The Apostle Paul, the most famous apostle of the Lord Jesus was holed up in the Mamartine Prison in Rome, the heart of the Roman Empire and nexus of corruption of a materialistic pagan world. He was facing his imminent execution by beheading. He had been placed there by Nero, known for his unstable character and cruelty. Nero had killed his own mother and later his wife. He was obsessed with novel religious cults and famous for bizarre private and public actions. Not liking the way Rome was laid out, he had it burned down. He had "fiddled while Rome burned," then contrived the news media spin that it was the Christians' fault, sparking an intense persecution of Christians all over the Empire. Christians were being herded like cattle into Roman amphitheaters where they were wrapped in sheepskins and fed to hungry lions or burned alive while tied to posts, creating human torches that lit the night sky of Rome.
Facing his impending demise one wonders what thoughts were going through the mind of Paul. Thankfully he took pen in hand to write one last time to his beloved Timothy, child in the faith. I am certain that as he wrote he was not thinking to himself, "Hey, I think I'll write another book of the Bible to be read by billions and exalted as Holy Writ." On the contrary, he wrote an intensely personal letter to his young counterpart which may have been his last recorded words. So we have here the "famous last words" of Paul that are beloved the world over as the Second Epistle to Timothy.
Does he agonize over all his past failures and mistakes? Is his mind tormented with regrets as he remembers times when he rousted the fledgling Christians of Jerusalem out of the homes, and held the coats of those who stoned the first Christian martyr Stephen? Amazingly not! He begins the body of the letter on a note of triumphal thanksgiving, "I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience.." A CLEAR CONSCIENCE! The blood of Jesus had thoroughly washed away the past sins and brought healing to his memories and a glorious assurance of eternal rightness with God through amazing grace.
He goes on to tell Timothy not to be a wimp, a whiner, a self-perceived victim of societal injustice. Rather he tells him (and us) to stir up the mighty supernatural gift God has given him and not be ashamed of the gospel, not to be intimidated by powerful foes like corrupt governments or cynical people, because "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power and love and a sound mind." He tells Timothy that though he is imprisoned, the word of God can never be imprisoned, and is out in the world doing its unfailing work.
Be a good soldier and endure hardship, exhorts Paul. Massive forces are being marshaled that are hell-bent to wipe Christianity off the map, to exterminate the seed of the Word of God out of the hearts and lives of men forever. Though "difficult times will come and men will be lovers of self, lovers of money...arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable...brutal, haters of good," be ready all the more to "preach the Word...in season and out of season," whether in fashion or considered old-fashioned. When things get tough, entrust yourself wholly to a faithful God, who will vindicate us in the end.
We don't know the final details of Paul's life. Perhaps Nero's hatchet boy stood ready, just down the narrow corridor of the Mamartine Prison. Perhaps he was allowed to live several more months, but nonetheless he writes "my departure has come." An evil world system was ready to write the final sentence of his life and consign Paul of Tarsus to ignominy and defeat, deserted by friends and covered by the sands of time, not even a footnote in history. Yet Paul closes with triumphant words, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith."
Today Paul is one of the central figures of the human race, next to Jesus perhaps the most important man who ever lived. Twenty centuries later his immortal words echo through mighty halls of splendor, "Love is patient, love is kind...love never fails." Today Nero is a mere footnote in history. Today people name their sons Paul, and their dogs Nero. That is the power of the Word of God that can never be imprisoned. That is the invincible power that now stands ready within us. That is the supernatural nature of Christianity.
@ copyright 2000 by Scott H. Northrup. All rights reserved.