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Timothy
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his great asserter of the cause of Christ
was a disciple of St. Paul, and born at Lystra in Lycaonia. His father
was a Gentile, but his mother was a Jewess. Her name was Eunice, and that
of his grandmother Lois. These particular are taken notice of, because
St. Paul commends their piety, and the good education which they had given
Timothy.
When
St. Paul came to Derbe and Lystra, about the year of Christ 51 or 52,
the brethren gave such an advantageous testimony of the merit and good
disposition of Timothy, that the apostle took him with him, in order to
assist him in propagating the doctrine of his great Lord and Master. Timothy
applied himself to labor with Paul in the business of the gospel, and
did him very important services, through the whole course of his preaching,
St. Paul calls him not only his dearly beloved son, but also his brother,
the companion of his labors, and a man of God.
This holy disciple accompanied St. Paul to Macedonia, to Philippi, to
Thessalonica, to Berea; and when the apostle went from Berea, he left
Timothy and Silas there, to confirm the converts. When he came to Athens,
he sent for Timothy to come thither to him: and when he was come, and
had given him an account of the churches of Macedonia, St. Paul sent him
back to Thessalonica, whence he afterward returned with Silas, and came
to St. Paul at Corinth. There he continued with him for some time, and
the apostle mentions him with Silas, at the beginning of the two Epistles
which he then wrote to the Thessalonians.
Some years after this, St. Paul sent Timothy and Erastus into Macedonia;
and gave Timothy orders to call at Corinth, to refresh the minds of the
Corinthians with regard to the truths which he had inculcated in them.
Some time after, writing to the same Corinthians he recommends them to
take care of Timothy, and send him back in peace; after which Timothy
returned to St. Paul into Asia, who there staid for him. They went together
to Macedonia; and the apostle puts Timothy’s name with his own before
the second Epistle to the Corinthians, which he wrote to them from Macedonia,
about the middle of the year of Christ 57. And he sends his recommendations
to the Romans in the letter which he wrote from Corinth the same year.
When St. Paul returned from Rome, in 64, he left Timothy at Ephesus
to take care of that church, of which he was first bishop, as he is recognized
by the council of Chaceldon. St. Paul wrote to him from Macedonia the
first of the two letters which are addressed to him. He recommends him
to be more moderate in his austerities, and to drink a little wine, because
of the weakness of his stomach, and his frequent infirmities. After the
apostle came to Rome in the year 65, being then very near his death, he
wrote to him his second letter, which is full of marks of kindness and
tenderness for this his dear disciple; and which is justly looked upon
as the last will of St. Paul. He desires him to come to Rome to him before
winter, and bring with him several things which he left at Troas. If Timothy
went to Rome and it is probable that he did, he must have been an eyewitness
of the martyrdom of Paul, which happened in the year of Christ 68.
After Timothy had visited Paul at Rome, he returned to Ephesus, where
he continued to govern the church as its bishop, without the least interruption,
for a considerable time, till at length he fell a victim to the malice
of the pagans, who were his most inveterate enemies. These heathen made
a great feast, in the celebration of which they carried in procession
the images of their idols, being all masked, and armed with clubs and
other offensive weapons. Timothy, seeing the procession, was so irritated
at their idolatry and superstition, that he rushed in among them in order
to stop their proceedings; upon which they immediately fell upon him,
and, with their clubs, beat him in so unmerciful a manner that he soon
expired. They left the body on the spot where they had murdered him, which
was removed thence by some of his disciples, and decently interred on
the top of a mountain at a small distance from the city. The Greeks commemorate
his martyrdom on the 22nd of January, the day on which it is supposed
he gave up his life in defence of the doctrine he had long labored to
propagate; and during which time he had brought over great numbers of
people to embrace the truth of the Christian religion.
Resources: This story is adapted from John Kitto's 1870 History
of the Bible and represents the commonly accepted views about this
apostle among rank and file believers in the late 19th century.
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