06/22/2026
Happy Father's Day.
Who has God placed in your life as a "spiritual father" or mentor?
Acts 16 – Paul and Timothy: A Reflection of Spiritual Fatherhood
Most of us are familiar with the Apostle Paul and his missionary journeys. And a lot of us know about Timothy – leader of the church in Ephesus and the recipient of letters from Paul which we know as 1 and 2 Timothy. But their very special relationship is a beautiful portrait of the love found in the community of believers from the first century.
How did Paul and Timothy meet? Paul probably met Timothy and his mother on Paul’s first missionary journey around AD 46-47, when he visited Lystra in modern-day Turkey. It was during that trip that Timothy, his mother, and his grandmother became believers in Yeshua (Jesus).
On Paul’s second missionary journey, he returned to Timothy’s hometown of Lystra for the third time (around AD 50). (Paul visited Lystra twice on his first missionary journey.) Paul had a letter from the leaders of the Jerusalem church (the Jerusalem Council mentioned in Acts 15) that opened the door for the Gentiles to join the community of Jewish believers. Paul was excited to share the Good News throughout the Mediterranean Roman world, and this letter paved the way for ministry to the Gentiles. The letter made it clear that Gentiles were not required to be circumcised and convert to Judaism to be saved.
Acts 16 states that Paul arrived in Lystra “where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was a Jewess and a believer, but whose father was a Greek. The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in the area, for they all knew his father was a Greek” (verses 2b-3, NIV).
Why did Paul have Timothy circumcised when the letter he was carrying seemed to state it was not necessary? The letter was from the believing Jewish leaders in Jerusalem to the Gentile believers. Timothy’s mother was Jewish, and therefore Timothy was Jewish. Paul recognized a special calling on Timothy’s life even though Timothy was probably only 18-20 years old, and for Paul to take Timothy as a Jewish leader to preach the Good News, Timothy’s circumcision was necessary. Otherwise, Timothy would have been considered an apostate to their Jewish audience.
It was the responsibility of the father to have his son circumcised. Timothy’s father was a Greek who was neither a convert to Judaism nor a believer in Yeshua, and there is no mention of his presence in Timothy’s life at this time. So, Paul takes on the fatherly responsibility of Timothy’s circumcision.
Timothy and Paul then traveled together along with other leaders as Paul continued his second missionary journey. And a lifelong relationship was established.
Paul became Timothy’s spiritual father. A hint of their bond is expressed many years later at the beginning of Paul’s letter to him, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope, To Timothy my true son in the faith” (1 Timothy 1:1-2a, NIV). Paul’s fatherly love for Timothy is further expressed in his last letter known as 2 Timothy. Most scholars believe that Paul wrote this letter from his prison cell in Rome while he was awaiting ex*****on. This was the last letter he ever wrote, and it was Paul’s final opportunity to encourage Timothy and remind him of his special calling.
“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus, To Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God, whom I serve as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline. So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life – not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace” (2 Timothy 1:1-9a, NIV).
