At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

2 Timothy 4: 16 18

One would have hoped that the great Apostle Paul would have finished his ministry with a flourish, pointing to great successes. This letter to Timothy is more of a lament than an adulation.  The church, particularly in Rome, was suffering terribly because in AD 64 the great fire destroyed large parts of Rome, probably set by the Emperor Nero.  He blamed it on the Christians who were then hounded and persecuted terribly.  Some think accusations were brought by the Jews.  Many Christians were killed without trials and without human mercy.

Paul was arrested and brought to Rome to stand trial for what had happened. There was no one to defend him.  At issue was probably the spread of the Gospel among the Romans and the Jews who lived there, a fact that raised the ire of the Jews.  The Jews hated Paul and the Romans had little regard for him at all.  It could be that because he was a Roman citizen he was not killed outright.

While in these straits Paul wrote this second  letter to Timothy.  He was placed in chains but not killed just yet. He wrote, “I was delivered from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

Not long after that he was martyred by the Romans, under Nero, probably in AD 67.  Within three years the Romans, in AD 70, destroyed the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, thus weakening the Jews in Rome and elsewhere beyond words.  By then our beloved brother, Paul, was enjoying his eternal rest, there in glory with his Lord Jesus and all the saints.

May the Lord grant us mercy and strength to fight the battle as did Paul.  There is no higher purpose on earth for any human being.