Albert Barnes Commentary 2 Timothy 4:17

"But the Lord stood by me, and strengthened me; that through me the message might me fully proclaimed, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion." — 2 Timothy 4:17 (ASV)

Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me. Though all men forsook me, yet God did not. This expresses a universal truth regarding the faithfulness of God. See Psalm 27:10. (Isaiah 43:1–2).

That by me the preaching might be fully known. The word preaching here probably means the gospel as preached by him. The word translated "might be fully known," plhroforhyh, means "might gain full belief;" that is, it might be fully confirmed, so that others might be assured of its truth. The apostle undoubtedly means that on his trial, though forsaken by all men, he was enabled to be so steadfast in his profession of the truth and so calm in the prospect of death. Consequently, all who witnessed his trial saw that there was a reality in religion and that the gospel was founded on truth.

He had maintained as a preacher that the gospel was able to support the soul in trial, and he was now able to illustrate its power in his own case. He had proclaimed the gospel as the true system of religion, and he was now able to testify to it with the prospect of approaching martyrdom.

The meaning of this passage, then, is that the truth of the gospel is made known, or that people may become fully assured of it, by the testimony offered for it by its friends in the near prospect of death. One of the most important ways of establishing the truth of the gospel in the world has been the testimony offered for it by martyrs, and the spirit of unwavering confidence in God which they have shown.

And now, one of the most important methods of maintaining the knowledge of the value of religion in the world, and of convincing people of the truth of Christianity, is the spirit shown by its friends when they are about to die. People judge greatly, and rightly, the value of a system of religion by its power to comfort in the time of calamity, and to sustain the soul when about to enter an unknown state of being.

A system that leaves us in the day of trial is of little value to mankind; one that enables us to die with the firm hope of a brighter and better world is of inestimable worth. A Christian, having served his God faithfully in life, may, therefore, be exceptionally useful when he comes to die.

And that all the Gentiles might hear. Paul was at this time in Rome. His trial was before a pagan tribunal, and he was surrounded by Pagans. Rome, too, was then the center of the world, and at all times there was a great gathering of strangers there. His trial, therefore, gave him an opportunity to testify to the truth of Christianity before Gentile rulers. It occurred in such circumstances that the knowledge of his sufferings, and of the religion for which he suffered, might be carried by the strangers who witnessed it to the ends of the world. His main object in life was to make the gospel known to the Gentiles, and he thus had an opportunity of advancing that great cause, even during what he supposed might be the trial that would determine for him the question of life or death. .

And I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. This may either mean that he was delivered from Nero, compared to a lion, or, literally, that he was saved from being thrown to lions in the amphitheater, as was common in Rome. (See 1 Corinthians 15:32).

1. It is not uncommon in the Scriptures to compare tyrants and persecutors with ravenous wild beasts. (Compare to Psalm 22:13, 21; Jeremiah 2:30).

Nero is called a lion by Seneca, and it was usual among pagan writers to apply the term in various senses to princes and warriors. See Grotius, in loc. The common interpretation here has been that this refers to Nero, and this interpretation is not improbable. Still, it is quite as natural to suppose that the punishment appointed for him, or to which he would have been subjected, was to be thrown to lions. It is also supposed that in some way, now unknown to us, he had been delivered from it.

Paul attributes his deliverance entirely to the Lord; but what instrumental agency there may have been, he does not specify. It seems probable that his deliverance was due to his own defense; he was enabled to plead his own cause with such ability that he found favor even with the Roman emperor and was discharged. If his deliverance had been through the help of a friend at court, it is unlikely he would have failed to mention the name of the one to whom he owed it.