2 Timothy 4:19–22 (ESV)
Final Greetings
19 Greet
Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus. 20 Erastus remained at Corinth, and I left Trophimus, who was ill, at Miletus. 21 Do your best to come before winter. Eubulus sends greetings
to you, as do Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brothers.
22 The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.
Paul gives his greetings to fellow Christians he has known and trained. He cares about them and calls them by name. Reminds me of the passage from this last Sunday which was Good Shepherd Sunday. Jesus said
I know my sheep and they know me. The Lutheran Study Bible states: “In closing, Paul asks Timothy to greet the other Christians at Ephesus, whom Paul had earlier grown to love. There is no Christian who lives to himself or herself alone. We are
a family, joined together in Christ! Timothy faces a difficult task, but he does not face it alone. Other Christians in the Body of Christ will shoulder the load with him. God has likewise given fellow Christians to us, whom we will find gathered with us in
worship. Partaking of the Word and the Sacraments in the communion of saints, our gracious heavenly Father will lighten our loads and lift our burdens.”
I
pray: Thank You, Lord, for my fellow Christians whom I name before You in my prayers. Amen.[1]