2 Timothy 2:8

Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel:

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(8) Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead.—More accurately rendered, Remember Jesus Christ . . . as raised (or, as one raised). The words of the Greek original, “of the seed of David,” come after, not before, “was raised from the dead.” The translation should run thus: Remember Jesus Christ as one raised from the dead, born of the seed of David. Timothy was to remember, was ever to bear in mind, two great facts. They were to be the foundation stones of his whole life’s work. Remembering these in the hour of his greatest trouble, he was never to be cast down, but ever to take fresh courage. And the two facts he was to remember were: that Jesus Christ, for whose sake he suffered—like him, Timothy, or like St. Paul—was born of flesh and blood, and yet He had risen from the dead. Surely, in the hour of his weakness, such a thought would be sufficient to inspire him with comfort and courage. Two facts, then, are to be ever in Timothy’s mind: the Resurrection and the Incarnation of his Lord. The thought of the first mentioned, “the Resurrection,” would always be reminding him of his Master’s victory over death and of His present glory. The thought of the second mentioned, “born of the seed of David,” “the Incarnation,” would ever be whispering to him, “Yes, and the risen and glorified One sprang, too, like himself, from mortal flesh and blood.” The reason of the “Incarnation” being expressed in this special manner, “born of the seed of David,” was to include another truth. The “risen One “was not only born of flesh and blood, but belonged to the very race specified in those prophets so revered by Timothy and the chosen people as the race from which should spring the Messiah: “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth . . . and this is His name whereby He shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS” (Jeremiah 23:5-6). To raise the fainting heart of his much-tried disciple in this hour of discouragement, to supply a ground of confidence to yet unborn Christians, who in their day would be tried as Timothy was then, was the Apostle’s first purpose when he pressed these thoughts on his son in the faith; but in the background, no doubt, there lay another purpose. These great comforting truths were to be maintained and taught in the presence of those false teachers who were ever ready to explain away or even to deny, then as now, the beginning and the end of the Son of God’s life and ministry on earth—His Incarnation and His Resurrection.

According to my gospel.—This formula, for so it may be considered, occurs frequently in St. Paul’s Epistles (Romans 2:16, and again Romans 16:25, and in other places), and, with very slight variations, in 1Timothy 1:11 and 1Corinthians 15:1. Jerome’s remark, “As often as St. Paul in his Epistles writes ‘according to my Gospel,’ he refers to the volume of Luke,” although received with reserve by many expositors, considering the weighty traditional evidence we possess of St. Luke’s Gospel being in reality written by St. Paul, appears on the whole substantially correct.

Benson Commentary

2 Timothy 2:8-10. Remember — So as to be encouraged against, and supported under, any sufferings which thou mayest be called to endure for the truth; that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David — According to the flesh; see on Romans 1:3; Hebrews 2:16; was raised from the dead — And thereby demonstrated himself to be the true Messiah. So our translators have rendered the clause, understanding the sense to be, Remember and adhere to this important fact, as the great foundation of the gospel. But the original expressions, μνημονευε Ιησουν Χριστον εγηγερμενον εκ νεκρων, are, literally, Remember Jesus Christ raised from the dead, &c. That is, think on him, keep him continually in remembrance, and it will be instead of a thousand arguments to support thee under, and carry thee through, all thy dangers and difficulties, thy labours and sufferings. Wherein — In the service of which gospel; I suffer trouble as an evildoer — A malefactor, deserving some heavy punishment; even unto bonds — Imprisonment and chains. But the word of God is not bound — It will spread itself in spite of all opposition. “This short sentence,” says Macknight, “is a beautiful display of the apostle’s character. The evils which he was suffering for the gospel, though great, he reckoned as nothing, because of the joy which he felt from his persuasion that the honour of Christ and the happiness of mankind would be promoted by his sufferings, and because he knew that all the opposition which infidels were making to the gospel, would not hinder it from being preached and believed. They have bound me in chains, said he, and may put me to death, but the word of God they cannot bind. Not only the strength of the apostle’s reasoning here, but the energy of his expression is admirable.” Therefore — In hope of a glorious reward, to be conferred in due time on them and myself. I endure all things for the elect’s sake — That is, that I may thereby promote the salvation of God’s people. See on 2 Thessalonians 2:13. Observe the spirit of a real Christian! Who would not wish to be like-minded! That they may obtain salvation — From sin and all its consequences, or deliverance from all evil; with eternal glory — The enjoyment of all good.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

2:8-13 Let suffering saints remember, and look to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of their faith, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despised the shame, and is now set down at the right hand of the throne of God. We must not think it strange if the best men meet with the worst treatment; but this is cheering, that the word of God is not bound. Here we see the real and true cause of the apostle's suffering trouble in, or for, the sake of the gospel. If we are dead to this world, its pleasures, profits, and honours, we shall be for ever with Christ in a better world. He is faithful to his threatenings, and faithful to his promises. This truth makes sure the unbeliever's condemnation, and the believer's salvation.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead - Or rather, perhaps, "Remember Jesus Christ; him who was raised from the dead." The idea seems not to be, as our translators supposed, that he was to reflect on the fact that he was raised from the dead; but rather that he was to think of the Saviour himself. "Think of the Saviour, now raised up from the dead after all the sorrows of this life, and let this encourage you to bear your trials." There is nothing better fitted to enable us to endure the labors and trials of this life, than to think of the Saviour. On the phrase "seed of David," see the notes at Romans 1:3.

According to my gospel - The gospel which I preach; see the notes at 2 Thessalonians 2:14.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

8. Rather as Greek, "Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead." Remember Christ risen, so as to follow Him. As He was raised after death, so if thou wouldest share His risen "life," thou must now share His "death" (2Ti 2:11). The Greek perfect passive participle, implies a permanent character acquired by Jesus as the risen Saviour, and our permanent interest in Him as such. Christ's resurrection is put prominently forward as being the truth now assailed (2Ti 2:18), and the one best calculated to stimulate Timothy to steadfastness in sharing Paul's sufferings for the Gospel's sake (see on [2495]2Ti 2:3).

of the seed of David—The one and only genealogy (as contrasted with the "endless genealogies," 1Ti 1:4) worth thinking of, for it proves Jesus to be the Messiah. The absence of the article in the Greek, and this formula, "of the seed of David" (compare Ro 1:3), imply that the words were probably part of a recognized short oral creed. In His death He assured us of His humanity; by His resurrection, of His divinity. That He was not crucified for His own sin appears from His resurrection; that He was crucified shows that He bore sin, on Him, though not in Him.

my gospel—that which I always taught.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

The apostle passeth from his former discourse, wherein he had armed Timothy against the afflictions of the gospel, to a discourse about the doctrine of the gospel; and here mentioneth two principal heads of that doctrine, the incarnation of Christ, and his resurrection, which he instanceth in, as more particularly to be remembered and pressed upon Christians, in regard they were those two points of the gospel which were either at that time denied, as that of the incarnation was by the Jews, or he knew would first be opposed; and the latter that which

declared Christ to be the Son of God with power, Romans 1:4, and upon a faith in which Christians’ salvation and consolation much depended, Romans 4:25 8:34; he therefore calls to him especially to

remember that Jesus Christ was of the seed of David, truly man, and the true Messiah, who was to be the seed of David, (as the Jews themselves confessed): the manhood of Christ, soon after the apostle’s times, was denied by the Marcionites and Manichees, &c. And that he

was raised from the dead deserved Timothy’s remembrance, both because upon that depended the great evidence of Christ’s Divine nature, and the salvation and consolation of believers.

According to my gospel; this, he saith, was suitable to the doctrine of the gospel which he had preached to them: he calls it his gospel, because committed to his trust to publish; so Romans 2:16, and Romans 16:25, which he expoundeth, Galatians 1:11, the gospel preached of me: he speaks in the plural number, 1 Thessalonians 1:5 2 Thessalonians 2:14; declaring that the gospel was no more his than others’ also who were ministers of it.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David,.... This is said either as an encouragement to suffer hardness in the cause of Christ; since he, who though he was of the seed of David, of the blood royal, and heir to his crown, yet suffered and died; and whereas he rose again from the dead, those who suffer for his sake shall rise also, and live and reign with him for ever: or else as a specimen of the form of sound words, or of the things which Timothy had heard of the apostle; for this, with what follows, is a summary of them: Christ being of the seed of David, according to the flesh, or human nature, is expressive of his incarnation; shows that he was really come in the flesh, and was truly man; and that he assumed human nature with all its frailties and infirmities, excepting sin, and was, like David, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with griefs; and it includes his whole life, and his righteousness, and obedience to the law of works, and points him out as the true Messiah, who was well known to the Jews by the name of the son of David. And now the apostle puts Timothy in mind, that he

was raised from the dead; which implies that he died; and so includes all the doctrines relating to his death; as that he died to make reconciliation, atonement, and satisfaction for the sins of his people, and to procure peace for them, and the full remission of all their iniquities; and to obtain redemption for them, from sin, Satan, the law, and its curses; as well as it expresses his resurrection from the dead, for their justification: and this being his first step to glory, has connected with it his ascension to heaven, session at the right hand of God, intercession for the saints, and his second coming to judgment; and is therefore particularly mentioned, because it is an article so comprehensive, and is a fundamental one, and of the greatest importance to faith, and was what was struck at in those times: the apostle adds,

according to my Gospel; meaning not the Gospel of Luke, in which there is a clear account given of the resurrection of Christ, said to be written by him, at the instigation, and under the direction of the apostle, and published with his approbation, as some think; but the doctrine of the Gospel, and which he calls his, not because he was the author, or the subject of it; for in these respects it is the Gospel of God, and of Christ; but because it was committed to him, and he was intrusted with it, and fully and faithfully preached it; and in distinction from another Gospel, that of the false teachers; and agreeably to this doctrine, which the apostle everywhere taught, Christ was raised from the dead; so the Ethiopic version renders it, "as I have taught".

Geneva Study Bible

{6} Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel:

(6) He confirms plainly two principles of our faith, which are alway assaulted by heretics, the one of which (that is, that Christ is the true Messiah, made man of the seed of David) is the ground of our salvation: and the other is the highest part of it, that is, that he is risen again from the dead.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Meyer's NT Commentary

2 Timothy 2:8. Μνημόνευε Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν] μνημονεύειν is usually followed by the genitive; but the accusative is found both here and at 1 Thessalonians 2:9. Timothy is to remember Jesus Christ, that he may gain the proper strength for discharging his official duties—to remember especially His resurrection, in which He triumphed over sufferings and death, and in which is contained for the believer the seal of his victory;[25] hence Paul adds: ἘΓΗΓΕΡΜΈΝΟΝ ἘΚ ΝΕΚΡῶΝ, “as one who rose from the dead.”

The added asyndeton: ἘΚ ΣΠΈΡΜΑΤΟς ΔΑΒΊΔ, does not denote the humiliation, but the Messianic dignity of Christ.[26] The antithetical relation between the two clauses is here the same as in Romans 1:3-4 (ἐκ σπ. Δαβίδ … ἐξ ἀναστάσεως νεκρῶν), where it is distinctly marked by κατὰ σάρκα … κατὰ πνεῦμα. Hofmann incorrectly makes both ἐκ σπέρμ. Δ. and ἐκ νεκρῶν depend on ἐγηγερμένον; in that case the verb would have to be taken in two different senses; besides, ἐκ τ. σπέρμ. is nowhere found in connection with ἐγείρεσθαι. There, is nothing to indicate (Wiesinger) that ἐκ σπἐρμ. Δαβίδ is an antithesis “to the docetic error of the heretics” (van Oosterzee). Heydenreich rightly rejected the secondary references which many expositors give to these words, such as: that they indicate a similarity between the vicissitudes of Christ’s life and those of David; or that they are to serve as a proof of the certainty of Christ’s resurrection (Michaelis); or that they denote the whole state of Christ’s humiliation (Mosheim), and so on.

The added words: κατὰ τὸ εὐαγγέλιόν μου, may be referred either to μνημόνευε κ.τ.λ. (Hofmann), or to the attributes of Ἰησ. Χριστόν. The latter reference is the more probable one; Paul, as a rule, does not use the formula κατὰ τὸ εὐαγγ. to denote the rule for the believer’s conduct, but to confirm a truth he has expressed (comp. Romans 2:16; Romans 16:25; 1 Timothy 1:11). To refer it only to ἐκ σπέρμ. Δ. is arbitrary. Still more arbitrary is Jerome’s opinion, that Paul by τὸ εὐαγγ. μου means the gospel of Luke (Baur).

[25] Hofmann wrongly maintains that “the remembrance of Jesus Christ was not to be a pledge to Timothy of his victory over all he had to encounter for Christ’s sake, but only to make him willing to endure.” Such willingness could only have come to him from the conviction that the victory of Christ was a pledge of victory to the believer.

[26] Hofmann (Schriftbew. II. 1, pp. 113f.): “Timothy being disinclined to suffer for the gospel’s sake, the apostle reminds him that through death Jesus attained to the heavenly glory, to which He had a right through His descent from the line of David.”—Van Oosterzee incorrectly assumes that ἐκ σπέρμ. Δ. simply denotes the human origin of Jesus. The apostle clearly goes beyond this in mentioning David by name.

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

8. Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised] The force of the participle and the true order of the phrases require the rendering Remember Jesus Christ risen from the dead, of the seed of David. In the other N.T. places where the accusative follows this verb ‘remember,’ it is of a thing not a person, Matthew 16:9; 1 Thessalonians 2:9; Revelation 18:5. And this use is really followed here; it is ‘Jesus risen—a historic fact’ which is set before Timothy. ‘Risen,’ not ‘raised,’ according to the ordinary usage of the passive, as e.g. Matthew 11:11, Mark 16:14, and suiting best the idea prominent here of Christ’s own power. The force of the clause ‘of the seed of David’ is seen in the paraphrase above.

according to my gospel] The gospel entrusted to me to teach, as in 1 Timothy 1:11; ‘a solemn way of speaking, identifying these truths with the preaching which had been the source of Timotheus’s belief.’ Alford.

8–13. A yet higher illustration from God’s own plan of salvation—the Cross before the Crown

Just as in the first chapter St Paul appeals first to Timothy’s sympathies and experiences of an earthly kind to brace him up—his own strong feelings moved even to tears, his mother’s and grandmother’s faith and piety, the touch of the vanished hand in the solemn rite of ordination (2 Timothy 2:4-7), and then paints for him ‘the power of God,’ ‘the appearing of our Saviour Christ Jesus who abolished death,’ as the chief and strongest motive for keeping up heart and hope, since His must be the winning side, He must be able to keep that which is committed to Him (2 Timothy 2:8-12): so now, after the appeal to earthly analogies and common human experiences as to the necessity and the reward of pains and perseverance, he rises from the earthly to the heavenly, from the human to the Divine. ‘Remember, God’s plan—even the old, old promise to “the seed of the woman”—came out complete in the fulness of time. Jesus Christ of the seed of David bruised the, old serpent’s head when He rose “victor over the tomb.” True, I, or any one of us His humble servants, may for a time seem trodden under, but ’tis only for a time; the salvation, the eternal glory, is assured in His power; if we endure we shall also reign with Him. This is the motive of motives to play the man; this is indeed being strengthened in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.’

Bengel's Gnomen

2 Timothy 2:8. Μνημόνευε) remember, so that thou mayest follow. Paul, as usual, quickens (gives life to) his own example by the example of Christ.—ἐγηγερμένον ἐκ νεκρῶν) An abbreviated expression, i.e. Who died and was raised from the dead; so we [if we are to share His resurrection, must share His death], 2 Timothy 2:11. Κατὰ, according to, depends on these words.—ἐκ σπέρματος Δαυὶδ, of the seed of David) He wishes Timothy to attend to this one genealogy [as opposed to the other ‘genealogies,’ 1 Timothy 1:4], which serves as a proof that Jesus is the Christ.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 8. - Jesus Christ, risen from the dead for that Jesus Christ...was raised from the dead, A.V.; of the seed of David for Jesus Christ of the seed of David, A.V. Remember Jesus Christ. The A.V. seems to give the sense more correctly than the R.V. The point of the exhortation is to remember that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, and by that remembrance to be encouraged to face even death courageously. The verb μνημονεύω, in the New Testament, usually governs the genitive case as e.g. Acts 20:35; Galatians 2:10. But in 1 Thessalonians 2:9; Matthew 16:9; Revelation 18:5, it has an accusative, as here, and commonly in classical Greek. There seems to be hardly sufficient ground for the distinction mentioned by Bishop Ellicott, that with a genitive it means simply "remember," with the accusative "keep in remembrance." It is more difficult to determine the exact force and intent of the clause, "of the seed of David." It seems, however, to point to Christ's human nature, so as to make the example of Christ's resurrection apposite as an encouragement to Timothy. And this view is much strengthened by Romans 1:3, where the addition, "according to the flesh," as contrasted with "the Son of God according to the Spirit of holiness," marks the clause, "of the seed of David," as specially pointing to the human nature of Christ. The particular form which the reference takes probably arises from the form to which the apostle refers us as "my gospel." In that creed, which was the epitome of the gospel as preached by St. Paul, there was no doubt mention made of Christ's Davidic descent. Others, as Huther, think the clause points to the Messianic dignity of David. Others that it is inserted in refutation of the Docetae, and to show the reality of the death and resurrection of Christ; or that it is meant to mark especially the fulfilment of prophecy. But the first explanation is quite satisfactory, and the general purpose of the reference to our Lord as intended to encourage Timothy to endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ, is fully borne out by the "faithful saying" in vers. 11 and 12, "If we died with him, we shall also live with him: if we endure, we shall also reign with him." 2 Timothy 2:8

Vincent's Word Studies

Remember that Jesus Christ - was raised, etc.

Incorrect. Rend. remember Jesus Christ raised from the dead. Μνημόνευε remember, only here in Pastorals: often in Paul. Ἑγείρειν to raise, very often in N.T., but only here in Pastorals. The perfect passive participle (ἐγηγερμένον) only here. The perfect marks the permanent condition - raised and still living.

Of the seed of David

Not referring to Christ's human descent as a humiliation in contrast with his victory over death (ἐγηγερμένον), but only marking his human, visible nature along with his glorified nature, and indicating that in both aspects he is exalted and glorified. See the parallel in Romans 1:3, Romans 1:4, which the writer probably had in mind, and was perhaps trying to imitate. It is supposed by some that the words Jesus Christ - seed of David were a part of a confessional formula.

According to my gospel

Comp. Romans 2:16; Romans 16:25, and see 1 Corinthians 15:1; 2 Corinthians 11:7; Galatians 1:11; Galatians 2:2; 1 Timothy 1:11.