2 Timothy 3.11a-Paul Reminds Timothy of the Persecutions and Sufferings He Experienced at Antioch, Iconium and Lystra
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Wednesday July 22, 2015
Second Timothy: Second Timothy 3:11a-Paul Reminds Timothy of the Persecutions and Sufferings He Experienced at Antioch, Iconium and Lystra
Lesson # 74
2 Timothy 3:10 Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, 11 persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me! (NASB95)
“Persecutions, and sufferings” is composed of the following: (1) articular dative masculine plural form of the noun diōgmos (διωγμός), “persecutions” (2) articular dative neuter plural form of the noun pathēma (πάθημα), “sufferings.”
The noun diōgmos is articular, in the plural and means “all of my persecutions” since the word pertains to the suffering or pressure, mental, moral, or physical, which authorities, individuals, or crowds inflict on others.
This suffering or pressure occurs especially for opinions or beliefs, with a view to their subjection by recantation, silencing, or, as a last resort, execution.
Here the word speaks of the persecutions Paul endured while in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra.
The noun diōgmos is also functioning as a dative direct object which indicates that Timothy had first-hand knowledge of these persecutions because he witnessed them as a disciple of Paul.
The noun pathēma is articular, in the plural and means “all of my sufferings” since it pertains to the undeserved suffering the apostle Paul endured in the cities of Antioch, Iconium and Lystra.
The noun pathēma is also functioning as a dative direct object which indicates that Timothy had first-hand knowledge of this undeserved suffering because he witnessed them as a disciple of Paul.
Second Timothy 3:10 You, however, in contrast to them, faithfully followed as a disciple my teaching, my conduct, my purpose, my faith, my patience, my divine-love, my perseverance, 11 all of my persecutions, all of my sufferings such as experienced by me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra. What persecutions, I endured! In fact, the Lord rescued me out of each and every one of them! (My translation)
Paul continues his thought from verse 10 by asserting that Timothy faithfully followed as his disciple all of his persecutions and all of his sufferings.
When Paul speaks of “persecutions” he is referring to the suffering or pressure, mental, moral, or physical, which authorities, individuals, or crowds inflicted on him in the cities of Pisidian Antioch, Iconium and Lystra.
Timothy had first-hand knowledge of these persecutions because he witnessed them as a disciple of Paul.
When Paul speaks of “sufferings” he is referring to the undeserved suffering he experienced and endured in the cities of Antioch, Iconium and Lystra.
Timothy had first-hand knowledge of this undeserved suffering because he witnessed them as a disciple of Paul.
The Bible teaches that God uses undeserved suffering to advance His children to greater spiritual growth.
The believer must experience undeserved suffering since it is through undeserved suffering that the believer is conformed to the image of Christ.
The power of God in our lives is never more noticeable or conspicuous as when we are suffering, going through adversities and even going through the process of dying and when self has been crucified then the life of Jesus can be manifested in the believer.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 illustrates this Biblical principle that divine power is manifested in human weakness.
Undeserved suffering gives the believer an opportunity to appropriate by faith his union and identification with Christ where all the believer’s spiritual blessings and infinite wealth reside and which wealth is superior to “temporal” wealth and riches.
It is also the means by which God employs so that the believer might gain rewards that will be given to the believer at the Bema Seat Evaluation of the church, which will be conducted by the Lord Jesus Christ subsequent to the Rapture of the church (2 Corinthians 4:5-18).
Advancement, promotion, spiritual growth and prosperity in the spiritual life can only be achieved through undeserved suffering, which is experiencing identification with Christ in His death (1 Pet. 4:12-13).
In Second Timothy 3:11, the apostle Paul reminds Timothy that he endured all of these persecutions in the cities of Pisidian Antioch, Iconium and Lystra.
This means that he remained firmly committed to communicating the gospel in these cities despite the suffering and pressure placed upon him to stop doing so.
“Antioch” refers to a city in Asia Minor which was located between the districts of Phrygia and Pisidia.
Today this place would correspond to south central Turkey.
It was evangelized by Paul and Barnabas during Paul’s first missionary journey (Acts 13:14).
This Antioch was called “of Pisidia” in order to distinguish it from the other cities of the same name.
More than likely it was founded by Seleucus I Nicator (358-281 B.C.) who was the first of the Seleucid rulers and named after his son Antiochus.
It was included in the Roman province of Galatia which was formed in 25 B.C. by Caesar Augustus and before 6 B.C., Antioch was made a Roman colony and was given the title “Caesarea Antiocheia.
It was made the capital of southern Galatia and the chief of a series of military colonies established by Augustus.
“Iconium” was located approximately 170 miles south of Ankara (ancient Ancyra) on the border between Phrygia to the west and the broad plain of Lycaonia to the south and east.
It lies on a high, fertile plateau and it is one of the oldest continuously occupied cities in the world and dates back at least to the third millennium B.C.
Iconium was one of the four major cities Paul visited during his first missionary journey (Acts 13:51) and it was a prominent Christian city in Asia Minor for several centuries.
The city was found in the third millennium B.C. which would make it one of the oldest continuously occupied cities in the world and today, it is known as Konya.
The ancient city of Iconium was located in central Anatolia which today is modern Turkey and was located 90 miles southeast of Pisidian Antioch.
It was at Iconium that Paul began to take Timothy on his missionary journeys since he was commended to him by the Christians in this city and in Lystra (Acts 16:2).
During Paul’s first missionary journey, the Jews of Iconium persecuted Paul and Barnabas and eventually drove them out of the city where they fled to Lystra.
They eventually returned to Iconium and encouraged the church which they founded there (Acts 14:21-22).
“Lystra” was located in the southern countryside of Asia Minor which is near modern-day Klistra, Turkey.
Augustus made this city a Roman colony in 6 B.C. in order to protect the trade route on which the town was located.
Unlike, Pisidian Antioch, Lystra retained their traditional Anatolian culture and dialects.
Lystra was situated on the major trade routes of the region and existed as a market town for the province of Galatia.
On Paul’s first missionary journey, he and Barnabas encountered opposition at Iconium and fled to Lystra, Derbe and the surrounding region (Acts 14:6).
At Lystra Paul healed a crippled man (Acts 14:8).
This miracle prompted a mob in that city to attempt to deify both Paul and Barnabas.
The former was called Hermes and the latter Zeus by the townspeople.