God’s Word for You
Philippians 2:21-23 like a son
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Sunday, March 22, 2026
21 For everyone looks out for his own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because like a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. 23 Therefore, I hope to send him the moment I see how things go with me.
Paul isn’t wrong to say that “everyone looks out for his own interests” as opposed to those of Christ. We are all sinners, and the sinful nature is an expert at seeing to self-interests. But Paul is also in the middle of recommending Timothy as a man who will come to the Philippians with news about him. The trip from Rome to Philippi is about eight hundred miles, at a time when there might have been a ship available, and there might not have been. There was no advance booking; no travel agency. A traveler needed to know some basic geography such as, was a ship heading east or west? North or south? Going anywhere near your final destination? Then, if the ship was not going to stop at your port, you needed to get off as closely as you could—perhaps within a hundred miles or so, and according to the whim or willingness of the captain. You can’t just stop a ship anywhere you please as a passenger. Then you might find a smaller ship bound for your port, or even a wagon or a caravan or just a family of travelers heading your way (a family or group of families would be less likely to be robbers).
Paul also thought a lot of Timothy because, although not a family man himself, he thought of Timothy as a father feels about a son, the son who learns the trade alongside his father. This applied to farmers, but also to fishermen, and workers in any trade. It was how knowledge was passed along. Paul had passed along his knowledge of Christ and of Christian doctrine to this young man.
The picture of Timothy that we gather here and there in the New Testament, especially Acts 17, here in Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, some verses in 1 and 2 Corinthians, and of course 1 and 2 Timothy, is that he was a young man, raised as a Jew (his mother and grandmother shared his faith). He then followed Paul and grew into a sound, loving Christian preacher. He does not seem to have had the most outgoing personality. Paul wrote to him, “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” (2 Timothy 1:6-7). Now, Timothy does not seem to have needed much coaching about his Christian love or his self-discipline. But anyone who is, like me, naturally shy and introverted, knows that only with some encouragement (and sometimes the necessities of the divine call) can a more outgoing nature be coaxed out. This, I think, is why Paul talks to his young friend they way he does in his letters. He knew that this man would be an asset to every church he came into contact with.
Verse 23 helps us to understand the order of how the two men, Timothy and Epaphroditus, were going to be sent. Timothy would be second; he wasn’t going to be sent off until Paul found out the disposition of his case.
When we consider how much Paul appreciated how young Timothy would look out for the interests of the Philippians (and perhaps other churches he would visit along the way) we appreciate the trust Paul had in this man. “The root of the righteous man flourishes” (Proverbs 12:12). This kind of concern and affection isn’t always evident, and can hardly ever be counted or added up. But there is always a sense of making a difference to people, simply because one loves, one cares, one watches out for other people. “The love of God and neighbor is the greatest virtue.” This is bound up completely with faith in Christ, because every good work, including and especially love of every kind that God credits to mankind, flows out from and after faith “since such faith is never alone but is always accompanied by love and hope.”
Solomon carries this deeper into our heartstrings. Love, which of course is “as strong as death” (Song of Solomon 8:6), when properly pursued by the believer (“who pursues righteousness and love”) will result in life, prosperity and honor (Proverbs 21:21). And again, “To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice” (Proverbs 21:3). When we do what is needed for those in need, especially for the spiritual needs of the church and for our loved ones, we do the greatest work there is. When this delights the heart of the Christian, it delights the heart of God as well. This is how even a timid servant of God is given strength, so that his feet are made “like the feet of a deer,” and he is enabled “to go on the heights” like the surest and bravest of the mountain sheep (Habakkuk 3:18).
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.