And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lying—and a true and faithful teacher of the Gentiles.  1 Timothy 2:7

Timothy’s father was a Gentile, his grandfather on that side a Gentile also, so Timothy is by blood a mixture of Jew and Gentile, even though his faith line is decidedly Jewish, through his Jewish mother and grandmother.  Remember, this is Turkey, not Palestine!

Even though that should be noted, Paul did not dwell on it. He did, however declare that he, a ritually pure Jewish Pharisee, also born in Turkey, was called by Jesus Christ to preach the Gospel of salvation to Gentiles. I note that in the three cases in which we read of Paul’s conversion in the New Testament each emphasizes this calling – to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ among the Gentiles. This must have impressed Timothy for he had Gentile “blood” through his father and grandfather.  And he was born and raised in Gentile territory.

Having said that, Paul always sought out Jews first wherever he went to invite them to receive Jesus Christ.  However, his basic calling was to the Gentiles, a quite amazing calling for a person who was raised to despise Gentiles and whose early life was given to harming Gentile believers. God is a God of wonders.

So, Paul stood beside young Timothy, a Jew/Greek, as his partner in bringing the Gospel to the Gentiles also.  Paul is sending Timothy back into Ephesus where there was a thriving church made up of both Jews and Gentiles. Timothy related well to each community of faith. And so the Gospel spread throughout Turkey and Europe, exemplified by the joint ministry of Paul and Timothy, the recipient of this amazing letter.