2 Timothy 1:17Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

When Onesiphorus arrived in Rome, he says, he not only did not avoid meeting me, but sought me out and found me.

He not only did not avoid my misfortune, but even sought me out and found me. Such was his courage. Such was his faith.

But when he came to Rome, that boundary and capital of the world, he diligently sought me and found me with great difficulty.

Most wondrous, worthy of emulation, and thrice-blessed is the one who rendered so many services to the Apostle and received this blessing from apostolic lips. Those whom the Apostle mentioned above turned away from him even while being with him. But this man came from Asia to Rome, neither wearied by the length of the road nor frightened by the fiercest of kings. He deemed the Apostle worthy of every kind of service. Therefore the Apostle repaid not only him, but his whole house, with God's mercy. He reminded Timothy of him because Timothy already knew, in Ephesus, the service Onesiphorus had rendered. What follows bears witness that the Apostle wrote both sorrowful and pleasant things for the disciple's benefit.

When he heard about his teacher, he left his own city. After arriving in Rome, he searched for him diligently and found him, not at all fearing danger from the tyrant.

At the beginning of the instructive part, the holy Apostle Paul points directly to the fruit by which Timothy may first show that he is stirring up the gift of God received through apostolic ordination. Timothy must not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord Jesus. That is, he must not be ashamed of the preaching of His Cross, which is a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Greeks. If circumstances require it, he must also suffer together with the gospel of Christ. He must be inspired by the lofty meaning of the divine economy accomplished by the Savior. He must be guided both by the example of the Apostle Paul himself, his teacher, and by the example of Onesiphorus, who was not ashamed of Paul’s chains, while all the Asian disciples abandoned him.

He mentions those who had been with the Apostle, on the one hand, to awaken in Timothy the desire to visit him, since many of them had abandoned the Apostle. On the other hand, he wishes to show how highly he values his true fellow workers and fellow sufferers, by praising the house of Onesiphorus. According to St. John Chrysostom, “The Apostle speaks of temptations not in order to strike down or dishearten the disciple, but to rouse him. If it should ever happen that he undergo such temptations, he should not be troubled, but should look to his teacher and remember everything that happened to him. And see how philosophical the Apostle’s soul is. He only said what happened and did not reproach anyone. But he praised the one who did him good and wished him countless blessings.

In general, Timothy should fear what happened to some persons formerly close to Paul, namely, their falling away from him. He should imitate Onesiphorus, who was not ashamed of Paul's chains and made every effort to find him in Rome.

There were many prisons then, because it seems they were private houses whose owners were also their guards. Therefore anyone who wished to see a prisoner first had to find him. When Onesiphorus arrived in Rome and learned of St. Paul’s chains, he immediately began to look for him. He looked σπουδαιότερον, most zealously, and did not rest until he found him. Nor did he fear Nero’s terror. “Although the circumstances were full of dangers, for the Apostle had then incurred Nero’s wrath by converting someone close to him. But when Onesiphorus came to Rome, he not only did not avoid meeting me, Paul says, but sought me out most zealously and found me. What courage! What faith! See Blessed Theophylact. So all believers should be, and especially pastors. They must not be restrained by fear, threats, or shame,” says St. Chrysostom.