Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee

The Epistle for the Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee is 2 Timothy 3:10-15 (KJV):

¹⁰But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, ¹¹Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured:  but out of them all the Lord delivered me. ¹²Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. ¹³But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. ¹⁴But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; ¹⁵And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

2 Timothy 3:10-11 – Persecutions Which Paul Endured

The Epistle begins, “¹⁰But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, ¹¹Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured:  but out of them all the Lord delivered me.”

The persecutions Paul suffered at Antioch are described in Acts 13.  Verse 14 tells of Paul and Barnabas arriving in Antioch, “¹⁴But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down.”  The persecution is mentioned in verse 50, “⁵⁰But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts.”  Acts 13:51 describes what Paul and Barnabas did next, “⁵¹But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium.”  This reminds us of what Jesus commanded in Matthew 10:14-15:

¹⁴And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. ¹⁵Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.

What happened in Iconium is described in Acts 13:52-14:7:

⁵²And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost.  ^14:1And it came to pass in Iconium, that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake, that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed. ²But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, and made their minds evil affected against the brethren. ³Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands. ⁴But the multitude of the city was divided: and part held with the Jews, and part with the apostles. ⁵And when there was an assault made both of the Gentiles, and also of the Jews with their rulers, to use them despitefully, and to stone them, ⁶They were ware of it, and fled unto Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and unto the region that lieth round about: ⁷And there they preached the gospel.

The persecutions Paul suffered at Lystra are described in Acts14:19-20:

¹⁹And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead. ²⁰Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.

2 Timothy 3:12 – All Who Live Godly Shall Suffer Persecution

After briefly mentioning these persecutions to Timothy, Paul continues in verse 12, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”  In John 15:20, Jesus said, “²⁰Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord.  If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.”

After the persecutions in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra, we read what Paul and Barnabas did next in Acts 14:21-22:

²¹And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, ²²Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

Rather than seeking their own safety, we see that Paul and Barnabas risked their lives by returning to the cities where they had just been persecuted. 

Today, we have many who teach the “name it, claim it” prosperity gospels.  Note that neither Jesus nor Paul taught a prosperity gospel; rather, they taught that Christians will endure persecutions and tribulation.  While the prosperity gospels are popular with many who claim to be Christians, they are not Biblical and they are dangerous.

2 Timothy 3:13 – Deceiving, and Being Deceived

Paul continues with his warning to Timothy in verse 13, “¹³But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.”  He could have been writing about those who preach prosperity gospels.  This is similar to what he had written in the previous chapter, 2 Timothy 2:16, “¹⁶But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.”

This is a theme that begins in the Old Testament.  In Jeremiah 29:8-9, we read:

⁸For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed. ⁹For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name:  I have not sent them, saith the LORD.

We read in Mark 13:5, “⁵And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you.”  In Ephesians 5:6, Paul wrote, “⁶Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.”  In 2 Thessalonians 2, Paul wrote:

³Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; … ¹⁰And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. ¹¹And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:  ¹²That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Paul had previously warned Timothy, in 1Timothy 4:1-2, “¹Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; ²Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron.”

John gives us the most detailed warning of these false teachers, deceiving and being deceived, in 1 John 4:1-6:

¹Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. ²Hereby know ye the Spirit of God:  Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:  ³And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

⁴Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them:  because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. ⁵They are of the world:  therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.  ⁶We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us.  Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

We have been warned:  just because someone comes claiming to speak the message of God does not mean he is speaking the truth.

2 Timothy 3:14-15 – The Holy Scriptures

Paul continues his instructions to Timothy:

¹⁴But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; ¹⁵And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

In 2 Timothy 1:5 and 13, Paul wrote:

⁵When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also. … ¹³Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

In John 5:39, Jesus said, “³⁹Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”

In Deuteronomy 4:5-6 (Thomas Nelson. “The Orthodox Study Bible.”) we read:

⁵“Surely I taught you ordinances and judgments, as the Lord commanded me, that you should act according to them in the land you go to inherit. ⁶Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the Gentiles, who will hear all these ordinances and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”

In Psalms 118 (119):98-99 (Thomas Nelson. “The Orthodox Study Bible.”) we read:

⁹⁸You make me wiser than my enemies with Your commandment,

For it is mine forever.

⁹⁹I understand more than all my teachers,

For Your testimonies are my meditation.