Readings:
Zechariah 12-14
2 Timothy 1

Zechariah 12-14

Another messianic prophecy in this chapter by Zechariah. This one is even quoted in the Gospel of John when the soldiers pierce the side of Jesus with a spear. The prophet says they’ll look upon him who they’ve pierced. He says they’ll mourn for him like you’d mourn for an only child and a first born child, both of which Jesus was.

And on that day that they mourn the one who is pierced, the prophet announces that a fountain of mercy will be opened to cleanse the people from their sins. This fountain is undoubtedly the blood and water that flowed from Our Lord’s side.

The final chapter that speaks of the “Day of the Lord” seems to have some fulfillment in the siege of Jerusalem and its destruction by the Romans in 70AD, but it also seems to speak about the end of all time when the world will be recreated by God.

2 Timothy 1

Saint Paul writes his second letter to his friend and protege Timothy while imprisoned in Rome. Depending on your opinion of when Paul died in Rome, this might be during his imprisonment there in the early 60s or, as many early Christians believed, Paul beat those charges and was arrested again in the mid 60s and was executed before Nero’s downfall in 68 AD.

Two main themes emerge from this letter, and that’s to persevere in suffering and in sound doctrine. Two huge hurdles for the early church, because there was always a new persecution popping up and there were always false teachers making the rounds. The first problem isn’t as relevant to many Christians today (although that’s sadly not true everywhere), but the second problem has never went away.

In his greeting, Paul mentions Timothy’s grandmother and mother. Nothing is known about his grandmother, but we know his mother was a Christian convert from Judaism. Timothy’s mother taught him the Old Testament scriptures from his youth and prepared him for the conversion he ultimately went through too. This shows the importance of teaching children the faith from an early age.

Paul encourages Timothy despite his own suffering in prison, and lets him know that suffering for Christ is not something to be ashamed of. It’s a badge of honor to suffer for the Lord.

Paul mentions someone named Onesiphorus, who was a Christian from Ephesus that came looking for Paul in Rome, despite the dangers of doing so, and brought him comfort by visiting him in jail. Paul prays that the Lord shows him mercy at the final judgment. This man is presumably dead when Paul is writing this letter, because latter on he asks Timothy to greet his family for him, but not Onesiphorus himself. If that assumption is correct then this is a very early example of praying for the dead.

Tomorrow’s Readings:
Ezra 1-2
2 Timothy 2