’Certain ones on the one hand even through envy and strife, certain ones on the other hand even through good pleasure, are preaching Christ. The [ones] on the one hand out of love, having known that unto defense of the Good News I am laid down. The [ones] on the other hand out of strife are proclaiming Christ, not purely, supposing to be raising tribulation with my bonds. For what? Only that by every way, whether by pretext or by truth, Christ is being proclaimed, and in this I am rejoicing. But rather also I will be joyful.'
-There are always differing motivations for talking to others about Jesus. In Paul’s situation, there were folks who had good motives for telling others about Jesus, doing so was a source of pleasure for them in fact, and there were others who were talking about Christ because they were envious of Paul, they were jealous of him in some way. They had bad motives. (There is a third group not mentioned here, ones who are more un-motivated or de-motivated when it comes to talking about Jesus, including people who know Jesus who are NOT telling others about Him, but apparently they did not factor into Paul's circumstances.) Paul proceeds to unpack the first two groups in the subsequent verses...
-For the second group, the ones who are speaking out about Jesus out of good pleasure, Paul says that the reason they were doing so was out of agapé, out of sacrificial others-first love. We might wonder if their love and good pleasure was directed more at Paul or at Jesus, but it would not be unrealistic to maintain that both were true (and in fact the deepest motivation for telling others about Jesus is neither our love for people nor our love for Jesus - both of which can waver - but rather His great unwavering unchanging love for us, cf 2Corinthians 5.14-15). The context would seem to suggest that Paul is thinking more about their love for him. They are telling others about Jesus because that is precisely what Paul had been appointed to do. Paul had been the flag bearer, so to speak, and since he had been taken out of the battle to some extent, these others who love him and care about him wanted to step up and carry the flag in his stead.
-For the first group, inasmuch as Paul was in chains because he had been proclaiming Christ, these ones are doing the same in order to try and cause more trouble for Paul. Which of course seems a bit odd, since they were probably going to bring trouble on themselves as well. But it is not unheard of for people to publicly identify themselves with Jesus and with the Gospel out of all sorts of bad or impure motives. They might think to make some kind of profit or gather a following or perhaps curry some favor with those in authority. Paul's response to these might be surprising to some...
-What matters most to Paul (and therefore what should matter most to us) is that people are proclaiming Christ, no matter their motives, whether they know Him or not supposedly. Now it is probably safe to assume that both groups - the ones with pure motives and the ones with bad motives - were speaking accurately about Christ. Paul is not endorsing anyone saying things about Jesus which aren’t true. But even with impure motives, Paul says it is good to tell others the truth, the Good News about Jesus. But here's the question - how much and does it even matter to us?
-Yes, there is a that third group, the ones not telling others about Jesus. Either He does not matter to them at all, or apparently not enough. It is not uncommon for professing Christ-followers to try and excuse themselves from proclaiming Christ because, as they may suggest, their motives are not right. Any proclaiming they might do would be done out of compulsion as opposed to doing so eagerly. But you know what? Paul says that this is not ever an excuse. In fact, doing something good or right simply because that is what you are supposed to do, whether out of compulsion or even if you are not eager to do it, is always good and right, no matter what it is. The notion that I am somehow to be excused from talking about Jesus because I might somehow being doing so under a less than pure pretext is a mind trick of the great deceiver himself. I just don’t want to - let’s be honest. I don’t want to be uncomfortable or rejected or make the other person uncomfortable. But this is a terrible mirage, because in the day of Christ there will be both great shame for me at having shrunk back in timidity from declaring the truth (Acts 20.27), and great weeping and gnashing of teeth for the one who has not trusted in Christ (Matthew 13.49) and who must now pay the penalty of destruction for their sins away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power (2Thessalonians 1.9). I tell you what, it sure will be more uncomfortable for someone to have to face their Maker in the next life and have Him tell them, ‘depart from Me,’ and have to pay the penalty for their many sins than for them to have an honest discussion about it on even terms with a caring friend (or stranger even) in this life.
-Paul adds that people talking about Jesus is tremendous source of joy for him, regardless of the circumstances. This is because, as we will continue to observe, Jesus was a tremendous source of joy for Paul. In fact, Jesus was the ultimate source of joy for Paul. To this point, Paul has already mentioned Jesus 11 times in this letter. He can’t stop talking about Jesus. He can’t stop thinking about Him. The real Jesus was a real person to Paul - he can't NOT talk about Him. He had had the encounter on the road to Damascus (Acts 9.3-7, Galatians 1.1). He had had a subsequent revelation (possibly in Arabia? cf Ephesians 3.3, Galatians 1.11-12, Galatians 1.15-17, 2Corinthians 12.1-4, 2Corinthians 12.7). Jesus was extremely real to Paul. He was also incomparably better than anything this earth had to offer (Philippians 1.23). WHAT ARE SOME THINGS THAT KEEP ME FROM TALKING AND THINKING ABOUT JESUS? WHAT ARE SOME REASONS THAT HE IS NOT INCOMPARABLY BETTER FOR ME?
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