2 Timothy 4.12-Paul Dispatches Tychicus to Ephesus with Authority as His Delegate to the Ephesian Church to Replace Timothy
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday October 15, 2015
Second Timothy: Second Timothy 4:12-Paul Dispatches Tychicus to Ephesus with Authority as His Delegate to the Ephesian Church to Replace Timothy
Lesson # 101
2 Timothy 4:9 Make every effort to come to me soon. 10 for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. 11 Only Luke is with me. Pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service. 12 But Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. (NASB95)
Second Timothy 4:12 stands in contrast to Paul’s previous statement in Second Timothy 4:11 in which Paul directs Timothy to bring Mark with him to Rome because he was useful to him for service.
“I have sent” is the first person singular aorist active indicative form of the verb apostellō (ἀποστέλλω), which means “to dispatch someone, to send someone” with authority to a particular location implying for a particular purpose or in other words, it means “to cause someone to depart for a particular purpose.”
Therefore, this verb indicates that Paul dispatched or sent Tychicus to Ephesus with authority to relieve Timothy in the sense that Tychicus would temporarily replace Timothy as Paul’s delegate to the Ephesian Christian community and the Roman province of Asia.
The aorist tense of the verb apostellō is an epistolary aorist which is used when the author self-consciously describes his letter from the time frame of the audience.
From Paul’s perspective, the aorist “I am dispatching with authority” but from Timothy’s perspective, it means “I have dispatched with authority.”
Second Timothy 4:12 However, I have dispatched Tychicus with authority to Ephesus. (My translation)
In contrast to Mark and Timothy who Paul directed to come visit him in Rome before his death, Tychicus was dispatched by Paul with authority to Ephesus.
Paul did not simply send Tychicus to Ephesus but he sent him with authority as his delegate to communicate his apostolic teaching to the Ephesian Christian community as Timothy’s replacement which is indicated by Paul’s language since he employs the verb apostellō rather than pempo.
He does not use the latter but rather the former since the former expresses the idea of delegated authority.
Thus, Paul wanted to convey to Timothy that he dispatched Tychicus to Ephesus to be his replacement.
This verb expresses the fact that like Timothy, Tychicus would have authority delegated to him by Paul to be the apostle’s delegate to the Ephesian Christian community in order that he might communicate Paul’s apostolic teaching.
Therefore, like Timothy and Titus, Tychicus was trusted by the apostle Paul because he would never delegate such authority to someone to be his delegate to the Christian community unless they were faithful and were trusted to communicate his apostolic teachings to the church.
Timothy was located in the city of Ephesus when the apostle wrote Second Timothy which does not explicitly mentioned where Timothy was located when he received this epistle from Paul.
However, Timothy must not have been a great distance from Rome since he requests that his delegate come to him quickly (2 Timothy 4:9) and “before winter” (2 Timothy 4:21).
He even requests that Timothy bring his cloak which he left at Troas with Carpus (2 Timothy 4:13).
Paul’s concern for warm clothing would appear to indicate a period in the early fall.
Travel by water in the Mediterranean would be dangerous between October and May.
All of this indicates Timothy’s location was not a great distance from Rome where Paul was imprisoned.
Now, in Philippians 1:25-26 and 2:24 Paul expresses his confidence that he would be released from what would have been his first Roman imprisonment.
In Romans 15:24, he also expresses confidence at being released so as to meet the Roman church face to face and in Romans 15:32 he expresses his desire to visit them and makes two requests of them in Romans 15:31, namely that when he enters into their company he will find rest for himself in their company.
So for these reasons, Paul probably undertook a fourth missionary journey, namely Spain by way of Rome after being released from his first Roman imprisonment.
During this fourth missionary journey, he left Timothy in charge of the church at Ephesus (1 Timothy 1:3-4), and continued to Rome where he was imprisoned for a second time.
The apostle Paul more than likely traveled to Crete accompanied by Titus and Timothy.
He then left Titus behind to deal with opposition by the Judaizers and to set things in order.
Paul and Timothy then decided to make their way to Macedonia and in route, they stopped in Ephesus to find false teachers causing problems in the church there.
Consequently, Paul left Timothy to deal with that situation and proceeded to continue on to Macedonia and it was from this province that he wrote the letters of First Timothy and Titus.
In First Timothy 1:3, he directs Timothy to remain at Ephesus (1 Tim. 1:3) while telling Titus to meet him in Nicopolis for the winter (Titus 3:12).
Then, as he was traveling back to Ephesus, he was arrested, which may have resulted from the conflict with Alexander (2 Tim. 4:13-15).
The apostle Paul was then taken to Rome to stand before a tribunal (2 Tim 4:16-18).
While in prison, Paul sent Tychicus to Ephesus with the second letter to Timothy imploring him to come to Rome before winter disrupted the shipping routes on the Mediterranean. (Fee, pages 4-5).
Therefore, Timothy was more than likely in Ephesus functioning as Paul’s delegate to the church in that city.
Paul sent Tychicus to replace Timothy at Ephesus as his delegate so that Timothy might join the apostle at Rome before his execution (2 Timothy 4:9, 12).
Acts 20:4 reveals that Tychicus was from Asia Minor and traveled with Paul on his third missionary journey (Acts 20:4).
Acts 20:1 After the uproar had ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and when he had exhorted them and taken his leave of them, he left to go to Macedonia. 2 When he had gone through those districts and had given them much exhortation, he came to Greece. 3 And there he spent three months, and when a plot was formed against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia. 4 And he was accompanied by Sopater of Berea, the son of Pyrrhus, and by Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians, and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia. (NASB95)
Along with Trophimus, Tychicus accompanied Paul as he returned from Corinth to Macedonia (Acts 20:4) and from this place, Tychicus went ahead and waited for Paul to meet them at Troas (Acts 20:6).
Like Timothy, Tychicus was also a pastor-teacher since Paul was dispatching him with authority as his delegate to the Christian community in Ephesus to replace Timothy.
Timothy’s responsibilities included communicating the Word of God to the Ephesian church and in particular Paul’s apostolic instructions.
Further indicating that Tychicus was a communicator of the Word of God is that he is described as a “faithful servant” in Ephesians 6:21-22 and Colossians 4:7.
Tychicus was sent to the Colossians (Colossians 4:7-9) as well as the Ephesians (6:21-22) to provide the churches in these cities information regarding Paul’s first Roman imprisonment.
Colossians 4:7 As to all my affairs, Tychicus, our beloved brother and faithful servant and fellow bond-servant in the Lord, will bring you information. 8 For I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts; 9 and with him Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of your number. They will inform you about the whole situation here. (NASB95)
Notice, that Paul describes Tychicus as his “beloved brother” indicating that they enjoyed a close relationship with each other.
He also describes him as “faithful servant and fellow bond-servant” in the Lord which means that like Paul and Timothy he served the Lord by communicating the gospel to the Christian community.
Ephesians 6:21 But that you also may know about my circumstances, how I am doing, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make everything known to you. 22 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know about us, and that he may comfort your hearts. (NASB95)
In Titus 3:12, Paul informs Titus that he was sending either Artemis or Tychicus to relieve him of his duties on the island of Crete in order that he could spend the winter with him at Nicopolis.
Like Timothy, Titus was a pastor-teacher who was Paul’s delegate to the Cretan Christian community.
Titus was to communicate to the Cretan Christian community Paul’s apostolic teaching just as Timothy was delegated authority to communicate this teaching to the Ephesians Christian community.
Titus 3:12 When I send Artemis or Tychicus, immediately make every effort to come to me at Nicopolis because I have decided to spend the winter there. (Author’s translation)
So we can from Second Timothy 4:12, Ephesians 6:21-22, and Colossians 4:7 that Paul entrusted Tychicus to deliver these three letters to Timothy and the Ephesian and Colossian Christian communities and maybe even Paul’s epistle to Titus if Tychicus was sent to Crete rather than Artemis.