The Reluctant Rep

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus” (2Tim 1:1).

Guards lower you through a hole in the ground. Welcome to your new home. A dungeon. Your the newest inmate in one of two cells inside Caesar’s infamous Mamertine Prison. Cramped. Cold. Dank. If that’s not depressing enough, this facility isn’t for longterm incarceration. This is Death Row. The Green Mile. Rome sends criminals here not long before their execution. 

Welcome to the last days of the Apostle Paul. And he knows it. It wasn’t that long ago that the man from Tarsus spent five long years as an innocent man. The last two years, he was in custody here in Rome but that was VERY different. He was under house arrest, basically living in an apartment and able to tell visitors all about Jesus (Acts 28:30). Fast forward a few years and he’s back in Rome. This time as a dead man walking. 

We don’t know much about Paul’s own time on Death Row with the exception of one document. He wrote a letter to one of his friends, a pastor named Timothy. A man so special to the apostle that he calls him “my beloved child” (2Tim 1:2). The man from Tarsus writes Tim for two reasons. One, he desperately wants to see him before he dies. Two, he wants to encourage his spiritual son one final time. 

This is a powerful reminder that this epistle isn’t some inspirational, sweet-bye-and-bye-pie-in-the-sky religious fairy tale. Don’t get me wrong, the words we read are inspired by God Himself and an important in learning what it means to follow Jesus (2Tim 3:16-17). But this is a REAL letter from a REAL person facing REAL problems. And Paul makes it clear that in the face of it all, he has a very REAL Savior. 

Check out the opening line. “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus” (v1). He’s on special assignment for God, spreading the amazing invitation to eternal life found only in Jesus. Hard to believe since he was a killer of Christ’s followers some 30 years ago. From murderer to missionary. From assassin to apostle. Let’s just say he was a reluctant representative for the resurrected Rabbi/Carpenter from Galilee.

His execution may be the elephant in the dungeon but that’s not what the apostle wants to talk about. He wants to talk about Jesus. He wants to talk about His Savior. In the presence of certain death, this reluctant rep holds tight to the promise of life.

As he did in his previous note (1Tim 1:1), Paul tells Tim once again that Jesus handpicked him as “an apostle” (v1). He uses a term that we’ve turned exclusively into a Bible word. But the Greco-Roman world was loaded with apostles back in the first century. It’s a representative who has the full authority of the one sending him. It’s a compound word describing someone separated from the crowd for a very specific purpose. 

In that culture, an apostle has so much power that it’s as if the one who sent them is standing there instead. Think power of attorney. There’s one story of an apostle divorcing his master’s wife while the boss was away on business. That’s the kind of clout they carried. Jesus selected a dozen apostles to represent Him wherever they went. And wherever they went, He gave them His full authority as His ambassadors. When they were there, it was just like He was there. 

So what’s the big diff between disciples and apostles? Aren’t these words interchangeable? Think of them as two sides of the same coin. Better yet, descriptions of before and after. A disciple follows. An apostle separates. A disciple moves closer. An apostle hits the road. Notice the flow for the Twelve. Jesus handpicks them to stay at His side for three years. After His resurrection, He sends them away on divine assignment.

That’s all well and good for guys like Matthew, Peter, and Paul, but what’s that got to do with you and me? We’re all followers of Christ. That means spending time at His feet, listening to His teaching, and learning from the Master. But it doesn’t stop there. At some point, He sends us. At some point, we have to go. At some point, we take His incredible message of grace to a lost an dying world. As believers, we’re all lower case “d” disciples and lower case “a” apostles. Jesus wants me to follow Him so that I will go for Him.

You may be wondering how Paul became one of the twelve special messengers of grace. The short story is that Jesus personally picked the apostle formerly known as Saul to fill Judas Iscariot’s spot on the roster. Yeah, the story of Judas didn’t end well. Despite spending three years in the presence of Christ, he not only embezzled ministry funds but eventually sold out our Savior for a handful of silver before committing suicide. It’s never good when your name becomes the ultimate putdown for betrayal.

It’s not like Paul’s name was at the top of anybody’s list to fill Judas’ vacancy. First of all, he wasn’t Paul in those days. Everybody knew him as Saul. Before Christ got His holy hands on him, the young stud from Tarsus thought he was pretty hot stuff. A member of the Jewish all-star team (Phil 3:4-6). He studied under the legendary Gamaliel(Acts 22:3), which is the religious equivalent to a personal internship for astrophysics student under Stephen Hawking. 

But Saul’s run up the Hebrew fast track screeched to a halt one day outside of Damascus. He was on one of his infamous black ops missions to wipe out another batch of believers when the resurrected Jesus blindsided him (Acts 9:1-21). Change of plan, big guy. Instead of Jewish persecutor of Christ's followers, you’re gonna be His apostle to non-Jews. Who says God doesn’t have a sense of humor? Forget arguing about the identity of the Fifth Beatle. Being the Twelfth Apostle is a MUCH bigger deal.

Christ would use His reluctant rep to help change the world. Saul becomes Paul and makes several tours telling people all about Jesus. He ends up writing 13 books making up almost 25% of the New Testament. But he certainly doesn’t let it go to his head. As a matter of fact, his role totally humbles him. Follow the progression. Chronologically, Paul calls himself the “least of the apostles” (1Cor 15:9). He then writes to his Ephesian friends how he’s the “least of all the saints” (Eph 3:8). And in the prequel to this epistle, he tells Tim that he might be an apostle but he’s the number one sinner on the planet (1Tim 1:15). Bill Hybels calls it descending into greatness. In other words, the more our Savior got ahold of Paul, the more Paul knew he needed a Savior. 

If Paul’s sure of one thing, it’s that this all went down “by the will of God” (v1). He didn’t exactly come up with the idea of being an apostle all on his own. He’s not self-appointed. He had no intent to follow some apostolic career path. When prospective employers asked him where he saw himself in 15 years, he didn’t say, “An apostle of a resurrected Rabbi/Carpenter from Galilee, traveling around the Mediterranean rim spreading His message of grace, and eventually thrown in the slammer and executed because of it.” The up-and-coming Hebrew hotshot no doubt had his eyes set at a seat on the Sanhedrin. Let’s just say, Jesus had another plan.

We tend to get all goofy about God’s will. Could He lead you to do something incredibly specific like open an orphanage for left-handed Lybian librarians? You betcha. Could He call you to particular place of ministry such as pastor or worship leader? Absolutely. But God’s desire is that you and I desire Him. His intent is for us to do what He says. His purpose for us to shine His light and spread His salt wherever we go. You know, just like Paul is doing. You can bet if we focus on spending time with Jesus and obeying the commands revealed in Scripture, God will make sure we’re headed in the right direction. He’s good like that.

Paul tells Tim that his role as Christ’s rep is not only God’s will but “according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus” (v1). The Son of God is all about life. Look no further than John’s Gospel for a handful of highlights. Whoever places their trust in Him won’t die “but have eternal life” (Jn 3:16). He’s the “bread of life” (Jn 6:35). Whoever follows Him has the “light of life” (Jn 8:12). Jesus tells Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life” (Jn 11:25). He makes the exclusive claim, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (Jn 14:6). Christ goes so far as to say that He came so that we would not only have a ho-hum existence but a filled-and-overflowing life (Jn 10:10).

The apostle is holding onto “the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus” (v1) with both hands. Remember where he is. The Mamertine Prison. Death Row. The Green Mile. Paul knows full well his days are numbered (2Tim 4:6). This is nothing new for Paul. During his first prison bid, he stared death in the face and reassured the Philippians, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil 1:21). As the old Gaither song says, “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.” In the face of certain death, he leans hard on the promise of life.

So what do we take away from the first verse in Paul’s last letter? 

First, it’s a reminder that Jesus sends each one of us with His amazing message of grace. 

Second, let’s stay smack dab in the center of God’s will. That starts with wanting more of Him while living a life of obedience to His Word. 

Third, remember that Jesus is the source of abundant spiritual life and He’s given it to us forever. 

Finally, we all have a date with death on this side of eternity…unless of course Jesus decides to come back first and I’m WAY cool with that! The death rate still stands at 100%. 

When that day comes, take a lesson from Christ’s reluctant rep. In the face of certain death, lean hard on the promise of life.