Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Timothy 1:4
Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy;
4. being mindful of thy tears ] At the close we must suppose of the visit paid him by St Paul in accordance with the intention expressed 1Ti 3:14. It seems very awkward to insert this clause as a subordinate parenthesis ‘with a faint causal force,’ ‘longing to see thee, as I remember thy tears in order that I may be filled with joy’; but this must be the effect of R.V. rendering. And again there is difficulty in either rendering of the participle in 2Ti 1:5 with this construction; (1) A.V. ‘when I call to remembrance’ present, whereas we ought to read the aorist (2) R.V. ‘having been reminded,’ implying that there had been some occasion or messenger to give such news, of which we have at least no other hint. It is better to follow Drs Westcott and Hort in putting a comma after ‘tears’ and joining 2Ti 1:4-5 thus, ‘that I may be filled with joy in being reminded.’ The thought underlying this phrase ‘to be filled with joy,’ ‘to have one’s joy fulfilled,’ is, as Dr Westcott puts it in 1Jn 1:4, that the fulfilment of Christian joy depends upon the realisation of fellowship. This fellowship may be with bodily presence, as 2Jn 1:12; Joh 3:29; or without, as Joh 15:11; Joh 16:24; Joh 17:13; 1Jn 1:4, ‘these things we write that our joy may be fulfilled.’ The joy of the apostle is secured by his ‘little children’ realising full fellowship. Similarly the thought here is an echo of St Paul’s feelings expressed 5 or 6 years before to his Philippian ‘beloved ones,’ and the expressions are an echo too. Through that letter ran the theme ‘gaudeo: gaudete’; in that, with a wonderful tenderness and delicacy St Paul shews them that ‘unity,’ ‘brotherly love,’ is ‘the one thing lacking’ to perfect their joy: the one thing that to hear of or see in them will fulfil his too. Compare Php 1:3-8; Php 2:1-2; Php 4:4. Through this letter runs the theme ‘fidem servavi: serva’; and with the same considerate love St Paul makes the appeal to his timid son to be ‘strong in the faith’ turn first on the fulfilment of his own joy which will result.
The final conjunction ‘in order that’ depends then formally on ‘I give thanks in my supplications,’ really on the whole affectionate yearning and praying spirit of 2Ti 1:3-4.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Greatly desiring to see thee; – see 2Ti 4:9, 2Ti 4:21. It was probably on, account of this earnest desire that this Epistle was written. He wished to see him, not only on account of the warm friendship which he had for him, but because he would be useful to him in his present circumstances; see the introduction, Section 3.
Being mindful of thy tears – Alluding probably to the tears which he shed at parting from him. The occasion to which he refers is not mentioned; but nothing is more probable than that Timothy would weep when separated from such a father and friend. It is not wrong thus to weep, for religion is not intended to make us stoics or savages.
That I may be filled with joy – By seeing you again. It is easy to imagine what joy it would give Paul, then a prisoner, and forsaken by nearly all his friends, and about to die, to see a friend whom he loved as he did this young man. Learn hence, that there may be very pure and warm friendship between an old and young man, and that the warmth of true friendship is not diminished by the near prospect of death.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
2Ti 1:4
Greatly desiring to see thee.
Things of like nature desire union
Two flames will become one, and two rivers, if they meet, willingly make but one stream. And are not all the faithful baptized with fire, and of the like temperature and condition? A faithful man affecteth nothing above the Lord; His image is the only object of his love; and does not every good man in part resemble that, and carry it about with him? Do not the sparkles of grace and wisdom appear in their faces? Is there not a kind of Divine influence in their speeches? They in some measure resemble their father, as dear children; and from the contrary ground the wicked are an abomination to the just. They will build up one another in their holy faith, consult for the good of the Church, and tell one another what the Lord hath done for their soul; yea, the very sight of a good man in the morning, a dream of him in the night, will make one walk with more cheerfulness all the day following. The face of the faithful is like the loadstone, it conveyeth strength to many, and yet is never the weaker, poorer; and as the one is reputed a great wonder in nature, so is the other as great a wonder in grace. (J. Barlow, D. D.)
The coming of an absent friend
The chilling cold of winter makes the summers sun more pleasant; so doth long absence a friends personal presence. (J. Barlow, D. D.)
The faithful found in companies
And here may the profane learn a lesson or two, if they please, for this is the true cause why the faithful, like pigeons, flock to the house of God, and are to be found there in troops and companies. Is not that the congregation of the saints, and the royal exchange, where they all meet together? Again, they may see why some sigh in soul and desire to be loosed. For their best friends be gone to heaven before them, and Christ is absent from them (Php 3:20). (J. Barlow, D. D.)
Mindful of thy tears.
Tears
He seems not merely to speak of the former tears of Timothy shed at bidding Paul farewell (for tears are usually elicited at parting, comp. Act 20:37), but of his habitual tears under the influence of pious feeling. In this respect also he had him like-minded (Php 2:20) with himself. Tears, the flower of the heart, indicate either the greatest hypocrisy or the utmost sincerity. (J. A. Bengel.)
The power of tears
There is no power that man can wield so mighty as that of genuine tears. The eloquence of words is powerful, but the eloquence of tears is far more so. What manly heart has not been often arrested by the genuine sobs of even some poor child in the streets. A childs tear in the crowded thoroughfare has often arrested the busy merchant in his hurried career Coriolanus, who defied all the swords in Italy and her confederate states, fell prostrate before the tears of his mother: Oh, my mother, thou hast saved Rome, but lost thy son. (D. Thomas, D. D.)
Tears described
Tears have been described as the blood of the wounds of the soul, the leaves of the plant of sorrow, the hail and rain of lifes winter, the safety-valves of the heart when too much pressure is laid on, the vent of anguish-showers blown up by the tempests of the soul.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 4. Being mindful of thy tears] Whether the apostle refers to the affecting parting with the Ephesian Church, mentioned Ac 20:37, or to the deep impressions made on Timothy’s heart when he instructed him in the doctrine of Christ crucified, or to some interview between themselves, it is not certainly known. The mention of this by the apostle is no small proof of his most affectionate regards for Timothy, whom he appears to have loved as a father loves his only son.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
There was a great brotherly love amongst primitive Christians, so as the apostle often expresseth his desire to see such Christians as were at a distance from him, Rom 1:11; 1Th 2:17; but he expresseth aparticular reason of his desire to see Timothy, remembering the
tears he shed at his parting from him and the rest, Act 20:37,38; besides the desire he had by his presence to satisfy him, and give him occasion of joy, with which he also should be filled; unless he speaketh of the joy he promised himself when he saw Timothy, upon his seeing the improvement he had made both of his graces and gifts in the ministerial office.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
4. desiringGreek,“with yearning as for one much missed.”
mindful of thy tearsnotonly at our parting (Ac 20:37),but also often when under pious feelings.
that I may be filled withjoyto be joined with “desiring to see thee” (Rom 1:11;Rom 1:12; Rom 15:32).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Greatly desiring to see thee,…. In his former epistle he had desired him to stay at Ephesus, there being some work for him to do, which made it necessary he should continue; but now having answered the apostle’s purpose, and he standing in need of him at Rome, being without any assistant there, some having left him, and others were left by him in other places, and others were sent by him elsewhere; and it having been some time since he saw Timothy, he longed for a sight of him:
being mindful of thy tears; shed either at the afflictions and sufferings of the apostle, of which Timothy, being his companion, was an eyewitness, and he being of a truly Christian sympathizing spirit, wept with those that wept; or at their parting from each other, as in Ac 20:37
that I may be filled with joy; at the sight of him, and not at the remembrance of his tears; for the last clause is to be read in a parenthesis, and these words stand not connected with that, but with the preceding part of the text. The apostle intimates, that a sight of his dearly beloved son Timothy would fill him with joy amidst all his troubles and afflictions he endured for the Gospel: this is an instance of hearty, sincere, and strong affection.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Night and day ( ). Genitive of time, “by night and by day.” As in 1Thess 2:9; 1Thess 3:10.
Longing (). Present active participle of , old word, eight times in Paul (1Thess 3:6; Phil 1:8, etc.).
Remembering thy tears ( ). Perfect middle participle of , old and common verb with the genitive, only here in the Pastorals and elsewhere by Paul only in 1Co 11:2. Probably an allusion to the scene at Miletus (Ac 20:37). Cf. Ac 20:19.
That I may be filled with joy ( ). Final clause with and first aorist passive subjunctive of (with genitive case ), a verb common with Paul (Rom 8:4; Rom 13:8).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Greatly desiring [] . Better, longing. Pastorals only here. Quite frequent in Paul. See Rom 1:11; 2Co 5:2; 2Co 9:14; Phi 1:8, etc. The compounded preposition ejpi does not denote intensity, as A. verse greatly, but direction. Comp. chapter 2Ti 4:9, 21. Being mindful of thy tears [ ] . The verb, mimnhskesqai in Paul, only 1Co 11:2. In Pastorals only here. The words give the reason for the longing to see Timothy. The allusion is probably to the tears shed by Timothy at his parting from Paul. 133 One is naturally reminded of the parting of Paul with the Ephesians elders at Miletus (Act 20:17 ff., see especially verse 37). Holtzmann remarks that Paul ‘s discourse on that occasion is related to this passage as program to performance. Bonds await the apostle (Act 20:23), and Paul appears as a prisoner (2Ti 1:8). He must fulfill his course Act 20:24); here he has fulfilled it (2Ti 4:7). He bids the overseers take heed to the flock, for false teachers will arise in the bosom of the church (Act 20:29, 30); these letters contain directions for the guidance of the flock, and denunciations of heretical teachers.
That I may be filled with joy. Const. with longing to see you.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Greatly desiring to see thee” (epipothon se idein) Longing to see thee.” The aged Paul, leader and companion in near 20 years of missionary travel and labors with Timothy, lingering in a common criminal dungeon in Rome, longed to see, touch, and talk with Timothy before winter and his death, 2Ti 4:9-13.
2) “Being mindful of thy tears” memnemenos sou ton dakruon) “Having been reminded of thy (soft) tears,” Act 20:19. Timothy was given to tears; softhearted-weeping and timidity, an emotional condition Paul sought to strengthen in him and lead him on therewith to courageous and bold leadership, Act 19:22; Act 20:4; 1Co 16:10-11.
3) “That I may be filled with joy;” (hina charas plerotho) “In order that I may be filled of (with) joy,” Rom 15:13-14; Joh 16:24; Joh 16:33.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(4) Greatly desiring to see thee.In view of that violent death which, at this time a close prisoner, he saw was imminent, the memory, too, of the tears of his friend made him long yet more earnestly to see him once again on earth.
Being mindful of thy tears.Shed probably by Timothy when his aged master had last taken leave of him. It is likely that the clouds of danger which were gathering thickly round St. Paul towards the close of his career had oppressed the brave-hearted Apostle with a foreboding of coming evil, and had invested the last parting with Timothy with circumstances of unusual solemnity. St. Paul had affected others besides Timothy with the same great love, so that tears were shed by strong men when he bade them farewell. (See the account of the leave-taking of the Ephesian elders at Miletus, Act. 20:37-38And they all wept sore, and fell on Pauls neck, and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake, that they should see his face no more.)
There is no necessity for Hofmanns singular, but rather far-fetched, theory here that the tears were simply an expression for Timothys intense sorrow at hearing of the Apostles arrest and close imprisonment, which sorrow St. Paul was made acquainted with in a letter. The tears, according to Hofmann, were those welche Timotheus brieflich geweint hat.
That I may be filled with joy.When he meets Timothy again.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
4. Mindful of That is, recollecting thy tears, shed some time since, probably when Paul first left him at Ephesus to depart to Macedonia. 1Ti 1:3. That I refers back to see thee.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Longing to see you, remembering your tears, that I may be filled with joy,’
And while he prayed for him he longed to see Timothy, so that he might be filled with joy as a result, for he remembered fondly how distressed Timothy had been when they had parted This brings out how great a bond there was between them. Some consider that that parting might even have been at the time of Paul’s arrest. ‘Longing’ to see people is a regular Paulinism (compare Rom 1:11; Php 1:8; 1Th 3:6). He was a man of deep feelings. The verb is found six times in Paul, once in James, and once in 1 Peter.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
2Ti 1:4. Greatly desiring to see thee, The intense thinking about a son who had endeared himself to his father in the gospel by a filial anxiety of heart, and many tears; who had suffered in all his afflictions, as well as rejoiced in his joy, must raise the most tender sentiments in the apostle’s mind, and make him, though in a prison, long to see and embrace him, that he might give him his dying charge, and devolve the work of preaching and defending the gospel upon him, before he left the world. One may see in the very expressions, the tenderness of his sentiments under those affecting circumstances, and that he wrote with tears in his eyes, as well as a parental anxiety in his heart.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
2Ti 1:4 . As in Rom 1:11 , Phi 1:8 , and other passages, Paul also expresses here his longing to see the person to whom the epistle is addressed. The participle is subordinate to the previous ; to it, in turn, the next participle is subordinated. The longing for Timothy causes him to be continually remembered in the apostle’s prayers, and the remembrance is nourished by thinking of his tears.
] By these are meant as the verb shows not tears which “Timothy shed” when at a distance from the apostle (Wiesinger), and of which he knew only through a letter (which Timothy therefore “shed by letter,” Hofmann); but the tears of which he himself had been witness, the tears which Timothy shed probably on his departure from him (van Oosterzee, Plitt). These were, to the apostle, a proof of Timothy’s love to him, and produced in him the desire of seeing Timothy again, that he might thereby be filled with joy. In this connection of the clauses with one another, the apostle has not yet given the object of thanks appropriate to the ; he does not do so till 2Ti 1:5 . [4]
According to Hofmann, the reason of the thanks is already given in the participial clause . But the idea that Paul thanks God for Timothy’s tears, is out of all analogy with the other epistles of the apostle. Even the is against this view, for the apostle could not possibly say that he remembers Timothy’s tears in order that he may be filled with joy.
[4] Against this view it cannot be maintained that it makes a subordinate participle depend on the subordinate participle , for that is not in itself impossible; nor can it be said “that the insertion of a clause between and is intolerable,” since the chief stress is not on , but on . . . Further, it cannot provoke objection that Timothy’s tears nourished in the apostle the longing to see him again, since these were a proof of his love and of his faith.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
4 Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy;
Ver. 4. Being mindful of thy tears ] Timothy was a man of many tears, so was David, Paul, Luther, Bradford, of whom it is said, that he did seldom eat but be bedewed his trencher with tears, and that few days passed him without plenty of tears shed before he went to bed:- .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
2Ti 1:4 . : Parenthetical. St. Paul’s longing was made keener by his recollection of the tears Timothy had shed at their last parting. So Chrys. fixes the occasion. We are reminded of the scene at Miletus, Act 20:37 . Bengel, comparing Act 20:19 , thinks that reference is rather made to an habitual manifestation of strong emotion. At that time, and in that society, tears were allowed as a manifestation of emotion more freely than amongst modern men of the West.
: For with a genitive, cf. Rom 15:13-14 . It takes a dat., Rom 1:29 , 2Co 7:4 , cf. Eph 5:18 ; an acc., Phi 1:11 , Col 1:9 .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Greatly desiring. Greek. epipotheo. See Rom 1:11. see. App-133.
being mindful = having remembered.
that = in order that. Greek hina.
filled. App-125.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
2Ti 1:4. , earnestly desiring to see thee) He begins his invitation to Timothy at first gradually.- , remembering thy tears) He seems not merely to speak of the former tears of Timothy shed at bidding Paul farewell (for tears are usually elicited at parting, comp. Act 20:37), but of his habitual tears under the influence of pious feeling. In this respect also he had him like-minded [Php 2:20] with himself: Act 20:19, note. Tears, the flower of the heart, indicate either the greatest hypocrisy or the utmost sincerity. Turning tears into ridicule is a proof of the depravity of our age.-, in order that) Construe with , to see thee [not with -].
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
desiring: 2Ti 4:9, 2Ti 4:21, Rom 1:11, Rom 15:30-32, Phi 1:8, Phi 2:26, 1Th 2:17-20, 1Th 3:1
being: Act 20:19, Act 20:31, Act 20:37, Act 20:38, Rev 7:17, Rev 21:4
filled: Psa 126:5, Isa 61:3, Jer 31:13, Joh 16:22, Joh 16:24, 1Jo 1:4
Reciprocal: Gen 43:30 – wept there Mar 9:24 – with Act 11:23 – seen Act 15:36 – and see Act 21:13 – to weep Rom 1:12 – that I may Rom 15:23 – and Phi 2:28 – ye see Col 1:9 – do 2Jo 1:12 – that
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2Ti 1:4. Mindful of thy tears refers to some occasion when they had to separate. Since no definite information is available as to when it was, we must be satisfied with the thought that Timothy had a tender feeling for Paul as his father in the Gospel. The memory of those tears made Paul likewise to have a longing to see again his own “beloved son.”
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
2Ti 1:4. Remembering thy tears. The words clearly refer to their last parting, probably that referred to in 1Ti 1:3. There, with his mind dwelling on the duties to which Timothy had been called, it was natural not to refer to the personal emotions of that parting. Now that absence had increased the yearning desire to see him once again, and so be filled with joy, it was as natural to dwell on it. It is characteristic of Timothys sensitive, emotional nature that the tears were shed by him.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Observe here, The vehemency of affection which our apostle expresses towards Timothy; he desired, greatly desired, to see him, and with the sight of him to be filled with joy.
Note, That though we must love all Christians, with a sincere love, yet we may love some Christians with a more fervent love than others; choice and useful Christians, endearing and endeared friends, may and must be beloved above others: I desire greatly to see thee, &c.
Observe farther, St. Paul declares how mindful he was of Timothy’s tears; perhaps a flood of tears were shed at their last parting one from another. The best of men have a propension to weeping, and upon occasion, have shed tears; so had Jacob, Joseph, David, and Christ himself. True goodness promotes compassion; good men ever have been, and are men of tender and compassionate dispositions.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Verse 4
Of thy tears; referring, perhaps, to the occasion when he bade farewell to the elders at Ephesus, as narrated Acts 20:37,38, where Timothy, it in not improbable, had taken leave of him.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
1:4 Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy;
Hummm, when is the last time your superior let loose with a statement like that? What a thrill it would be for your superior to feel that way about seeing you.
Filled to the brim, filled to the top wanting nothing is the thought of this word. Paul will be filled to bursting with joy when he sees Timothy.
Now, that would be another great day when your superior was that excited about seeing you – true this was indicative of the close spiritual and emotional bond they had together – but imagine how that must have felt for Timothy to sit down and read these comments.