June 6, 2023: 2 Timothy 1:11 - Paul - a Preacher, Apostle, and a Teacher of the Gentiles

“…to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.” - 2 Timothy 1:11

The apostle Paul was nearing the end of his life, and he knew it. When he was once again imprisoned in Rome, he was encouraging Timothy, a young pastor whom Paul was teaching in the faith. He had previously told Timothy in this chapter not to be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ and to share with Paul in the sufferings for the gospel. What an example we have with Paul of a life changed by Jesus Christ. He was a Jewish man who was born in the Roman city of Tarsus. Paul was not just any Jewish man but one of the Pharisees, a sect of religious leaders in the synagogues. Saul fervently persecuted the early Christians, including Stephen, who was stoned to death for his faith in Jesus Christ. Before Paul’s conversion to Christ, he was known by the name of Saul, and of Saul the Bible tells us:

“Now Saul was consenting to his [Stephen’s] death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.” (Acts 8:1-3)

The Bible then tells us of Saul’s desire to go and find more Christians, who at that time were people who were called followers of “the Way”:

“Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if the found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.” (Acts 9:1-2)

We are then told of Saul’s conversion to Christianity when he journeyed along the road to Damascus to accomplish his mission with the men who were traveling with him, when :

“…suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ And he said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ Then the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’” (Acts 9:3-5)

Did you notice what Jesus said to Saul? Jesus said, “…why are you persecuting Me?” Persecution of the Christians was a persecution of Jesus. As Jesus had previously told His apostles:

“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates Me hates My Father also. If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father. But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’” (Jesus Christ; John 15:18-25)

As Saul had witnessed the stoning of Stephen because of Stephen’s love for Jesus and Saul was now journeying to find other Christians to persecute, Jesus’ words were already being fulfilled. Let’s examine some other things that Jesus told His apostles and disciples would happen to them because of their love for Him:

“These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them. And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.” (Jesus Christ; John 16:1-4)

As Saul journeyed on that road to Damascus, he must have felt that he was doing God’s work in persecuting Christians, but something happened to him that he did not expect: Jesus Christ stopped him in his tracks. After Jesus asked him why was he persecuting Him, Saul had asked Jesus what he wanted him to do, and Jesus told him to go into the city and then would be told what to do from there. After Saul rose up from the ground, when he opened his eyes, he was blind; he had been blinded by the light of Jesus. The men who were with Saul had heard a voice speaking to Saul but they had seen nothing. They then led Saul into Damascus, where Saul met a disciple named Ananias, whom the Lord had told that Saul of Tarsus was coming to him and that Ananias should put his hand on Saul to restore his sight. Ananias pushed back because he had heard about this Saul of Tarsus and how he had persecuted the Christians, but the Lord said to him:

“Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.” (Jesus Christ; Acts 9:15)

Ananias did as Jesus told him to do, and when he found Saul, he laid his hands on him and when he did, Saul was filled with the Holy Spirit and his eyes were opened. Saul was then baptized. The Bible tells us that Saul then immediately began preaching in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. People who knew him or who had heard of him prior to his conversion were amazed, saying:

“‘Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?’ But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ. (Acts 9:21-22)

Can you imagine seeing this transformation on a man that hated people who followed Jesus to then change to preaching that Jesus is the Son of God? While some people were amazed by it, others were extremely dismayed. We are then told of the Jews’ plot to kill Saul, but God prevented this from happening, for Saul was on a mission from God to tell not only the Jews of the good news of the saving power of Jesus Christ, but also the Gentiles, the non-Jews. After he had gone with Barnabus to the synagogue at Antioch to preach to the Jews, the Bible tells us that the Gentiles begged for them to preach to them about Jesus. Paul and Barnabas told the Jews that they could not be justified (saved) by keeping the law of Moses and that only Jesus could save them, but when the Jews saw all the Gentiles wanting to hear about Jesus, the Jews:

“…were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul. Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, ‘It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, that you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.’” (Acts 13:45-47)

Paul suffered many things in his life as he carried out his mission from Jesus Christ, just as Jesus said he would. Paul would later write about one thing in particular that caused him to suffer:

“And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet [beat] me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

We don’t know what this thing was that Paul wrote about, but it sounds to me that this one thing caused Paul to keep his ego in check, and not only that, it caused him to rely on Jesus Christ when he was weak. Christ was Paul’s strength, and Paul definitely needed that when he was in prison, in his old age, writing this letter to Timothy.

How many of us believers in Christ today are like Paul, boasting in our infirmities, reproaches, needs, persecutions, and in our distresses, for Christ’s sake? As not only Paul but many of the apostles and other people in the Bible demonstrated to us, there is a purpose in our suffering: our faith in Jesus Christ is sufficient, and He is our strength when we are weak, and not only that, His strength is made perfect in it. When we finally get to that place in our lives when it’s just us and Jesus, He is our everything, and He is all that we need.

On the road to Damascus, Paul could have told Jesus that he didn’t believe in Him and that he would not do what Jesus told him to do, but he didn’t. He believed in Jesus, and he was willing to do all that Jesus told him to do. I thank our Lord Jesus that He chose Paul, a preacher, apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles, for he is a powerful example of what a life changed by Jesus Christ looks like. Paul truly is an example to all of us that God can use anyone who is willing to share the good news of salvation through belief in Jesus Christ, even those we thought could never be used.

“‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the LORD. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.’” (Isaiah 55:8-9) ✝️