Onesiphorus

Amen.

Greet Prisca and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus.

Erastus has remained in Corinth.

I left Trophimus sick at Miletus.

You know that all those in the province of Asia have deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.

May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my change.

On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he diligently searched for me and found me.

May the Lord grant that he obtain mercy from him on that day.

It happens today.

And I read in chapter 1 verse 16, May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus because he often refreshed me in Rome and was not ashamed of my chains.

On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me.

Isn't that remarkable?

Do you think it was any the less frightening to visit Paul in Rome than it is to visit the Iranian pastor that I've just read about in his prison today? It makes Onesiphorus rather special, doesn't it? So the first thing that the Timothys round the world today in different parts, quite unlike our own, experience because they preach and pastor, the first thing is physical, real physical danger, taken away from their families, incarcerated, threatened, and often killed.

The second thing you'll find in 2 Timothy, and this I have taught others and seek to learn from it myself, as I hope we all will, is that the pastor will find in his work that he is dealing with divisions in the church that are very painful.

Here in Ephesus apparently there was people, accredited people, that is real teachers in the church, who were teaching something very different and very new and very exciting.

Which day? Anyone? Which day is he talking about? Judgment Day.

He said, on that day, Onesiphorus, may he be granted mercy, him and his family, because he nurtured me, he nourished me with my chains.

And on that day, Phygelus, Hermes were disqualified.

It's not a game, people.

Onesimus.

Onesiphorus.

Onesiphorus.

We call him one.

Or did I call him

Onesiphorus?

Oni.

I can't remember.

Paul just spoke of one who had not departed from him, one who was not ashamed of him.

That was Onesiphorus.

But he'd also noted two men who had departed from hau- from Paul, who had done Paul wrong.

I've named them Figgy and Hermie.

[laughs]

But, but now, son, back to you.

I've talked about Onesiphorus.

He was faithful.

It's his last letter we have in the Bible.

Chronologically, he's writing to Timothy, a younger minister, and he says, "'Greet Priscilla and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus.'" So they were where Timothy was, and he's polite.

Say hello to them for me.

Erastus stayed in Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick in Miletus.

Mordecai was to Esther.

Onesiphorus was to Paul.

And these five women were to the nation of Israel.

Remember that phrase? Faithful, silent regularity.

Jethro, Baruch.

the Shulamite bride in the Song of Solomon, Joseph of Arimathea, Anna, Onesiphorus.

They're worth knowing about, we have discovered, because their importance to the main character or their vital importance to the story itself.

as we have discovered.

Now, if you've grown up in church, if you've grown up around the Bible, especially a Bible teaching church, many of the names that we have talked about in this series may be familiar to you.

But even if you've known about Anna and Jethro, even if you've known about Joseph of Arimathea, and even if you have heard of Onesiphorus, the one we covered last week, You probably know nothing about the daughters of Zelophehad.

And those are the ones we look at today, the five daughters of Zelophehad.

For some of you, this is the very first time you've even heard that name before.