15th Sunday after Pentecost 1 Timothy 2:1-7

Preaching Commentary

Parakalō

There are a lot of interesting words in this passage, including the second one. In the NIV, it says, “I urge...” In English, “urge” has some range. If I “urge you to reconsider,” we all know you’re not going to. But when my wife was pregnant with our first child and she had an “urge for double chocolate icecream...with fudge sauce!” you bet I was going to make it happen on the double! The Greek word here is much closer to “you better get it” than “I’ll warn you but I know you won’t do it.” It’s beseeching, exhorting, almost begging [OTD]. What comes next is a high importance to everyone. We should probably pay attention to this urge. “And don’t forget the fudge sauce!”