Onesiphorus -- True friend of Paul

Onesiphorus--True Friend of Paul

2 Timothy 1:16-18      May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me. May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus.
 
2 Timothy 4:19           Greet Priscilla and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus.
 
What you need is a friend like Onesiphorus, especially if you are dumped in a dungeon like Paul was. 
 
That was a time when Paul only needed one thing – a friend. He was deserted and feeling lonely. He yearned for the companionship of Timothy. “Do your best to come quickly” (4:9).  Other friends had abandoned him or the faith. The people in the province of Asia had deserted him, along with two close companions, Phygelus and Hermogenes. To make matters worse, Demas had turned against him, and Alexander, the coppersmith had done him great harm.
 
Not his friend Onesiphorus.  Paul expressed sweet affection for him, and for two reasons. First, Onesiphorus refreshed Paul, and second, he searched until he found Paul was in an obscure jail in Rome. Each of these deserves a close look. 
 
This was a friend who “refreshed” Paul. He used that word twice about what this friend meant to him. The words that make up the verb mean "to give breathing room, or to cheer up and encourage." Apparently while Paul was in Ephesus, Onesiphorus gave Paul some breathing room and brought encouragement. In the accounts of Paul in Ephesus, neither Luke nor Paul refer to these efforts, but years later Paul remembered all that Onesiphorus meant, with honorable mention. 
 
It is not hard to envision what memories Paul recalled. After all, he was the pastor of a young and vital congregation. Most were new believers who had lots of questions of the faith and issues about following a new Master. The leader was discipling mature believers and nurturing new ones.  They kept him up late and met him early. This was a pastor who is stretched. But most of the internal stress was pushed down or to the side to make room for his ministry. 
 
In the midst of this, Onesiphorus refreshed his friend. He did not badger, made no demands, but looked after his friend, quietly seeing to his needs and pleasures. He covered when Paul was taking a walk, understood the stress on his friend, gently asked how he was doing, and listened as Paul unloaded his feelings and concerns. And Onesiphorus seems to be the only one fulfilling that role. For him the friendship of Onesiphorus was measured as gold. 
 
The other thing Paul mentions is how Onesiphorus sought him out in his final imprisonment in Rome. 
 
Constance and I have visited the cell where Paul lived his last days. She being an artist, we covered the territory where the Caravagios are hung, where Michelangelo has his genius on display. Then one day we peeled off the trail of great art to find Paul’s tomb. Our search took us to the end of one of Rome’s subway lines and then a long zigzag walk to the site of the church. What we found was no surprise. Paul may have had greater theological influence than Peter, but when it comes to glamorous tombs, no contest.  Peter’s wins the prize hands down. After all, how do you outdo the Vatican!  
 
We understood how Onesiphorus had to “search hard” to locate his friend. He had no train, no map, no friendly Romans to ask along the way. He pursued the trail to Paul which, in those days, must have taken him well beyond the walls of Rome to deserted outskirts. There he found the cell where Paul awaited his execution, chained to a guard and alone with Luke.
 
Paul noted that Onesiphorus did not despise his chains – as one might keep distance from a highly publicized and scandalized person. Paul knew that he was a known leader among the segment of society blamed for the recent fire.  The quest for locating Paul was one of danger, and not just from thieves or thugs. 
 
What a meeting that must have been! There they threw their arms around each other, wept and held tight, looking in each other’s eyes with true happiness. Onesiphorus refreshed his friend. They expressed their mutual love and concern, their grief about Paul’s fate, but most assuredly, gave praise to the God whom they served and who had prepared “a crown of righteousness which the Lord would reward him on that day” (4:8).  
 
And so we leave the scene. The gathered angels had hushed admiration as they rejoiced in the fellowship of that trio of servants, Paul, Luke, and Onesiphorus. The refreshment and encouragement held the assurance that all that lead to arrest and jailing was worth it, that hope beyond the terminal sword was real, that their bond of love would never break, that the dungeon would be replaced with a heavenly feast, and that nothing would separate them from the Savior whom they served.
 
 
When we sat down on the bench, Onesiphorus brought up Christians in prison. He told me that, just in North Korea, there are 70,000 Christians jailed for their faith. He confirmed that what they lived on was prayer, prayer that fed their hope, that nurtured the promise of Christ to be with them, that drew the Father’s love to them. Prayer is their assurance that Christians have not forgotten them. On his suggestion I located two ways to see these brothers and sisters and to find ways to refresh them—by prayer:
 
A prayer calendar with specific and current information: 
https://www.persecution.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/2020-02_ICC-Prayer-Calendar.pdf
An Anglican lobby for the persecuted church: Anglican Persecuted Church Network