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"Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm."

Text: 2 Timothy 4:14

RECALLING A PAINFUL TIME

Paul remembered a special instance when he had to face an opponent called Alexander. The following text was written to warn Timothy to beware of this particular enemy.

“Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm.
May the Lord repay him according to his works.
You also must beware of him, for he has greatly resisted our words.
At my first defence no one stood with me, but all forsook me.
May it not be charged against them.”

2 Timothy 4:14-16

1. “Alexander the coppersmith”

a) We do not have much information about him.

b) The only reference to him is found in this text.

c) But he was a dangerous enemy.

i) He did Paul much harm.

ii) We do not know exactly how he managed to harm Paul.

iii) It is possible that he was the one who caused Paul to be thrown into prison.

iv) He greatly resisted the work of the apostle Paul.

v) He resisted (their) words (the preaching of the gospel).

2. A legal court battle

a) Alexander must have brought charges against Paul.

b) It is not unlikely that he had trumped up charges made against Paul.

c) Paul would then be called upon to make his defence in the Roman court of law.

d) Sadly those who were with Paul forsook him.

i) Perhaps they felt that Alexander had the upper hand.

ii) They might have felt that they would be implicated if Paul had lost his case.

iii) Fearful for their lives they abandoned Paul.

3. Two different responses from Paul

We have two quite distinct responses from Paul as he wrote his reflections about this painful experience.

a) He prayed that God would repay Alexander for his wickedness.

b) He prayed that God would forgive those who had forsaken him in his hour of need. He did not blame them. He understood how fear must have adversely affected them!