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14 Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. 15 You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message. 16 At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. 17 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. 18 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 4:14-18
Alexander was the one who probably betrayed the Apostle Paul into the hands of the Romans, for he did a great deal of harm to Paul and he strongly opposed his message. The phrase, "did me a great deal of harm," was a phrase that was frequently used in Greek for an informer. This Alexander is the same as the one in 1 Timothy 1:20 who was a leader in the church at Ephesus who was a false teacher. He is, also, the same Alexander of whom Paul wrote, "I have delivered him to Satan that he may learn not to blaspheme."
In the second half of v.14 we read, "The Lord will repay him for what he has done." This is an excellent example of how to deal with those who mistreat us; we let the Lord handle them. No sinner will ever get away with his sin. No person who opposes the Gospel of Jesus Christ will ultimately succeed. The truth will always win. The Apostle Paul didn't give safe haven in his soul to bitterness. It was Nelson Mandela who once said, "Holding a grudge is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die." Reacting to anyone out of our flesh (the sinful desires that we still have within) is not a wise thing to do for the flesh always delivers destruction when fed.
In v.15 we read, "You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message."
Everyone in ministry has these kinds of people in our lives. There will always be those who attack us, who try to undo what we do, oppose our teaching, who want to make us appear as fools, or as liars. And, they will serve us if we let me.
The codfish is famous for its taste and highly desirable, but they are difficult to get to market fresh. When codfish were first being shipped, they froze them. They noticed that the flavor was lost during shipping. And, someone came up with the idea to put them in tanks and ship them in actual seawater. Even then the codfish would arrive at the market three or four days later, and would have lost much of their flavor and had become mushy.
Finally, someone came along to solve the problem. The cod were placed in the seawater tank with a couple of catfish in the tank with them. The catfish is the natural enemy of codfish. During shipping the catfish would chase the codfish all around the tank the whole time, and when the fish arrived at market they were as fresh as newly caught, with no loss of flavor or texture. You see the catfish kept the cod from becoming stale. The same is true for us who suffer the ills of those who want to hurt us. We must be careful to see that even the catfish in our lives are even a blessing from God for they remind us of our utter need for the Lord.
In v.16 we read, "At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them."
When the apostle was brought up for his hearing, no one stood up for him; all forsook him. This was a very dangerous time in Rome. The Emperor Nero was noted for his vindictiveness. If anybody even appeared to be against him, Nero's assassins were all throughout the city, ready to take the man's life. Evidently no Christian was ready to risk his life by standing up for Paul, so he had to face this preliminary hearing all alone.
But, we are never alone. According to Hebrews 13:5 we learn that God has promised, "I will never, never, ever, under any conditions leave you nor forsake you." This was Paul's experience, according to v.17. The presence of the Lord Jesus with him and beside him, Paul says, gave him strength to proclaim the Gospel.
In the second half of v.17 we read, "And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth." This is a proverb much like saying, "I was delivered out of the jaws of death." The "lion" here is a reference to Satan, the schemer behind all the false charges that were laid against Paul, the one who had weakened the courage of the Christians so they dared not stand up along with the Apostle Paul.
In v.18 we read, "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."
Nero may have put Paul to death on earth, but that will not in any way remove him from the kingdom of heaven and the fact that right now he is with the Lord proves the point. Paul's death at the hands of Nero only opened the door to heaven for the Apostle sooner. On the basis of the Lord’s present work, the Apostle Paul had hope for the Lord’s future work. And, Paul was rescued from the lion’s mouth.
