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A Follow Up Study January 27, 2021 Building on the Messages of the Lessons from Timothy, Pastor and Confessor

Warm Up Few, if any of us, have any ’ days on our calendar, other than St. Valentine’s Day, but that’s different. Yet enlightens and encourages us noting God’s work in the lives of many Old Testament saints. And :7 says, Remember your leaders who have spoken God’s word to you. As you carefully observe the outcome of their lives, imitate their faith.

What brother(s) or sister(s) in , that you know through Bible Stories, do you remember and take encouragement or instruction from? Gideon, Abel, , Thomas, Mary,

1. Sermon for January 24, 2021 Text: John 21:15-17 Theme: Look how our Risen Chief Shepherd provides for his own. Share your questions or comments regarding Sunday’s sermon. Share your questions or comments regarding Sunday’s sermon text. 15 When they had eaten breakfast, asked Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love[a] me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I care about[b] you.” Jesus told him, “Feed my lambs.” 16 A second time Jesus asked him, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said, “Yes, Lord, you know that I care about you.” Jesus told him, “Be a shepherd for my sheep.” 17 He asked him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you care about me?” Peter was grieved because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you care about me?” He answered, “Lord, you know all things. You know that I care about you.” “Feed my sheep,” Jesus said. 2. Let’s remind each other of the setting for this dialog. When? Where? Who was there? More than 8 days after Jesus’ resurrection, after a night of fishing, catching nothing, Jesus’ miracle draft of 153 large fish, John recognizing Jesus, Peter running to Jesus, abandoning the others. Shore of the Sea of Galilee Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of (James and John), and two other disciples were together.

Peter had seen the Risen Christ at least 3 times prior to this event. List those occurrences. What assurance did those previous visits offer to Peter? Sometime after Peter ran to the tomb with John and before the 2 from the Road to Emmaus returned. Luke 24:34 They were saying, “The Lord really has been raised! He has appeared to Simon. :5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. Peter was forgiven.

Bible quotes: The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission. - 1 - A Follow Up Bible Study January 27, 2021 Building on the Messages of the Lessons from , Pastor and Confessor

3. What is Jesus doing for Peter and for the Church with this set of 3 questions? Jesus is testing Peter to see if he has grown through his repentance - not to be so bold based on Peter’s faith/conviction/character. Jesus is publicly reinstating Peter into his office as Apostle, a leader among the Apostles. So it was not just for Peter, it was for the Church to recognize Jesus’ commission of Peter as an Apostle.

4. The EHV helps us recognize the careful choice of words use by Jesus and Peter. The EHV footnotes a and b explain their : a. John 21:15 Greek agapao b. John 21:15 In verses 15-17, the uses of the Greek phileo are translated care about to distinguish from the uses of the Greek agapao, which are translated love. Share your understanding of the distinction between these 2 Greek words. agapao - pres., act., indic. - unconditional determined to care phileo - pres., act., indic. - friendship/brotherly love - based on a relationship, history, interaction

5. Note the name Jesus uses to address Peter? Why do you think Jesus addressed him this way? It’s not rock. The rock crumbled under pressure. Noting his pedigree, Jesus might be point to Peter’s birth as a sinner, inherited sin.

What 2 things does Jesus ask Simon in the first question? How does Simon answer both parts? Peter do you agapao me? Is your love for me greater than that of these other 6 men? Peter affirms his love, although not agapao, but phileo. Less bold. More humble. He defers to Jesus, Lord you knows. He no longer claims his love is super love - higher, greater.

6. Simon answered Jesus. Why did Jesus ask a second time? Note how he revised his question? 2nd - a test. On the way to 3, the same as Peter’s denial. An opportunity to affirm/confess, think Jesus still addresses him as Simon.... John and - used interchangeably in Hebrew like Mary and Miriam. (WF p. 1046) Jesus no longer tested, more than these, but he did stick with agapao. I asked you agapao.

Critique Peter’s answers. He again defers to Jesus knowledge, relying on Jesus, while again affirming his love with phileo.

7. Note how Jesus changed his question to Peter the third time. Why? Jesus meets Peter’s humility where he is at. But by quoting Peter, who said he phileo Jesus 2x, it’s like Jesus saying, Think about it. Do you really phileo me?

Explain John’s note: Peter was grieved because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you care about me?” It could refer to the fact that Jesus persisted and asked the 3rd time. It could be that this time Jesus asked Peter, using Peter’s word, which he has affirmed 2 times, so why ask that.

Critique Peter’s answers for what is there and not there, in view of Peter being grieved. Peter intensifies you know by confessing Lord you know all things. Peter remains humble. No anger. His hurt doesn’t interfere with remaining Jesus’ humble servant. Trust’s Jesus’ wisdom.

Bible quotes: The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission. - 2 - A Follow Up Bible Study January 27, 2021 Building on the Messages of the Lessons from Saint Timothy, Pastor and Confessor

8. Now look at Jesus’ 3 instructions/commissions to Peter. Why does Jesus speak of sheep? What is involved and distinctive in each of these instructions? “Feed/pasture my lambs.” “Be a shepherd for my sheep.” “Feed/pasture my sheep,” Jesus used the image of sheep and flock in John 10 to describe the people he gathers to himself. It’s based Psalm 23 by - about the role of the Lord to us, his people. Also Isaiah, We all like sheep have gone astray. It notes that disciples are student follower to the Christ - the leaders. Whom they need for life - sustenance and protection. Feed/pasture - Jesus can’t eat for you. He leaders you to the place where food & water are. A shepherd who cares for all (each one) - even the young (not strong), weak. shepherding - not just a functionary. One with a relationship to the sheep. This second one seem to show care for the flock as a whole, not just focusing on the individuals. So it is not just the one-on-one work. It’s teaching the sheep to be a flock who cares for and looks out for each other.

Jesus is specifically charging Peter to do this work. Is it appropriate to apply these charges to Timothy or any other pastor? Why or why not? Yes, because raising up leaders is part of caring for the flock - the way Jesus set up the Church to work - Paul notes this in Eph. 4 and Paul instruct Timothy and to call/install elders/pastor. : 28 “Always keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock in which the Holy Spirit has placed you as overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood. 29 I know that after my departure savage wolves, who will not spare the flock, will come in among you. 30 Even from your own group men will rise up, twisting the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 Therefore be always on the alert! Remember that for three years, night and day, I never stopped warning each one of you with tears.

First Lesson: :1-5 16 Paul arrived in and in , where there was a named Timothy, who was the son of a believing Jewish woman, but his father was a Greek. 2 The brothers in Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. 3 Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, so he took him and circumcised him on account of the who lived in those places, because they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 As they traveled through the towns, they delivered the resolutions decided by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to keep. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith and increased in number day by day. 9. This is our first introduction to Timothy in the . What do we learn about Timothy’s parents in this account from Luke? Timothy’s mother was a believing Jewish woman - an Old Testament believer who came to Jesus as the Messiah, either when Paul came through on his first missionary journey or from those converted by Paul. Timothy’s father was not a believing Greek. I just says Greek, meaning an unbeliever.

10. The end of our reading reminds us of a key element of this 2nd Missionary Journey. What were they to share as they returned to the churches resulting from the 1st Missionary Journey? The counsel of the First Church Council in Jerusalem.

Bible quotes: The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission. - 3 - A Follow Up Bible Study January 27, 2021 Building on the Messages of the Lessons from Saint Timothy, Pastor and Confessor

11. What is meant by: the resolutions decided by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to keep? cf. :23-29

From the apostles and the elders, your brothers, To the brothers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings. 24 We heard that there were some who came from us without our authorization and caused you distress by unsettling your minds with what they said. 25 So it seemed best to us, since we are of one mind, to choose some men to send to you, along with our dear friends and Paul, 26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 Therefore we have sent Judas and , who will report these same things by word of mouth. 28 For it seemed best to the Holy Spirit and to us to put no greater burden on you than these essentials: 29 You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you carefully avoid these things, you will do well. Farewell. How does Paul’s counsel that Timothy be circumcised fit perfectly with these instructions, especially in view of Paul’s earlier insistence that Titus not be circumcised. cf. Galatians 2 2 Then, after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, also taking Titus with me. 2 I went up in keeping with a revelation, and I laid before them the that I preach among the . But I did this privately before those who were considered important, in order to make sure that I was not running — or had not run — in vain. 3 But Titus, who was with me, was not compelled to be circumcised, even though he is Greek. 4 This was an issue because of the false brothers, who slipped in under false pretenses to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus. Their goal was to make us slaves. 5 We refused to give in to them even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel would continue with you. …indeed, those who were considered to be important added nothing to my gospel. 7 On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel for the uncircumcised, … 9 And because James, Cephas, and John, who were considered to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship. They agreed that we were to go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10 The only thing they asked was that we remember the poor, the very thing that I was also eager to do. Paul insisted that Titus not be circumcised because legalists, claiming to be mature, insisted on it. Paul counseled Timothy to be circumcised, not as a requirement, but for the sake of the gospel. So his status as an uncircumcised Jew did not interfere with his ministry to Jews who knew his father was Greek and thus Timothy had not been circumcised.

12. Note how Timothy was considered a candidate for public ministry and how he was trained. He was recommended by the believers in his home congregation who spoke well of him. It was clear he knew his Scriptures, had demonstrated the fruits of faith in character, and had gifts to teach and a heart for others. Upon their recommendation and Paul’s contact with Timothy, Paul recruited Timothy to come with him for on the training for public ministry.

Bible quotes: The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission. - 4 - A Follow Up Bible Study January 27, 2021 Building on the Messages of the Lessons from Saint Timothy, Pastor and Confessor

Second Lesson: :1-7 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in accordance with the promise of life, which is in Christ Jesus, 2 To Timothy, my child, whom I love: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 3 I thank God, whom I serve with a clean conscience as my ancestors did, as I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day. 4 When I remember your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. 5 I remember your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother and your mother , and I am convinced that it also lives in you. 6 For this reason I am reminding you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For God did not give us a timid spirit, but a spirit of power and love and sound judgment. 13. Before we search other places in the Scripture to see what we can learn about Timothy, let’s draw out what we’ve learned about Timothy from our first 2 Lessons and 2 Tim. 3:14-16. 14 As for you, continue in the things you have learned and about which you have become convinced. You know from whom you learned them 15 and that from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, and for training in righteousness, Timothy was blessed with a god-fearing, gospel loving mother names Eunice and maternal grandmother name Lois. They mentored Timothy in a sincere faith, teaching his the Scriptures from infancy. In Acts 16 we know Eunice was a believing Jewish woman, meaning an Old Testament believer who had come to see Jesus as the Messiah, either by the work Paul and Barnabas did on their first visit, or through believers touched by that work. Timothy’s father was a Greek/Gentile unbeliever. (He is not called a Greek convert.) Who apparently didn’t want Timothy circumcised. Timothy would not have been a full son of the covenant. Paul addresses him, to Timothy, my child, whom I love. Paul not only was fond of Timothy as a student. He saw himself as one who developed, if not gave birth, to Timothy’s growth in Christ. This suggests Paul may have had a role in Timothy’s conversion on his first mission trip. Verse 4 suggests Timothy teared up when Paul left, leaving Timothy behind to continue his work. Verses 6 & 7 speak of Timothy’s ordination by Paul - set aside and blessed for ministry.

In we have this personal insight about Timothy: 23 Stop drinking just water, but use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent sicknesses.

14. Timothy in the rest of Scripture: - In Berea 14 Then the brothers immediately sent Paul away to the seacoast, but Silas and Timothy stayed there. 15 Those who escorted Paul brought him all the way to . When they left, they received instructions for Silas and Timothy to join Paul as soon as possible. - In Corinth 5 When Silas and Timothy came down from , Paul was entirely devoted to preaching the word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.

Bible quotes: The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission. - 5 - A Follow Up Bible Study January 27, 2021 Building on the Messages of the Lessons from Saint Timothy, Pastor and Confessor

Acts 19 - In 22 After sending two of his assistants, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, he stayed in the province of Asia for a while. Acts 20 2 …[Paul) came to Greece 3 and stayed there three months. Because a plot was made against him by the Jews just as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to go back through Macedonia. 4 He was accompanied by son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, from Derbe, Timothy, along with and from the province of Asia. 5 These men went on ahead and waited for us at Troas. - Probably written in Corinth or nearby before taking the offering to Jerusalem 21 Timothy, my coworker, greets you, along with Lucius, Jason, and , my relatives. :17 That is why I have sent Timothy to you. He is my dearly loved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church. 16:10 But if Timothy comes, make sure he has no reason to be afraid while he is with you, for he does the work of the Lord, as I do. :22 - Paul sent Timothy to Macedonia, after which Timothy was to go to Corinth.

Timothy - Paul’s co-author of these letters - plus These tell us Timothy was with Paul when he wrote these letters. What else do we learn? 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God that is in Corinth, together with all the saints who are everywhere in Achaia:… 19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us (by me, Silas, and Timothy), was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him the “Yes” stands firm. 1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in , together with the overseers and deacons: 19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered when I receive news about you. … 22 But you know Timothy’s proven character, that as a child for his father, he served with me in the gospel. 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,… 1 Paul, Silas, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians, which is in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Bible quotes: The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission. - 6 - A Follow Up Bible Study January 27, 2021 Building on the Messages of the Lessons from Saint Timothy, Pastor and Confessor

also in 1 Thessalonians - Chapter 3 1 So, when we could not stand it any longer, we thought it best to remain behind in Athens alone, 2 and we sent Timothy, our brother and coworker for God in the gospel of Christ. We sent him to strengthen and encourage you in your faith,… 6 But now, Timothy has returned to us from you and has told us the good news about your faith and love. He also told us that you always have fond memories of us and long to see us, just as much as we also long to see you. 1 Paul, Silas, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:…

Philemon 1 - Timothy is with Paul, probably in Rome, sent with the letter to Colossi (AD 60) 1 Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon, our dear friend and coworker,… We find this interesting note at the end of the Letter to the Hebrews. Hebrews 13 22 Now I urge you, brothers, to bear with this word of encouragement, for I have written you only a brief letter. 23 I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been released. If he arrives very soon, he and I will see you. 24 Greet all your leaders and all the saints. Those from Italy greet you. 25 Grace be with you all. Amen. Wikipedia’s write up on Saint Timothy concludes with these words. When Paul went on to Athens, Silas and Timothy stayed for some time at Berea and Thessalonica before joining Paul at Corinth. Timothy next appears in Acts during Paul’s stay in Ephesus (54–57), and in late 56 or early 57 Paul sent him forth to Macedonia with the aim that he would eventually arrive at Corinth. Timothy arrived at Corinth just after Paul’s letter, 1 Corinthians reached that city. Timothy was with Paul in Corinth during the winter of 57–58 when Paul dispatched his Letter to the Romans (Romans 16:21). According to Acts 20:3–6, Timothy was with Paul in Macedonia just before in 58; he left the city before Paul, going ahead of him to await Paul in Troas (Acts 20:4–5). “That is the last mention of Timothy in Acts”, Raymond Brown notes. In the year 64, Paul left Timothy at Ephesus, to govern that church. His relationship with Paul was close and Paul entrusted him with missions of great importance. Timothy’s name appears as the co-author on 2 Corinthians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, and Philemon. Paul wrote to the Philippians about Timothy, “I have no one like him” (Philippians 2:19–23). When Paul was in prison and awaiting martyrdom, he summoned his faithful friend Timothy for a last farewell. That Timothy was jailed at least once during the period of the writing of the New Testament is implied by the writer of Hebrews mentioning Timothy’s release at the end of the . Although not stated in the Bible, other sources have records of the apostle’s death. The apocryphal Acts of Timothy states that in the year 97 AD, the 80-year-old tried to halt a procession in honor of the goddess by preaching the gospel. The angry pagans beat him, dragged him through the streets, and stoned him to death. 15. From what you have learned about Timothy in the Scriptures and the way Paul instructed him to conduct gospel ministry, does this record of Timothy’s death match his character?

Bible quotes: The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission. - 7 -