Philippians 2:19-30 (Timothy and Mr. E)

Hey guys, we have a long passage today so let's read it as a whole, and then delve into it.

"19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. 20 For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know Timothy's proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel. 23 I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me, 24 and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.

25 I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need, 26 for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. 27 Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. 28 I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. 29 So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men, 30 for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me." ~ Philippians 2:19-30

When I read passages like this, I come away remembering that Paul was a real person, and that the Philippian church was a real church. Paul is telling the believers at this church that he is sending Timothy and Epaphroditus. I have trouble spelling that, so we are just gonna call him Mr. E.

Lets' talk about Timothy first. Timothy was Paul's protege. Paul had been a mentor to Timothy throughout the last few years. He was training Timothy to follow in his footsteps as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

We can see from the passage that Paul really cared about Timothy and thought highly of him. Paul thought of Timothy as a son in the faith.

As for Mr. E, he was also a follower of Jesus, and Paul calls him a fellow worker and soldier. We see that he was healed of some type of illness, and now is ready to go out and minister.

There really isn't much more information in the verses, but I think there is a message behind them. The message we can find is this: they were real people. Paul was a real person, with real friends, writing to a real church. We often place Paul and everyone else in the bible in a world of ideology (look it up) where they were perfect, always followed Jesus, and never had any friends. We think that all they ever cared about was their faith and although it was their main purpose in life, they still had other people to encourage them.

The take home message is this. Don't think that you have to be a perfect person with no friends who spends their lives alone on the street preaching the gospel. Be a real person. And never forget how important it is to have friends to help you along the way. ~ the disciple Jesus loves.