The Despicable Duo

“Among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme” (1Tim 1:20).

There have been some great two-man teams in history. The Muppets have Bert and Ernie. Stars of the cartoon world are Tom and Jerry, Fred and Barney, Bugs and Daffy. Musically there’s Lennon and McCartney. Hey, where would Oates be without Hall or Garfunkel without Simon? The list goes on. Thelma and Louise. Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock. Holmes and Watson. Mantle and Maris. And of course there’s the Dynamic Duo of Batman and Robin. 

But allow Paul to introduce you to a pair you may never heard of before. Meet partners in crime who did quite a lot of damage to Ephesian church. “Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme” (v20). You can add them to the list of folks like Bonnie and Clyde, Frank and Jesse James. Call them the Despicable Duo.

Paul has already kicked these two goobers to the curb but their influence remains at the church in Ephesus. With the apostle on the road to Macedonia, he installs his spiritual son Timothy as pastor of this growing megachurch. At the top of Tim’s to-do list is cleaning up the theological mess made by a team of false teachers (1Tim 1:3-7). They’ve spread a false gospel that’s really no gospel at all. Anything less than the Good News is bad news. 

Tim is just the man for the job. Back in the day, people actually prophesied and predicted a day like this would come for the young man from Lystra (1Tim 1:18). Hymenaeus and Alexander failed to pay attention to the warning lights on the dashboard of their consciences and slammed their faith on the rocks (1Tim 1:19). Think the Titanic was a tragedy? Forget Jack and Rose. James Cameron make a disaster flick about Hymenaeus and Alexander.

So just exactly who are these guys? And why did Paul give them the right foot of fellowship out the front door? John MacArthur believes this not-so-dynamic duo were actually pastors or at least prominent leaders in the fellowship. The first step in extinguishing the Ephesian dumpster fire required removing these knuckleheads from their position of influence. Why else would Paul leave Tim specific instructions and qualifications for new leaders in the church (1Tim 3:1-13)? Clearly, the Despicable Duo would not meet this biblical standard of leadership. Not even close.

So just what did Hymenaeus do to get tossed? Paul links this rascal with another false teacher named Philetus in his second letter to Tim. They messed with people’s heads by  “saying the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some” (2Tim 2:17-18). Imagine you’re a brand new believer and someone says you’ve missed the resurrection of the dead. You’d be upset. VERY upset! 

While we don’t have the audio recording or a podcast of what these guys were saying, it’s yet another VERY loud warning about handling God’s Word. To manipulate His truth is to speak ill of our holy God is blasphemy. Just so you know, this kind of goofball teaching is still out there today. Crap like blood moons. The end of the world is next Tuesday. Jesus wants your pastor to have a new private jet. That garbage needs to be stopped. Right here. Right now. You see, there’s still a need for 21st century Timothies.

While Hymenaeus gets top billing, don’t forget his slimy sidekick Alexander. You can bet this is the very same malicious metalworker the apostle mentions over in 2 Timothy. “Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds” (2Tim 4:14). He may have been part of the original attack on Paul and his team in Ephesus. Craftsmen who made big bucks in the pagan idol business freaked out when people stopped buying their products and started worshiping Jesus (Acts 19:23-27). It was a whole scene. Riots. Mob violence. Think Ferguson or Baltimore. Dr. Luke mentions a man named Alexander who tries to speak, but the protestors will have nothing of it (Acts 19:33-34). Is it the same dude? We really don’t know. 

One thing we do know is these two were “handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme” (v20). Don’t misunderstand what’s going down here. Paul hasn’t sent them to Hell for the devil to torture them for eternity. God is still in complete control of Satan. Remember how the prince of darkness had to ask God’s permission to target a human (Job 1:6-12). The Almighty isn’t freaking out about what Satan is going to do to Hymenaeus and Alexander. 

That’s because this is all about restoration. This is all about hoping these men wake up and smell the coffee. It’s the point of church discipline. A lot of people get their undies in a bundle when someone even mentions it. That’s not to say some churches aren’t heavy handed with their authority. You may have heard recently of the ridiculous story where a pastor with an itchy trigger finger kicked out a bedridden 92-year-old woman for not attending or tithing. You can be sure that picking on MeMaw when she’s down and out is NOT what Jesus has in mind. If you’ve been on the receiving end of spiritual abuse by a church, that’s wrong. WAY wrong. 

Meanwhile back in Ephesus, Paul ultimately leaves it to Christ to judge and punish the Despicable Duo. The purpose isn’t punishment. God says that’s His job (Dt 32:25; Rom 12:19). The goal isn’t a life sentence hoping you never see their ugly mugs again. It’s not “get out and stay out.” It’s restoration. Being excommunicated from the church clearly leaves us exposed to Satan’s attacks. 

The apostle has talked about this before. In one of his notes to the Corinthian church, Paul busts their chops for tolerating some guy sleeping with his stepmom. Instead of looking the other way, he tells them, “You are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord” (1Cor 5:5). Did you see that? “So that his spirit may be saved.” There’s hope that he’ll return to the fellowship in the end. There’s still hope for these Ephesian blasphemy brothers. And there’s always hope for anyone being disciplined. Being handed over to Satan can do that.

The apostle is also protecting the church. A key part of a shepherd’s job description is dealing with threats. Believers are always better off without troublemakers like Hymenaeus and Alexander spewing their spiritual snake oil in Sunday school and small group Bible studies. It’s addition by subtraction. Listen, I dread church discipline like a root canal. BUT root canals are still necessary for good oral health. There are times when church discipline is necessary for good spiritual health. 

When the doctor finds cancer, he must cut it out. Paul had to surgically remove the tumor of these two from the church before it spread any further. The Despicable Duo was getting in the way of Jesus’ followers being able to, well, follow Jesus. They were unable to keep the main thing the main thing. We need to be VERY careful not to Bogart the Lord’s spotlight for our pet projects. 

So what does this distant dustup in a first century Asian church have to do with you and me? Everything. Have you ever needed to correct anyone? Better yet, have you ever been corrected? Spiritual brothers and sisters must be able to have hard conversations with each other, especially when they see someone speeding toward danger. The Bible calls it “speaking the truth in love” (Eph 4:15). Many times speaking the truth is the most loving thing we can do. I’m really hoping someone will say something to me long before I get thrown out the front door like the Despicable Duo.