down by a blazing fire that lasted six days and seven nights. In fact, the flames were not totally quenched for another three days. Shortly after the fire ceased, rumors were disseminated that Emperor Nero had organized the blaze in view to rebuild the city as he wished. Of course he attempted to crush down the speculations, but his effort didn’t help his cause. He then came with the idea of a scapegoat, and because two of the districts that had escaped the flames were inhabited mostly by Christians, he held them accountable for the disaster.
Many Christians were thus arrested, including Paul, who was considered their ringleader. Hence, the apostle to the gentiles ended up—according to church tradition—in one of the most abominable dungeons of Rome called the Mamertine Prison.
The Roman historian Sallust called it the “House of Darkness”. The place was damp and clammy with hardly any light. Its dirt was repulsive. Sallust speaks of its “neglect, darkness, and stench”, of “a hideous and terrifying appearance”. Traditions say that Paul was in that pit for approximately two years. He would have entered in the year AD 66, and remained there until his execution in AD 68.
What Paul had to face in that dungeon
First of all, during the winter, he was confronted with the cold. He knew what it means to shiver for months. No wonder he wrote to Timothy:
Bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas when you come—and the books, especially the parchments” (2 Tim. 4:13).
And then he urged him with these words: “Be diligent to come to me quickly” (2 Tim. 4:9), and added at the end of his letter: “Do your utmost to come before winter” (2 Tim. 4:21).
He was also suffering troubles as an evildoer:
Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel, 9 for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the word of God is not chained” (2 Tim. 2:8,9).
He was also suffering loneliness, defamation, and betrayal. At this point he knew he would never return to freedom and therefore contemplated death: “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand” (2 Tim. 4:6).
Conclusion
In such a place and in such a state he wrote to Timothy, starting his letter as he had always done: “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God” (2 Tim. 1:1). And regardless of the circumstances he was grateful and prayed night and day: “I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day” (2 Tim. 1:3). While he was being poured out as a drink offering he cares for others with love and faithfulness.
Finally the day of his execution came. According to tradition he was beheaded early in the morning outside of Rome on the Ostian Way. There, at the beginning of a new day, Paul died has he had lived:
… according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death” (Phil. 1:20).
In the similitude of his Lord Paul died because he shone forth. His message was straight forward, uncompromising and therefore exposing. Let us follow in his footsteps, loyal and faithful to our Lord regardless of the cost, for He is faithful who promised.
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