Episode 1503: Acts of the Apostles (Part 7, Ch 13-Paul)

Episode 13 introduced Timothy of Lystra, a young disciple who had seen what Paul’s mission could cost before agreeing to join it. Timothy had been in Lystra when Paul was stoned and saw the condition in which he returned to the city. When Paul later came back and invited Timothy to travel with him, Timothy accepted despite understanding that the work was dangerous. He explained that what first drew him to Paul was the question raised by what he had witnessed: what could a man believe so deeply that suffering would not make him abandon it? Eventually, Timothy concluded that the answer was Paul’s conviction that Jesus was alive.

Varro then exposed a new dimension of the prosecution’s case. Paul had not merely traveled and preached. He had formed younger leaders, entrusted them with responsibility in communities, corresponded with them and prepared them to continue the work without him. Timothy described that process not as recruitment but as formation. Paul had taught him Scripture, leadership, patience in disputes, care for vulnerable people and gentleness toward opponents. Paul’s purpose, Timothy explained, was not to make him permanently dependent upon his teacher, but to prepare him for the day when Paul would no longer be there to answer every question.

The emotional center of the testimony came when Paul asked why Timothy had come to Rome even though Paul had not summoned him and association with him could now be dangerous. Timothy’s answer was simply, “Because you are here.” Varro immediately recognized the significance: Paul no longer needed to command his followers for them to stand beside him or continue his work. Paul asked the court to judge that influence by what it produced, while Varro saw men whose convictions could not easily be controlled by threats. Their final exchange sharpened the issue further. A man who did not fear death might be free to love his enemies, as Paul argued, but from Rome’s perspective he might also be a man the Empire could no longer frighten.