”I am commanding [you] in the face of the God the [One] giving life to all things, and of Jesus Christ the [One] witnessing upon Pontius Pilate the beautiful confession...”
-Paul is about to leave Timothy with a sober charge, and extremely serious command. He couldn’t be more serious about it. And so he invokes the presence of two witnesses. In the face of God and Jesus. They are watching. They see the whole thing. The very fact that these two are witness to the giving of this command, and will also be watching its implementation, should be sobering enough. But what Paul reminds us about who they are, summarizes their palmarès for us, their notable achievements and qualifications as expert witnesses - this ratchets up the seriousness with which Timothy (and we) should respond to this command a hundred-fold.
-God is the One giving life to all things. Including me and you and Timothy. He is the Source, the Source of life. Formed out of dust and breathed into each one of us the breath of life. The breath of life. My every next breath comes from Him. My very last breath will come from Him, until He takes me home. The Giver of life - all things owe their very existence to Him. All of us are indebted to Him - He has given us life. This life we live, these breaths we breathe - they are gifts. Time is indeed life measured out to us. We owe God a debt of gratitude - but more than that. This life, this precious gift, ought to be stewarded. Taken care of. These are the Care Instructions that came in the box. There are very specific instructions for how to take proper care of our life, that which our Life-Giver has made and given to us. He has explicit ideas about how He wants us to steward the life He has given to us - and He is watching. In the face of God. The Supreme Life-Giver. He is one of the ones who is watching. But there is Another...
-Jesus Christ. Jesus of Nazareth - the One Who stood before Pontius Pilate and of Whom Pilate declared, “What evil has He done? I find no guilt in this man.” Repeatedly (Matthew 27.23, Luke 23.4, 14, 22, John 18.38, 19.4). In Him there was found no sin. Not even a hint. Not one stain or blemish. His was a beautiful confession, an exemplary witness, a life well-lived, to the max. He was tempted in all things, yet without sin (Hebrews 4.15). Never once slipped up. Never once missed the mark. Our bestest big Brother. He did it. Whatever it is that God is asking us to do (or not do), Jesus did it. He went before us, a shining example, the Author and Perfector of our faith - and the One Who now lives inside us to carry us through whatever it is we are facing (cf Hebrews 2.18). The Beautiful Life-Liver. He is also watching us now - He sees. He knows what we know, knows that we know what is right. He has finished His race - and now He is helping us finish as well (cf Hebrews 12.1-2)!
-On to the command itself. Next verse...!
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