Philippians - Chapter 3: Paul’s Messengers

Philippians 2:19-24 says,

¹⁹ But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition. ²⁰ For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare. ²¹ For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus. ²² But you know of his proven worth, that he served with me in the furtherance of the gospel like a child serving his father. ²³ Therefore I hope to send him immediately, as soon as I see how things go with me; ²⁴ and I trust in the Lord that I myself also will be coming shortly.

Timothy was Paul’s faithful companion and successor in the next generation that would carry on his gospel. He was the one who hand-delivered Paul’s letter to the Philippians. As we will see shortly, Epaphroditus accompanied Timothy because he too wanted to see his good friends in Philippi.

Paul had many friends who did not “seek after their own interests,” but only these two were genuinely concerned for the welfare of the Philippians. Epaphroditus was a close friend, but the father-son relationship was reserved only for Timothy.

Did Paul have anyone in mind when he wrote about those who seek their own interests? Do we detect a trace of bitterness from some betrayals in the past? We cannot say for sure, because Paul does not often speak ill of those who may have abandoned him.

Besides this, Paul, no doubt, wanted to remain positive and to convey the spirit of joy in keeping with his letter.

Paul expressed some uncertainty about the outcome of his trial, saying, “as soon as I see how things go with me.” He was much more optimistic of being released when he was taken to Rome the first time. But after telling them that he was “being poured out as a drink offering,” it seems that Paul still had hope of being released again.

This suggests that although things looked bleak, he still had no solid revelation of the outcome of the coming trial.

In Phil. 2:24 we read that Paul hoped to travel to Philippi after his trial in Rome. Phil. 2:25-27 continues,

²⁵ But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need, ²⁶ because he was longing for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. ²⁷ For indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow.

Epaphroditus was part of the Philippian church, and he had been sent to Rome with a generous donation to meet Paul’s needs. We read this later in Phil. 4:18,

¹⁸ But I have received everything in full and have an abundance. I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.

Prisons, in those days, provided barely a subsistence level of food, and those who had no friends or family to support them suffered greatly.

Paul calls him “my brother,” rather than “my son,” which seems to indicate that he was about Paul’s age or older. He is also said to be a “fellow worker,” from synergos, a term borrowed from the workshop and stressing comradeship.

Again, Paul calls him a “fellow soldier,” fighting side by side with a common cause in the struggle against the onslaughts of paganism. All in all, Epaphroditus received a good report, though we know little more about him.

The fact that his illness had caused the church distress only added to Paul’s own distress, making it even more necessary to send him back to Philippi as quickly as possible to ease their minds. The word translated “distressed” is from ademoneo, which literally means “not at home,” i.e., “beside oneself.”

Philippians 2:28 continues,

²⁸ Therefore I have sent him all the more eagerly so that when you see him again you may rejoice and I may be less concerned about you.

Paul would have kept his brother with him longer, had the Philippian church not heard that Epaphroditus had been very sick. Phil. 2:29, 30 concludes,

²⁹ Receive him then in the Lord with all joy, and hold men like him in high regard; ³⁰ because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking [parabolos] his life to complete what was deficient in your service to me.

They were exhorted to treat Epaphroditus as a returning hero, not as one who had deserted Paul too early. He had risked his life for the cause of Christ. The term parabolos means “disregarding, venturesome, reckless,” giving the impression that his sickness was caused by overexertion.

In Alexandria, Egypt, there was a group of men called Parabolani, who engaged in heroic deeds such as nursing the sick during epidemics when few dared to approach them. Epaphroditus was certainly their equal in Paul’s eyes.