Sermon Tone Analysis

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,

“To Timothy, my true child in the faith:

“Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.”

[1]

Biographical studies can be about as exciting as watching paint dry.

Nevertheless, the lives of people can prove to be most interesting, especially if they fought battles or successfully met challenges to which we can relate.

Through their lives—the victories and even the defeats they experienced—we are instructed.

Through them we can learn how to conduct our own lives.

Such information is more than merely interesting—it is instructive.

The life of one man who lived almost two thousand years ago may not appear to be all that exciting, at least when viewed superficially.

However, Timothy was chosen by the Apostle to the Gentiles to participate in the first missionary journeys.

He was with Paul as that great man penetrated to the very heart of the Roman Empire, sending the Imperial eagle screaming from her nest.

Timothy was present when the charge was made that the missionaries had “turned the world upside down.”

He witnessed God’s incredible power to free people who were demonised and to liberate others from the power of darkness, delivering them into the glorious light of the freedom of Christ the Lord.

Ultimately, he would live out his life as a pastor in a hard place, making a difference to the glory of God.

PREPARATION FOR PASTORING THE CHURCH IN EPHESUS — A Jewish girl named Eunice married a Gentile man.

They lived in the city of Lystra.

The young girl’s mother—Lois, by name—moved in with the young couple.

This would not have been so odd in that earlier day, the mother-in-law or mother provided help with the household duties, and later when children were brought into the family she would provide care for them as well.

Eunice had at least one child, Timothy, whose name means “Honouring God.”

Eunice and Lois attended the local synagogue, though it is unlikely that Eunice’s husband ever attended with her.

The women instructed the lad Timothy in the Scriptures.

Though all they had available was the Old Covenant, and likely they did not even have access to a copy of those scriptures for themselves, they had been taught to listen, and they undoubtedly did listen carefully as the Scriptures were read and discussed.

They learned through listening and through repeating what they had heard so that the knowledge of the Holy One would be handed down from generation-to-generation.

Just as they had learned, so they ensured that the child entrusted to them would learn of God, learn of the need to be righteous, learn of the grace and mercy of the True and Living God.

So, from earliest days, the boy was instructed in the Word.

Life for Eunice, Timothy and Lois appears to have been pedestrian, perhaps even prosaic.

Nothing out of the ordinary seems to have happened in their lives.

Religion for them was quotidian, predictable.

However, at some point, perhaps when the boy was a lad of ten or even as old as thirteen, two men came into the region of Derbe, Lystra and Iconium.

In the synagogue at Lystra these men were declaring a novel message that had not been heard before.

These two men declared that Messiah had come, that he had been born of a virgin and that He had lived a sinless life.

Their message turned from the expected as the men spoke of His death—a death unlike others, though superficially just another death of a Jewish zealot at the hands of Roman occupiers.

The preachers were adamant that this One whom they claimed to be Messiah had not been killed, but rather than He offered up His life as a sacrifice.

In itself, such a story could not have excited much interest.

However, the Good News of their message was that this wonderful man had not stayed dead.

He had conquered death, rising from the dead, thus demonstrating that He was indeed the Son of God through that resurrection.

He was witnessed by many people as He walked with them before ascending into the heavens.

The most exciting feature of the message the preachers brought was that just as Messiah had conquered death, so the life He now lived was offered to any who would receive it.

Almost unbelievably, they insisted that the life offered was extended freely—no effort could secure this life, no merit would coerce that life—the life could only be accepted freely as offered.

I won’t tell you that these preachers of this novel message were accepted without question.

They had preached in the synagogue in Antioch in Pisidia.

The response of those who heard them was not especially promising.

The Jews, especially the Jewish leaders, were jealous when they witnessed the crowds that flocked to hear the message these men declared.

The leaders attempted to interject themselves so they could set people straight, hoping that people would still listen to them and their myths, ensuring that they could continue in power.

However, the men boldly countered this attempt by saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you.

Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.

For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,

“‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles,

that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth’”

[ACTS 13:46, 47]

The response of the Gentiles who heard what was said was powerful.

Here is how one biographer described what happened, “When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.

And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region” [ACTS 13:48, 49].

This only enraged the Jewish leaders more, and so they incited devout women and men of stature within the city to attack the two preachers.

With threats, perhaps punctuated with blows from clenched fists, they drove them, not only out of the city but also out of the district!

However, the two preachers merely shook the dust from their feet, as they had been taught to do [see MATTHEW 10:14; MARK 6:11; LUKE 9:5].

Doing this would serve as a testimony against the religious leaders; God would remember; and the preachers went on to Iconium.

The reception in Iconium was not much better, however.

Though they were able to preach for a period, when a great number of both Jews and Gentiles believed the message they delivered, unbelieving Jews incited some of the Gentiles in that city.

Despite preaching the message of life, and even witnessing to the message with signs and wonders performed at their hands, the preachers were forced to flee for their lives when an attempt by both Gentiles and Jews was made against their lives.

The design was to mistreat the preachers, even to stone them.

However, the missionaries learned of the plans and fled before the unbelieving people could carry out their evil proposal.

The missionaries fled to cities of Lycaonia, specifically arriving at Lystra.

Here they would have a powerful ministry, though it seemed a failure at first.

Early in their time in Lystra, the missionaries encountered a man who had been crippled from birth.

In fact, he had never walked.

Well, here is the story as told by a biographer.

“There was a man sitting who could not use his feet.

He was crippled from birth and had never walked.

He listened to Paul speaking.

And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well, said in a loud voice, ‘Stand upright on your feet.’

And he sprang up and began walking.

And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, ‘The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!’ Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker.

And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds.

But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out, ‘Men, why are you doing these things?

We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.

In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways.

Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.’

Even with these words they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them” [ACTS 14:8-18].

Do you remember the problems these preachers faced in Antioch and in Iconium?

Their problems with Jewish religious leaders from those two cities weren’t over yet.

These religious leaders had followed the missionaries to Lystra, where they persuaded the crowds that the missionaries were frauds and charlatans.

The excited people were enraged.

After all, they had treated these men like gods, and the preachers had refused the honours proffered.

Therefore, they must be devils.

The crowds seized Paul, likely because he was the chief spokesman.

They stoned him and dragged him out of the city where they dumped his body like a dead animal.

They were convinced that he was dead, and, truthfully, it appears that he was actually dead.

The disciples gathered around him, no doubt mourning what appeared to be a tragedy.

Abruptly, the Apostle stood up on his feet.

Together, no doubt in awe, the disciples and the Apostle re-entered the city.

The next day, the preachers left for Derbe.

They left behind a few disciples, disciples who had received no extensive training in the truths of the Word, but followers of Jesus as the long-anticipated Messiah, nevertheless.

Among those disciples were Lois and Eunice, and their young son, Timothy.

We can imagine that Timothy heard the message and believed since the Apostle refers to him as “my beloved and faithful child in the Lord” [1 CORINTHIANS 4:17] and addresses him as “my true child in the faith” [1 TIMOTHY 1:2].

Lois and Eunice appear to have instructed the young man in the truths of God’s Word as they themselves studied to discover what was written concerning the Messiah.

Clearly, the young man was advancing in the Faith, for when the Apostle next visited Lystra and Iconium, the young man was recommended to Paul.

By this time, Timothy would have been between fourteen and sixteen years of age.

The first mission was around A.D. 47 to 48; the second mission was conducted over the period from A.D. 50 to 52.

From this point forward, Timothy would be a companion and a colleague to the Apostle Paul.