2 Timothy 4:6

‘For I am already being offered, and the time of my departure is come.’

The charge to Timothy is made all the more important because he himself is aware that he is coming to the end of his own ministry. He is about to be ‘offered’ (poured out as a libation - compare Philippians 2:15), for his death may be seen as a thankoffering to God, and the time for it is drawing near. It is clear that he saw his life, and indeed all Christian lives, in these terms. Compare also Romans 12:1-2 where all Christians are to see their lives as a sacrificial offering, while a libation of red wine fitted well with his expectancy of martyrdom. This would be his final offering of himself to God.

‘The time of my departure is come.’ He was sure now that his time had come. He was not expecting release. Possibly he had heard rumours, and certainly he knew that the Emperor had no time for Christians. And it may well be that it had been prophesied (compare Acts 21:4; Acts 21:10-11). The term for ‘departing’ is used of loosing a vessel from its moorings, or striking a tent. It may therefore indicate that the time had come to move on to something better. But it can also be used simply to signify death.