Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary 2 Timothy 3:11

"persecutions, sufferings. What things befell me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me." — 2 Timothy 3:11 (ASV)

In sharp contrast to the above-mentioned people, Paul now addresses Timothy directly. “Know all about” (GK 4158) means to follow closely; Timothy has been faithfully following the life of the apostle. He was familiar with Paul’s “teaching” (GK 1436), his “way of life” (GK 73), God’s “purpose” (GK 4606; cf. 1:9) in him, his “faith” (GK 4411), his “patience” (GK 3429) shown toward his opponents, the constant, steadfast “love” (GK 27) that God implanted in his heart, and his “endurance” (GK 5705) or brave patience with which he handled the various hindrances and persecutions that happened to him.

In v.11 Paul adds two more things that Timothy knew about: “persecutions” and “sufferings.” These things had happened throughout his missionary career (cf. 2 Corinthians 11:23–29), beginning in Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra (Acts 13:50; 14:2, 5, 19)—cities in the Roman province of Galatia where Paul had founded churches on his first missionary journey.

In Lystra, he was actually bombarded with stones and left for dead. Since Timothy was a young man in Lystra at that time and had evidently just been converted under Paul’s ministry, he had poignant memories of this incident. But out of them all the Lord had delivered Paul, even reviving him from the stoning. Early Christians could expect persecution for their faith (cf. 3:10–13). Later, many were persecuted in the Colosseum of Rome.