2 Timothy 1:16-18 May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me. May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus.
Verses 16-18 are about a man called Onesiphorus. We know nothing about this man except what is here (and in the passing reference in 4:19). We are told four things about him. First, that he was eager to do good. Paul says that when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me no doubt to help the apostle in his need. Second, helping was his default position. Timothy would have been well aware as Paul says of how many ways he helped me in Ephesus. Thirdly, he refreshed or revived Paul in Rome, either by providing physical help or though his very words, perhaps. Fourth, he was not ashamed of my chains. He sounds like a wonderful Christian man. The way Paul writes here suggests he is dead by this point, hence the wish for his household to know mercy and for him to be granted mercy on that day. Onesiphorus is one of the many unsung heroes of the New Testament that we catch only a glimpse of. Their counterparts are alive today and a church that has an Onesiphorus is a church that is blessed indeed. A lot depends on ministers but not everything. Without men who will be eager to do good, who help in different ways, who are able to refresh God's servants and who are not ashamed of Christ and his servants are a real asset. Appropriately, the name means "bringing profit".
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