God’s Word for You

2 Timothy 2:6 the first to share

by Pastor Timothy Smith on Tuesday, June 16, 2026

6 The farmer, weary from his hard work, should be the first to receive a share of the crops.

The main theme Paul is illustrating in verses 3-13 is that the worker, that is the minister in Christ’s service, should be ready to endure hardship for the sake of the Gospel. But this verse carries our thoughts into a corollary: the worker must be ready and willing simply to work hard. “As servants of Christ we commend ourselves in every way, in great endurance… in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger” (2 Corinthians 6:4-5). He even has some reason to boast (in order to stave off criticism): “Are they servants of Christ? I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again….” (2 Corinthians 11:23). And again: “I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked” (2 Corinthians 11:27).

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. The farmer is “hard working” (κοπιῶντα), but it is for all the right reasons. When it’s time to be in the field, he will be in the field. If not, he will be looking after the animals. And if there is time to spare, he will keep his tools and equipment in good order. He will teach his children to do many things to help around the farm. Then, when the farmer’s work is done at the end of the day, or at the end of the harvest (or butchering time), it is that same weary farmer who should rightfully be the first one to have a share in what the farm produces.

This verse might cause some to wonder about similar things that Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9, since in that place the apostle is talking about ministers being able to enjoy the physical benefits that come along with spiritual labors, saying, “If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you?” (1 Corinthians 9:11). Here, Paul is saying that hard work is something that we should anticipate as those who work in the service of Christ. In fact, this is the real point of comparison: the hard work done by the worker benefits many people: both the people who receive the worker’s work, and the worker himself.

For the minister of the gospel, this is especially the case with his regular study of God’s holy word. There is more that comes out of a sermon study than there is ever room or time to put into the sermon. There is more than turns up in preparation for a Bible class than there is ever time to talk about in the class.

And these devotions? This little series on 2 Timothy is a joy, and in many respects a walk through a favorite classroom or a couple of hours every day in a familiar and beloved forest where I already know every tree, branch, and root. But there was a time in my early days of ministry when I was intimidated by Paul’s letters. I was much more comfortable in the Gospels, in Moses, in the Prophets or the Psalms. Paul’s letters were a struggle for me. I think that it was because my professors in college and then in the seminary talked about Paul as being so logical, so easy to follow, so easy to preach on. But I didn’t find Paul to be that way. I was more comfortable in Nahum or Habakkuk than in Romans or Ephesians. But the whole Bible is the word of God, and by reading, and by studying, and by making myself preach and teach from Paul, I began to find myself more and more at home in Paul as with the rest of the Bible. This wasn’t anything I felt I could share with other pastors, because it felt so backwards to me. Most pastors must surely be happier in the letters of Paul than anyplace else except for the great Gospels themselves! But now the hard work of digging into Paul has produced good fruit in my spiritual life, and like the hard-working farmer, I get the benefits of this work as much as anybody else does—perhaps even more so.

Lenski says something profound here: “There must be farmers to sustain the life of the world; there must be preachers to sustain the life of the church.” This sustaining is done by preaching the law and gospel, and by offering the sacraments for the forgiveness of sins to sinners.

A farmer is the first to share in the crop. So also a preacher is the first to share in the Gospel. Why is this? Because he is sitting at the fountain itself, “the fountain of wisdom that is a bubbling brook” (Proverbs 18:4), and this is what he drinks from every time he opens the pages of Scripture, “a well of flowing water streaming down” (Song 4:15). Then he turns, as it were, to his hearers, refreshed and filled by this living water, and he shares the good news with God’s people from the very same fountain.

In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith

 

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