”Hands hastily be laying upon no one, nor sharing sins of others. Yourself free be keeping.”
-Jumping the gun. Jumping to conclusions. Simply jump to it. It does appear that our culture is quite fond of jumping. But here Paul cautions his protege to actually not jump the gun. There are several possibilities as to what Paul could be referring here. One is hastily laying hands on someone in ordaining them to be an elder. And this would certainly fit with the previous verse. Timothy, you can’t just jump the gun on installing one of your buds an elder or a deacon or some other leader in the church (cf Acts 6.6, 13.3; 1Timothy 4.14; 2Timothy 1.6). They need to meet the qualifications. They need to be exemplary in both their character and their conduct as well as in the content of their doctrine. Given that this is exactly the language Paul uses in reference to what He did for Timothy, this is most likely the best explanation. Another possibility which Paul might have in mind is that of hastily restoring a previously disgraced and disciplined elder (from verse 20). He could be saying, Timothy, you don’t want to hastily restore into fellowship (much less leadership) one of your buddies. You want to make sure that they have truly repented of their sins and are finding victory over them. In either case, in either one of these two possibilities, if you jump the gun on someone you may wind up putting someone into a place for which they are not yet suited. If you endorse someone for fellowship or leadership when in fact they are (still) struggling with some area of hidden sin, then you essentially wind up sharing in that sin as well. Timothy, as the Shepherd/Overseer, you are responsible for those you ordain as well as those you restore. You share some responsibility for whatever sin they may (still) be dealing with if you lay hands on them (as in, an official act of ordination or restoration). So let's give them a measure of protection (and ourselves as well) and do our due diligence.
-(We see examples of laying on hands for healing - Matthew 9.18, 19.13, 19.15; Mark 6.5, 7.32, 8.23, 8.25, 16.18; Luke 4.40, 13.13, 28.8. Also for receiving the Holy Spirit - Acts 8.17, 19.6. Both (?) in Acts 9.17. Hands are also thrown at - Luke 20.19, 21.12; John 7.44; Acts 4.3, 5.18, or stretched out - Luke 22.53 - in order to seize someone - different verb in the Greek but translated into English as laying hands on that person. But the sense of laying on hands as a form of commissioning for ministry is found throughout Scripture - Numbers 8.10, 27.8; Acts 6.6, 13.3 - and that is what would be under consideration in the two scenarios mentioned above).
-Now there is another possibility, one which uses this phrase as it often occurs in modern English, but not so much in the Greek. And while this may not be the most likely given the Greek, it can bring up a point which could be helpful, and that is that Paul might be cautioning Timothy against hastily laying hands on an elder vis a vis receiving an accusation of sin against them. It would simply be a repeat and an expansion of the admonition he just gave in verse 19. You don’t want to give hasty credence to what could be a sinful false accusation against an elder, Timothy.
-Regardless, in either of these two (two-ish) scenarios, let's tap the brakes. Find witnesses. Do our research. Seek the Lord and His wisdom, His leading. Leadership in God's Church is a serious business, a high calling. 'Cuz it's God's business. Let's get it right. Fools rush in - we don't need to be in a hurry when it comes to leaders. Patience. We are free to take our time to get it right.
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