There’s a mystic about the image of the High Plains Drifter. You know, the character that Clint Eastwood made famous. That lone dude who roams the land alone. Relying on no one. Solitary. Self-sufficient. Bringing law and order to every town along the trail. There’s an image of the Apostle Paul that’s a lot like that. Rolling into the city. Kicking butt. Taking names. All in the name of Jesus, of course. Then mysteriously moving on to the next town as everyone wonders, “Who was that man?”
There’s only one problem with that picture of Paul. It’s not true! He was no Lone Ranger. He was no High Plains Drifter. He was rarely alone on his divine assignments. You’ve probably heard of his partners, guys like Barnabas, Silas, Timothy and Titus. But there’s another “go to” guy that doesn’t get the headlines. Tychicus. In several key situations, the apostle counts on Mr. T to get the job done. This is one of those instances. “So that you may also know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will tell you everything” (v21).
Call him the Mail Man. Because he always delivers.
Let’s set the scene once again. Paul’s locked up in a Roman joint waiting for his appeal to be heard by Caesar. He’s just gotten a surprise visit from Epaphras, the dude who planted a multisite church in Colossae, Hierapolis and Laodicea. A group of spiritual hucksters have duped Jesus’ followers there into believing a lie. They’ve fooled folks into thinking Jesus might be good but He’s not God. According to these goobers, to ensure your place in God’s kingdom, you must save yourself by following a complicated list of religious rules and regs. After writing a letter correcting the Colossians, he fires off another one to his friends in Ephesus, just 100 miles down the road. The apostle knows that if we truly know our identity in Jesus, who He is and what He’s done for us, we won’t fall buy any spiritual snake oil.
In a dark prison cell, Paul licks the envelopes of these letters and hands them to Tychicus. The Mail Man. He counts on Mr. T to deliver these crucial communications. It will be Tychicus who will tell the Ephesians of the apostle’s situation. “So that you may also know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will tell you everything” (v21). Writing under the influence of God’s Spirit, the apostle instructs and encourages his readers. Meanwhile Tychicus will tell the folks in Ephesus how Paul is doing, what he looks like and his hopes for release.
Paul gives the Mail Man quite a reference. He gives him the apostolic seal of approval by calling him “the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord” (v21). When you’ve got the Paul telling folks you’re legit, then you certainly must be the real deal. He makes it clear to the Ephesians that he loves him some Tychicus. As a matter of fact, he loves him like a brother. This is a great reminder of just what it means to be a member of God’s family. Paul and his handpicked courier come from completely different backgrounds. The apostle grew up as a hardcore Pharisee in Tarsus. He admits to being a former first-team all star in the Jewish big leagues (Phil 3:5-6). There’s a better than even chance that Tychicus is a Gentile from Ephesus. We see a couple of clues in Scripture. First of all, he’s from Asia (Acts 20:4). In that same verse, Dr. Luke describes Mr. T and Trophimus as some sort of Asian Dynamic Duo. Back in Jerusalem, things went nuclear when Jewish hardliners thought the non-Jewish Trophimus went to “Hebrew Only” section of the temple (Acts 21:28-29). So his buddy Tychicus is also probably a Gentile follower of Jesus.
Let that sink in for just a moment. Paul and Tychicus, the former Pharisee and the foreign non-Jew, are best buds. Or in the apostle’s words, “the beloved brother” (v21). Despite all of the racial and religious discrimination that was a big part of the day, Paul loves this dude like a brother. A brother in Christ. Do all your friends look like you? Do they all have the same background? Jesus is up to something crazy in His kingdom. He’s busting down walls between races, religions, cultures, genders and nations (Eph 2:13-14). He’s making insiders out of outsiders. He’s bringing folks who are far apart and making them family. He did it for Paul and Tychicus. Let Him do it for you too. You can almost see the big bear hug between these two before the Mail Man hit the road. “Love ya, bro.”
The apostle also wants the Ephesians to know what an awesome servant of Jesus their letter carrier is. He’s “the faithful minister” (21). While we don’t know exactly what Tychicus’ ministry is, he seems to be some sort of special projects guy. Whenever something big comes up, the Mail Man is on Paul’s short list. And we see why. He’s faithful. That means a couple of things. He’s placed his faith in who Jesus is and what He’s done for him. Tychicus is a man of faith. It also describes his never-give-up-never-say-die devotion to his assignment. When the going gets tough, he gets going. Paul sends him to Crete to relieve Titus (Titus 1:5; 3:12). And in the months before his death, the apostle sends him to Ephesus one more time (2Tim 4:12). There’s no doubt that’s why the man from Tarsus counts on the Mail Man. Because he always delivers.
Flip back a few years and you’ll see when these two friends got acquainted. During Paul’s second missionary journey, he was collecting money for the church in Jerusalem that had fallen on very hard times. As each church contributed to the cause, they also sent along men to accompany the apostle for security and accountability. “Sopater the Berean, son of Pyrrhus, accompanied him; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Seconds; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and the Asians, Tychicus and Trophimus (Acts 20:4). So the T-Man was part of the bigger posse that traveled with Paul as he delivered the financial support from the churches of Asia, Macedonia and Greece to the home office in Jerusalem. Like his mentor, Tychicus rarely traveled alone. Here he makes the trip to Crete with Artemas. Previously he rolled with Paul’s big posse to Jerusalem. On the assignment to Ephesus and Colossae, the runaway slave Onesimus was his partner (Col 4:9).
As I mentioned earlier, Tychicus is the courier who delivers not just this note to Ephesus but letters to the church at Colossae as well as one to Paul’s buddy Philemon. The apostle gives him a very similar glowing recommendation to the Colossians. “Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts” (Col 4:3-4). When the Apostle Paul vouches for you not once but twice, you must be the real deal.
Do you have a brother or sister in Christ that you can lean on? Someone that you can count on? Someone who’ll always deliver? And are there folks who can count on you? Are you a “beloved brother?” Are you a “faithful minister?” Are you someone who will always deliver? Following Jesus is a team sport. Paul and his boy Mr. T are proof of that.
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