hotcoffee
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2 Timothy 2:8 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained. 10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.
The commentaries are all over the place on these verses. I found http://www.studylight.org/commentaries/guz/view.cgi?book=2ti&chapter=2 that has a lot of information.
Remember that Jesus was the first one ever resurrected. Others, such as Jesus’ friend Lazarus, had been resuscitated, but only Jesus had been resurrected - raised to a new order of life, with a new body, which though based on the old, was still new and fitted for the glories of eternal life.
Also... a lot was going on in the world while Paul was writing these letters to Timothy.
It was around this time that a terrible fire destroyed much of Rome, a fire that was reportedly set by the emperor Nero as the first step of his own peculiar urban renewal program. The fire destroyed vast neighborhoods of the poor, and when they rioted, Nero blamed the Christians. He then arrested many of them - perhaps including Paul.
One of the most spectacular sights in Israel is the ancient city of Bet Shein - a spectacular city that is, piece by piece, being uncovered and restored by archaeologists. If you ever visit, you can see the coliseum there - the oval stadium, complete with chambers and rooms for lions and other wild animals - animals that were almost certainly set upon Christians for the entertainment of the mob. For me, to walk on floor of that stadium - on the ground that had almost surely received the blood of Christians - was something sacred, and reminded me of the extreme price many have had to pay. Does any small price we must pay seem like much in comparison?
One of the most spectacular sights in Israel is the ancient city of Bet Shein - a spectacular city that is, piece by piece, being uncovered and restored by archaeologists. If you ever visit, you can see the coliseum there - the oval stadium, complete with chambers and rooms for lions and other wild animals - animals that were almost certainly set upon Christians for the entertainment of the mob. For me, to walk on floor of that stadium - on the ground that had almost surely received the blood of Christians - was something sacred, and reminded me of the extreme price many have had to pay. Does any small price we must pay seem like much in comparison?
Do you think of Paul sitting in a room writing these letters? I do. The commentary changed that picture for me.
Paul’s wrist was shackled at the very moment he wrote this. Nevertheless, he understood that they could chain him but they could never chain the word of God.
The Bible has been attacked more than any other book through history. It has been burned, banned, mocked, twisted, and ignored - but the word of God still stands forever. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. (Isaiah 40:8)
The Word of God is not chained. No government, no religious authorities, no skeptics, no scientists, no philosophers, or no book burners have ever been able to stop the work of the Word of God. Yet, if there is any sense in which the Word is bound, it is bound when it is abandoned by its very friends. When pulpits sound more like self-help books than those who proclaim God’s word; when Scripture is used sparingly like a spice in a message, instead of being the core of it, pastors themselves put a chain around the Bible.
