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• 2 CORINTHIANS 11 – COMMENTARY 

Bible Text:

2 Corinthians 11:21b-33 (ESV)

But whatever anyone else dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that. ²² Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. ²³ Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. ²⁴ Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. ²⁵ Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 

²⁶ on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; ²⁷ in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.

²⁸ And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. ²⁹ Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?

³⁰ If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. ³¹ The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. ³² At Damascus, the governor under King Aretas was guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize me, ³³ but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands.

Reflection & Application

2 Corinthians 11:23-30

• Reflect on all the ways in which Apostle Paul suffered in carrying out his ministry.
• What might be the relationship between Apostle Paul’s amazing ability to endure hardships and what he says in vv. 28-29?
• How does Apostle Paul’s description of his “daily pressure” and “anxiety for all the churches” challenge today’s view of “balance” and “health”? 
• What does Apostle Paul’s identification with the members of his churches tell me about the nature of love?  

Prayer