AN ALTERNATIVE UNDERSTANDING WITH A LESSON.
The apostle Paul had an affliction, which he referred to as 'a thorn in the flesh'. Although he partitioned The Lord to remove it, he was told that the favour that God showed to him must suffice. He describes the circumstance to the Corinthian church [ekklesia] as follows:
It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.
I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. And I knew such a man (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.
Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities. For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me.
And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
[2Cor. 12:7]
The Greek of the English word 'thorn' is a noun in the singular, used only once in the N.T. skolops. [4647], which Thayer defines as ... withered at the front i.e. a point or prickle (fig. a bodily annoyance or disability), a thorn. Its associated adjective is skolios. [4646] meaning ...warped, winding. perverse, crooked, froward, untoward.
The latter is found four other times in the N.T in Luke 3:5, Acts 2:40, Phil 2:15, 1 Peter 2:18. In each case, either symbolically or directly, it describes the mind of man. With this thought in mind, we might ask ourselves, 'Did Paul have a family relation [in the flesh] who caused him a lot of trouble?' Paul certainly had a brother to whom he refers in his letter to the church in Rome:
Salute Rufus chosen in The Lord, and his mother and mine. [Rom 16:13]
This man was a fellow Christian and although we can imagine the difficulty that fellow Christians cause one another, it is doubtful that Paul would have applied 'thorn in the flesh' to him. However, the reference to his mother is curious: 'his mother and mine'. Why does Paul not say: 'Our mother' and why does Paul not say 'my brother'? In other words, why does Paul not say:
Salute my brother Rufus, chosen in The Lord, and our mother?
Does not the restraint shown in Paul's form of address imply that although Rufus and Paul had the same mother, they were half brothers, having different fathers?
According to The Law an Israelite was limited to one wife, which implies that either Paul's father or that of Rufus had died or divorced the mother. Who therefore was this other father ?
In Mark 15:21 we are told three things.
[1] Rufus had a brother, Alexander.
[2] Their father's name was Simon of Cyrenia.
[3] This was the Simon who bore the cross of Christ..
One other important fact is clear from this reference, Simon the Cyrenian, the father of Rufus, was alive at the time of Christ's crucifixion. This implies that Paul's father had died or left his mother in the early part of Paul's life, at least longer ago than the age of the elder of the two brothers Rufus and Alexander.
However, in relation to our theme the focus of our attention should be upon the fact that Alexander was also Paul's half brother. We can enlarge our simple diagram:
Alexander is referred to six times in the N.T. Once, as above in the gospel of Mark, thrice in Acts and twice by Paul when writing to Timothy. Here is a summary of the remaining five references:
1. Alexander is described as being a relation of the High Priest, Annas and would therefore have been a respected member of Jewish society. Acts 4:6
2. In Ephesus, Alexander the Jew is put forward by the Jews in defence against the preaching of Paul, the results of which were described as 'so mightily grew the Word of God and prevailed'. However the idolatrous Ephesians prevented Alexander by crying out 'Great is Diana of the Ephesians.' Acts 19:33 [2]
3. Paul accuses Alexander of losing faith and a good conscience causing Paul to deliver him to Satan, that he may learn not to blaspheme. 1Tim 1:20
4. Paul tells Timothy that Alexander, a coppersmith, did him much evil, stating that The Lord would reward him according to his works. He goes on to tell Timothy to beware of him because 'he hath greatly withstood our words'. The fact that Alexander had a trade was not unusual.....even Paul made his living by tent making. 2Tim 4:14,
It is known that Paul was a member of the Sanhedrin. Was it a coincidence that Alexander's work as a metalworker, had brought him to Ephesus at the time of Paul's visit ? Demetrius, the rabble-rouser, was also a metalworker. These trades were probably associated with the worship of Diana.
Reading between the lines of this short history, we can almost grasp the vitriol which motivated Alexander towards the Gospel of Jesus Christ and towards Paul his half brother. Alexander was certainly not 'chosen in the Lord'. However, this relationship could cast a different light upon Paul's statement to the Corinthians:
And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. [2Cor.12:7]
Perhaps when referring to 'my flesh' Paul meant it literally, as a family relation. The term 'flesh' refers to a physical relationship in:
Romans 1:3........God's Son, Jesus Christ, of the seed of David according to the flesh.
Romans 9:3........My brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh
Romans 11:14....If by any means I might provoke to emulation them which are my flesh
Maybe the 'messenger' was literal and not a reference to the poor condition of Paul's eyesight, as suggested by others [Galatians 6:11]. The Greek word angelos [messenger] is used to describe men as well as angels and as we have seen, the word 'thorn' is often used to describe a characteristic of men. Thus:
is a good description of Alexander. Many Christians living in families some of whom have not been chosen of God, as Alexander, suffer many forms of verbal abuse, often seeming like a headwind against the progress of their faith. The apostle Paul sought God's mercy in the removal of this thorn, but God told him:
This Grace of God needs to be received with humility, appreciation and thankfulness. The continuing provocation of a 'thorn' encourages us to achieve this.