2 Timothy, Part Twelve
The Basis of Christian Life and Pastoral Ministry
2 Timothy 2v8
21st August 2026
In the busyness and stress of life, it's easy to focus on the immediate challenges and opportunities before us, and neglect the most important things. Paul reminds Timothy to:
2 Timothy 2v8
Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is
my gospel
This is absolutely fundamental to the Christian life and to the pastoral ministry. Paul's Gospel, which is the same Gospel given to the other apostles and to the church for 2,000 years, is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If a Christian forgets the Gospel, or any of the three aspects of the Gospel Paul mentions here, his life will suffer. If a pastor forgets, his church will suffer.
Remember that Jesus is the Christ
The word "Christ" is an angelisisation of the Greek word "Christos". "Christos" is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word "Messiah", which means "Anointed One". Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the fulfilment of the Old Testament prophesies about God's Anointed One.
Many people were anointed in the Old Testament. They were priests, prophets and kings, but Jesus is THE Anointed One, He is our perfect priest, prophet and king. Anointing is symbolic of the Holy Spirit. As Jesus acknowledged in Luke 4v17-21, Isaiah was speaking about Him when he wrote:
Isaiah 61v1
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has
anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind
up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release
from darkness for the prisoners
Over time, it became understood that many Old Testament prophecies were about the Messiah. An example is:
Isaiah 9v6-7
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government
will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and
upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and
forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.
The angel Gabriel told Daniel the date of the Christ's - the Messiah's - coming in this passage:
Daniel 9v25-26
"Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore
and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there
will be seven 'sevens,' and sixty-two 'sevens.' It will be rebuilt with
streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.
After the sixty-two 'sevens,' the Anointed One will be put to death and
will have nothing."
Many people, interpreting Daniel 9, were looking for the Messiah around the time that He came. Many false Messiahs arose around that time but Jesus is the true Messiah. This is confirmed in many New Testament scriptures, including:
Matthew 1v1
This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of
Abraham
Matthew 1v16-18
... Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the
mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah. Thus there were fourteen
generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the
exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.
This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary
was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she
was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 11v2-4
When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he
sent his disciples
to ask him, "Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone
else?"
Jesus replied, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see"
Matthew 16v13-16
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his
disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"
They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still
others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."
I would like to pay particular attention to:
John 20v30-31
Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which
are not recorded in this book.
But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah,
the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
The Gospels were written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah. Remember that Jesus is the Christ. This is the first part of the basis of your faith.
Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead
The real, bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is fundamental to your faith. Paul told the church at Corinth:
1 Corinthians 2v1-2
... When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I
proclaimed to you the testimony about God.
For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and
him crucified.
Later in the same letter, he wrote:
1 Corinthians 15v1-4
Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which
you received and on which you have taken your stand.
By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to
you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ
died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the
Scriptures...
A few verses later, he wrote:
1 Corinthians 15v14-15
... if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your
faith.
More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we
have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead...
And:
1 Corinthians 15v17
... if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in
your sins.
Never forget, never doubt, that Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead. There is no Christianity without the Resurrection.
Remember Jesus Christ, descended from David
As we saw above, the Messiah was anointed to be a king. More than that, He is of David's royal line. Consider these Messianic prophesies:
Isaiah 11v1-2
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch
will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him — the Spirit of wisdom and of
understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the
knowledge and fear of the Lord.
Jeremiah 23:5-6
"The days are coming," declares the Lord, "when I will raise up for
David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is
just and right in the land.
In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is
the name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteous Saviour.
Ezekiel 34v22-25
"I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I will
judge between one sheep and another.
I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend
them; he will tend them and be their shepherd.
I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among
them. I the Lord have spoken.
I will make a covenant of peace with them..."
Micah 5v2
"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of
Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old, from ancient times."
Again, this is confirmed in the New Testament. The angel Gabriel told Mary:
Luke 1v32-33
"He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord
God will give him the throne of his father David,
and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will
never end."
Matthew writes:
Matthew 21v4-5
This [the triumphal entry] took place to fulfil what was spoken through
the prophet [Zechariah]:
"Say to the Daughter of Zion, 'See, your king comes to you, gentle and
riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.'"
Thus Jesus is - and always will be - King of the Jews. He is much more; He is King of the Universe:
Matthew 28v18
… "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”
Paul prays for the church at Ephesus:
Ephesians 1v18-23
I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that
you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his
glorious inheritance in the saints,
and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like
the working of his mighty strength, which
he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at
his right hand in the heavenly realms,
far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title
that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to
come.
And God placed all things under his feet and gave him as head over all
things to the church,
which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every
way.
Amen.
Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. He is God's Anointed One, raised from the dead and enthroned in heaven for ever. Your faith, and all you can do for good in this world, depend on this. Never forget. Never doubt. These things are too important.