Young Timothy

The young man who carried on his grandmother's and mother's faith

Lystra · c. AD 50 · Acts 16:1–5

Story

Paul and Silas passed through Derbe and came to Lystra. It was the very city where Paul had been stoned a few years before. A disciple named Timothy lived there. His mother was a Jewish woman who believed in Jesus, and his father was a Greek. All the brothers in Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him.

Paul wanted to take Timothy along with him. The Jews in that area all knew Timothy's father was a Greek and that Timothy had not been circumcised. Paul circumcised Timothy, not for the sake of salvation, but so that nothing would stand in the way of bringing the gospel to them. Later Paul wrote, “To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews.”

The group went from city to city, passing on the decisions the apostles and elders in Jerusalem had made. The churches grew strong in faith and grew in number every day. Timothy became a fellow worker whom Paul loved like a son. Years later Paul wrote to him, “I am sure that the sincere faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice now lives in you too.”

Words of the Lord and of Paul

I remember your sincere faith. It lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure it lives in you too.

To the Jews I became like a Jew. I did it to win the Jews.

You know what kind of man Timothy is. Like a son with his father, he has worked with me for the gospel.

The sayings are fresh renderings of the original meaning in today's language. Text: Acts 16:1–5

Background

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