Preach the Word. Preach and teach purely. Care for people, but be no “respecter of persons,” bowing to their appetites, bending to their whims.
The context of the epistle pericope this week is false teaching and persecution. Turns out that all who preach and teach the Gospel in its purity can expect persecution. As my former colleague of blessed memory, Rod Rosenbladt, would say to me from time to time when he had to field criticism: “Where there is the Gospel, there is also the cross.” I am sure the saying was not original to him, as I have heard it from others as well. But the saying is more than a superficial cliché, synonymous with the joke that, “No good deed goes unpunished.”
It is a theologically rich statement, as it plays on two valances of meaning. On the one hand, it summarizes Paul’s point to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3 and 4: People will not abide the strange teaching of alien righteousness in the blood of Christ. They prefer teaching and preaching which satisfies their itching ears (2 Timothy 4:4), that excuses sin rather than demanding and delivering Christ’s blood to forgive it, that puts a premium on human work and striving rather than the sufficiency of Christ’s atoning work, that substitutes human theology for truly divine religion (see James 1:26-27). Where there is the Gospel, expect to be ignored, mocked, ridiculed, or sanctioned by authorities (political or religious!).
On the other hand, where there is the Gospel, there cannot but be the cross (not meaning persecution of a righteous contemporary prophet or preacher, but rather the actual, historical executioner’s instrument on which our Lord Jesus hung and died). For the cross is the center of the Gospel. The cross is the element that Christian preaching proclaims for the salvation of hearers, the cross that saved the world (refer to John 3:16 and Galatians 6:14). Hear Paul’s charge to Timothy in these verses, and listen to it as your calling too, preacher. Preach the Word. Preach and teach purely. Care for people, but be no “respecter of persons,” bowing to their appetites, bending to their whims. Preach the Word, through which God in Christ does His work.
Revel in that context as you consider the centerpiece of the pericope between 2 Timothy 3-4 this week. No doubt the core of the message Paul delivers to the pastor, and that you as preacher can fruitfully deliver to your people, is the description and theology of the inspired word of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17), the very content Paul tells Timothy (and you) to deliver. One obvious pitfall to avoid is to turn your pulpit time into a theology lesson. As important as it is for your people to confidently receive the Word as inspired, diagnosing and curing spiritual sickness and death takes time, and you do not want to waste any with a lecture on inspiration or inerrancy or infallibility or a combination thereof. The same goes for just a general presentation on the doctrine of the Word, in the sort of way that would spin wheels talking about God’s Word rather than delivering it.
Your sermon craft will be helped if you observe the dynamic of law and gospel in this pericope (as with every text!). First, notice that the Word of God is a gift. That is gospel talk. Next, see how the Word in the hands of a preacher like Timothy is to be applied for correction and reproof, for teaching and training in righteousness, which has its end in thoroughly equipping the man of God for his callings. These things are law talk.
Preach the Word, through which God in Christ does His work.
What does the Word of the Law do? Let us focus on just one of the things the Word is useful for according to 2 Timothy 3:16. “Reproof” (ESV, RSV, KJV, NASB), “rebuking” (NIV), “to make us realize what is wrong in our lives” (NLT) all translate the Greek word elegmon, derived from the words elenchos and elenchō (the verb Paul uses in 2 Timothy 4:2 which the ESV translates “reprove”), a word used in contexts of law and argumentation that generally means to refute, to accuse, cross-examine, or scrutinize. A Byzantine lexicon from the twelfth century, however, claims the term ultimately comes from two other words, one of them being “sunlight.” In other words, rather than focusing on shades of shame or being merely a word from the technical manual of speech and debate, we are invited to consider the word as letting the sunshine in, shedding light on the situation, eliminating darkness so you can see what is really there.
I like that etymology, and I hope you do too. Etymology does not guarantee meaning, but in this case, it offers a helpful picture for what the Word actually does (and it might be a good explanation for any of your hearers who ask what “reproof” means, which is likely not a word they hear and say every day!). The light exposes our shape. The light exposes where the weak points are. The light exposes the truth. Not just what is wrong in other peoples’ lives or even our own, but the light shows us what is right as well; what God has created us to be. And just as the source of sunlight is the sun, so the source of the light of God’s Word is God’s Son, the Word of God, who is a Who, not just a what. He is the Word who announces, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).
All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for reproof. We need not read this as a finger-shaking “shame on you.” It is law. But it is law from the light of the world who moves you to see who you are in yourself, where the weak spots are, where the lack is, where the need exists. It exposes, leaving nothing in the shade of shame, but shining into every crack and corner, so you may come honestly before God, facing the facts of your need with the nothing you have to bring of your own righteousness. And that shining light shows you, as well, who you are in Him. Where you are weak, He is strong. Where you lack, He is your plenty. Where your need exists, Christ fills, particularly that need for a righteousness not your own. “Here, take mine,” says Jesus.
And it is only with Christ’s righteousness that the man of God can be complete, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:17). Your own will just not do.
Take comfort, preacher, in the fact that the light of Christ has shone on you to expose your own cracks, your own weaknesses, and your own sin. Take comfort in the honesty the Great Physician draws out of you with the light of His Word, in order to diagnose your lack, your need. Take comfort in His tender teaching and reproof, His correction, and His training you in a righteousness that is not your own. It is His righteousness, Christ’s righteousness. Take comfort in the glorious gift of His righteousness which has become your own by trusting Him, not only with a diagnosis, but with the cure. The light of the world has given you His Word as a gift to save you. And He has given you His Word to proclaim so He may save others.
The Word you proclaim from the sacred writings, the scriptures (2 Timothy 3:15-16) will deliver the Word made flesh, Jesus Himself, to those who also need the light. Jesus, the Word of God, is the Jesus of sound teaching (2 Timothy 4:3) who is better than myths that satisfy itching ears. Paul is convinced Jesus is very present in his conversation with Timothy (2 Timothy 4:1), and the awe that immanence inspires is what motivates the preacher to preach, just as it does the prophet to prophesy (Amos 3:8).
Direct your hearer to Christ’s real presence at the baptismal font and in the Supper you share in the Eucharist. Direct your hearer to the real presence of Christ in the scriptures which deliver the light that exposes, the light that enlightens, and, as he underscores at 2 Timothy 4:1, the Christ who judges and the Christ who has come in His Kingdom to draw your hearers to Himself. The King Christ’s crown is a crown of thorns. The King Christ’s throne is a cross of wood. The King Christ’s glory is the darkness of Good Friday. The judge of the living and the dead (2 Timothy 4:1) knows a thing or two about death and life. He is dead and risen. That is gospel to be received by faith. So, never forget, where the Gospel is there will always be the cross. Give them the Christ of the cross, and you will give them the Gospel.
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Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out 1517’s resources on 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you preaching 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5.
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!
The Pastor’s Workshop-Check out all the great preaching resources from our friends at the Pastor’s Workshop!
