Philippians 2:21 NIVUK
[21] For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. https://bible.com/bible/113/php.2.21.NIVUK
Philippians 3:17 NIVUK
[17] Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. https://bible.com/bible/113/php.3.17.NIVUK
Way back when I was at school, mimicry really was a big thing on TV. Most of it was satirical. Not all of it was in good taste. But gifted impressionists like Rory Bremner or the cast of Spitting Image – a tradition kept alive by the BBC Radio 4 podcast ‘Dead Ringers’ and by ‘Saturday Night Live’ - were all the rage.
Christians are called to be mimics. Not in the satirical sense, where people are mocked and made fun of to make a political point, but in the sense of seeking to be like someone else.
Nowadays, this has a really bad press. Our impressionable young people are often duped into following online influencers as if they were fashion icons, and to buy goods they have endorsed. Young, loveless incel men are following men whose views of women are worse than primitive.
The concept of following has turned badly toxic.
But that doesn’t make it wrong.
There are four examples given in Philippians of people we should follow. Two of these examples we will cover only briefly. However, we will go into further detail on the examples given in Philippians 2:19-30.
The first example in this letter is, of course, Jesus, as Paul tells us:
Philippians 2:5 NIVUK
[5] In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: https://bible.com/bible/113/php.2.5.NIVUK
Paul wants how we approach life in general, and our relationships in particular, to be like Jesus.
As we saw earlier, that means that we stop seeing people as a means to an end: as disposable or numbers on a spreadsheet or a means to elevate ourselves to success. Jesus did not see us that way. When He had everything in his favour in Heaven, He did not grasp it to use if for His own personal gain, but let it go (Philippians 2:6).
We also are prepared to take the lowest place in order to lift others up, as Jesus did with us (Philippians 2:7-8).
And we do not fight other people to get to the top – like Jesus, we wait for God to raise us up (Philippians 2:9-11).
That was Paul’s point in including what many commentators believe is a marvellous ancient hymn. It also explains why we have the teaching we finished recently on how God works with us to make us more like His Son (Philippians 2:12-13).
But Paul goes on to do something quite interesting.
You see, the Philippians had neither met nor even seen Jesus at all. They needed role models of Him: people they could see and feel and touch and talk to – tangible examples of how they should live.
This is not a wrong need. But it is badly understood.
We need role models we can learn from. What we don’t need are ‘saints’ up on a pedestal we revere and think can do no wrong. That is never the correct thing to do. When we move into that territory, we end up with cults of personality, like the Corinthians tried to set up:
1 Corinthians 13-1:12 NIVUK
[12] What I mean is this: one of you says, ‘I follow Paul’; another, ‘I follow Apollos’; another, ‘I follow Cephas’; still another, ‘I follow Christ.’ [13] Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptised in the name of Paul?
We have to understand this correctly. What Paul is not saying is that we should set up for ourselves a pantheon of saints whom we admire and follow.
That is wrong. That is idolatry.
What he is saying is that we should examine the lives of those who have gone before and learn from them and apply this learning to our lives: repeat what is good; delete what is bad.
It is to this end that Paul offers us two examples from his era, who show us different aspects of the behaviour and attitudes he wants the Philippians to emulate.
The first of these is Timothy:
Philippians 24-2:21 NIVUK
[21] For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. [22] But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. [23] I hope, therefore, to send him as soon as I see how things go with me. [24] And I am confident in the Lord that I myself will come soon. https://bible.com/bible/113/php.2.21.NIVUK
Timothy was someone who would have been known to the Philippians – or, to least, their early members – as he was with Paul when the church was founded. Paul had taken Timothy with him from Lystra. He was of mixed Graeco-Jewish heritage, which would have made him an ideal person to take on a missionary journey into Greek-speaking Macedonia (Acts 16:1). Local believers also spoke well of him (Acts 16:2). He was even willing to be circumcised by Paul to prepare for the journey ahead (Acts 16:3), so this is a young man (see 1 Timothy 4:12) whose commitment to Paul’s mission is unquestioned.
Here, towards the Philippians, we see more than his commitment. We also see his heart. Here is a young man who, despite the myriad distractions for young people, genuinely cares for the Philippians. He is modelling precisely what Paul wrote about in Philippians 2:4 – he is not only looking out for his own interests, but for Paul’s interests and theirs too.
Paul knows him, has worked beside him for years (Philippians 2:22), but what makes the difference here is his heart.
The third example Paul offers them is one of their own - Epaphroditus:
Philippians 30-2:25 NIVUK
[25] But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, co-worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. [26] For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. [27] Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow. [28] Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety. [29] So then, welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honour people like him, [30] because he almost died for the work of Christ. He risked his life to make up for the help you yourselves could not give me. https://bible.com/bible/113/php.2.25.NIVUK
Epaphroditus is an interesting character. Named after the Greek false god Aphrodite, he only appears in this letter and nowhere else. He is a messenger, sent by the Philippians to provide for Paul in prison. He is their emissary, their ambassador, their missionary.
Yet he falls ill. And we can understand why. Roman prisons were not the most luxurious of places. Paul was facing a potential death sentence. Epaphroditus’ work would have been arduous and stressful. It would have made anyone ill.
And his illness was serious. He almost died.
There is a cruel irony there. The man who was sent to care for someone else required care himself.
But what follows next is the true measure of the man. He is not overly concerned about his own welfare – despite his untimely brush with death. No, he is more concerned with the worry the news of his illness will have caused his sending church in Philippi!
Paul’s returning him back seems to be not just because he is a trusted messenger, but to allay these worries. This is also a measure of him, as a person, that he is willing to lose such a valued brother, co-worker and fellow soldier simply to allay the fears of the church in Philippi.
That, again, is a beautiful way of meeting the principle Paul has taught in Philippians 2:4.
The third person Paul holds up from his day as an example is actually himself – Paul:
Philippians 3:17 NIVUK
[17] Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. https://bible.com/bible/113/php.3.17.NIVUK
1 Corinthians 11:1 NIVUK
[1] Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
Verses like these have often been mischaracterised as being egotistical. Boastful. Proud.
Nothing could be further from the case.
The Philippians had not seen Jesus. They had not met Him. They only knew Him through Paul's teaching. They needed a role model to follow.
Who else could there be?
Before we throw shade at Paul for this, we need to understand that telling people to do this actually places immense pressure on Paul. After all, if they are following him, he has to make sure he really is following Christ, otherwise he will lead them astray.
What Paul is asking them to do here is nothing less than form a long Conga line, or a game of ‘Follow the Leader’, with their hands on Paul’s shoulder, and his on Christ’s. Offering himself as a role model is no egotistical misadventure – on the contrary, it provides the Philippians with the role model they need to become more like Christ, provided Paul remains faithful.
It should, however, provoke some serious questioning on our part.
Not many of us are called to lead churches the way Paul was. But we are asked to be role models: to our children and young people, to our community, to our social media followers, to our colleagues. We are to be to them the example that Paul, Timothy and Epaphroditus were to the Philippians.
The question we have to ask ourselves is this: are we?
I don’t know if you’ve ever seen those social media videos where a small child acts like an adult and copies one, or both, of their parents. It can be quite amusing.
But there is a sobering message. People are watching us. They may even seek to be like us. We have to be responsible. We have to show them how to follow Jesus.
That should be our focus in life.
For many years now, our young people have been fed a heinous, pernicious lie. They have been told that they can be whoever they want, do whatever they want, live however they want with whoever they want.
It should be painfully obvious that this is an illusion.
And for the Christian, it is not true at all.
The reality is that the world is watching. They are often watching idiotic influencers on the internet and following people who completely lack any shred of common sense or responsibility.
But we, as believers, have a challenge. We should be challenged to walk in the footprints of Timothy, Epaphroditus, Paul and, of course, Jesus Himself.
Jesus thought this about the people of His day:
Matthew 9:36 NIVUK
[36] When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Do people still look like sheep without a shepherd? Of course they do! Nothing much has changed.
But you can solve this.
You can lead them.
All you have to do is follow the best examples of people who have gone before, and follow them as they follow Jesus.
Christian, will you do that?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, all around me I see the feckless inheritance of a people who need to be led, but have turned to cynicism because they are sick of being mis-led. It breaks my heart. Help me to be a role model and lead them to You. Amen.
Questions
1. After teaching the Philippians about Jssus, why does Paul now hold up Timothy and Epaphroditus as role models? What is He trying to say?
2. Why does Paul hold himself up as a role model for them? Is he being egotistical or practical? Why?
3. In what ways can you be a role model for the people around you?
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