Proverbs gives us clues on true friendship: Note: there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother; or a friend loves at all times. At the end of this precious letter to the Ephesians we come across this statement: “Tychicus, my dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will make everything known to you, so that you too may know about my circumstances, how I am doing.” Digging through Paul’s letters we unearth some points of who he was and lessons we can glean from his life.
Tychicus is mentioned in the book of Acts where Paul identifies him as from Asia Minor. It is here that we meet him as Paul introduces him to us as a friend of Trophimus and together they join Paul and his team. Paul entrusted the collections for the saints in Jerusalem to him along with a group of men who accompanied Paul on his way there which gives us another clue to his character. Paul included him in four of his epistles and he accompanied Paul on his journey from Macedonia to Jerusalem where this collection was given. It appears that he was with Paul when he was in prison in Rome and became the courier of the letters of Colossians and Ephesians, Philemon and perhaps 2Corinthians. As a trusted servant, Paul gave him the task of returning the converted runaway slave Onesimus back to Philemon. In Ephesians 6, Paul describes him as a dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord. He includes the word “minister” in his closing of the letter of Colossians.
Tychicus is a picture of a faithful friend and servant; nothing asked was too hard or cumbersome. “Being ‘faithful’ also means that he was loyal to the Word. He was the ideal man therefore, to send to Colosse at a time when heretics were knocking at the door. He taught the Truth accurately and plainly, as one utterly bound to his high commission.” [Dr. Peter Masters] He was proven trustworthy, reliable, loyal and an encourager. Paul sent him to Crete to minister along with Titus and to Ephesus so Timothy could come to Rome and be with Paul for a season. In other words, Tychicus was ready to stand in wherever needed!
As you read scripture and come across names such as Tychicus, take time to ask who this person was. Study their lives and then ask am I a man/woman such as Tychicus? Do I seek not my own light but only the Light of the World, Jesus Christ? Tychicus is an example of one who learned at the feet of Paul and then was competent to teach others as well. He is the epitome of one who found his strength in the Lord as it says vs 10 “be strengthened in the Lord and in the strength of his power.” Are you a Tychicus?