2 Timothy 4:1-8
Chapter 4
to preach the word in season and out of season, reproof, rebuke, or exhort, with patience and instruction.
For the time will come when people will no longer tolerate sound doctrine but, following their passions, will gather teachers to suit their itching ears.
And they will abandon the truth and turn to myths.
As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, devote yourself fully to your ministry as an evangelist.
Final Recommendations and Greetings
As for me, I am already poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
Now, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award me on that day— and not only me but also all who have eagerly anticipated his appearance.
Commentaries
Servant of the Word of God.
The final advice Timothy receives from the letter’s author, delivered as if from Paul, centers on Sacred Scripture. The “testamentary” nature of the letter reaches its highest point here. With God and Jesus Christ as witnesses and with the end of history as his horizon, the Apostle earnestly urges Timothy that “now” is the moment to proclaim the Word of God. A series of imperatives conveys the urgency and importance of preaching: proclaim, convince, rebuke, exhort, watch, endure trials, do the work, fulfill your ministry. Never has the calling and primary mission of the ordained ministry—bishops, priests, deacons—been clearer: to be servants of the Word of God. And in communion with those leading the Church, the mission and vocation of all believers are also emphasized.
Final Recommendations and Greetings.
At the end of his testament, Paul sees himself clearly as a servant of the Word who faces the certainty of his final departure. The Apostle’s imminent and violent death, like his entire apostolic life dedicated to the Gospel, has the character of a liturgical sacrifice, a libation (6). His departure will be like raising anchor. He is an athlete who has competed to the finish and now prepares to receive the crown of victory (1 Cor 9:25). In this competition, it is not just one person who is crowned, but all who run with unwavering hope.