Philippians 2:25-30

Here is today's text:

(25) I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and
fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need,
(26) for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you
heard that he was ill. (27) Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy
on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon
sorrow. (28) I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at
seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. (29) So receive him in the
Lord with all joy, and honor such men, (30) for he nearly died for the work of
Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.
(Philippians 2:25-30)

Paul's servant Epaphroditus is the subject of this paragraph. Verse 25 says that Epaphroditus was a minister to Paul's needs. Apparently the Philippians had supplied the Apostle with his needs through this man. As John Wesley's commentary points out, "
The Philippians had sent him to St. Paul with their liberal contribution." It's likely that Epaphroditus was a resident of Philippi. We can see that Epaphroditus was distressed because the Philippians had heard of his illness, but he knew that they would still be concerned about him because they had not yet heard of his recovery. But Paul used the occasion to inform the Philippian church of their friend's recovery, and to inform them by his Apostolic authority that his healing was by the direct intervention of God. God further used Epaphroditus' healing to prevent Paul from being burdened with a friend's death while already facing the sorrow of his own imprisonment. Paul was eager to send his fellow worker back home so that his friends would rejoice at his coming. As the ESV renders the verse, the latter half says, "and that I may be less anxious." But from comparing this to other translations, and consulting a Greek dictionary, I believe that it should read "and that I may be less sorrowful." This indeed would be more plausible, since Paul's sorrow would surely be abated by the rejoicing of the Philippians.

The Apostle concludes by encouraging the Philippians to rejoice. They ought not to feel any sorrow that Epaphroditus is leaving Paul in his time of imprisonment, but they ought to feel joy from his coming, and honor all men who return home from serving the Lord. The reason is provided in the final verse: these people lay down their lives in the service of Christ, and so it is proper to honor them. These words of Christ find their fulfillment in Philippians 2:30,

Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will
keep it for eternal life. (John 12:25)

Though Epaphroditus could very well have died in serving Christ, he has gained eternal life. It seems to me that this verse speaks to how we who are not called to be missionaries can still be active in missions. Though Epaphroditus did not spend as much time as Paul did in his Roman mission, God nonetheless honored the work that he did. Likewise, the fact that we are not missionaries should not cause us to be disinterested in missionary work. To visit and encourage missionaries, and to contribute to their needs, is just as important a task as the evangelism itself. God has not called all of us to be missionaries like Paul. On the contrary, he has called many of us to be like Epaphroditus. So whether we travel abroad to preach the Gospel, or stay at home and serve the church, we still have an important missionary role to play.