Episode 603: 2 Corinthians 1 Part 1 A Hug Using A Pen

When Paul writes a letter to one of the churches in the New Testament, he starts with a greeting and ends with a greeting. The greeting at the start of these letters all seem to have a familiar pattern. He starts with his name, Paul, so the people know he is giving the commentary, the beefy parts of the body of the letter, then he will mention the one who is helping him write the letter. Paul will sometimes write the final greeting in his own handwriting which is very large, probably because his sight isn’t very good. In the case of 2 Corinthians, Paul mentions Timothy, a young man who started helping Paul with his journeys when he came to Lystra. But then Paul does something special...he pens a blessing to congregation and points them to Jesus before challenging some ways they are acting. It’s as if he gathers them together for a big hug and says, “It’s all about Jesus and never forget that.”