2 Timothy 4:17 to Psalms 22:27-28

NT Text: 2 Timothy 4:17

OT Source(s):

• Psalms 22:27-28 (All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD; all the families of the nations will bow down before him)

Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Reference Type: Allusion

Connection Method(s): Promise-Fulfillment + Longitudinal Theme

Anchor Text: Psalm 22 — My God My God Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me

Significance: Paul's statement that the Lord strengthened him "so that all the Gentiles might hear" (hina di' emou to kērygma plērophorēthē kai akousōsin panta ta ethnē) echoes Psalm 22:27-28, where the psalmist's deliverance leads to a universalizing climax: "all the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the LORD." Paul sees his apostolic mission to the Gentiles as participating in the fulfillment of this psalm's vision. The structural movement of Psalm 22 — from individual suffering to universal proclamation — maps onto Paul's experience: rescued from death (the lion's mouth), he proclaims the gospel to all nations. The psalm's prophetic horizon of worldwide worship finds partial fulfillment in the Pauline Gentile mission.