Abundant Joy

1 Timothy 5:9-10

“No widow is to be enrolled on the list for support unless she is at least sixty years old, has been the wife of one husband, and is well known for good works—that is, if she has brought up children, shown hospitality, washed the saints’ feet, helped the afflicted, and devoted herself to every good work.”

In these two verses, we finally get into the qualifications for widows to be enrolled on the list. Before we get to the qualifications, we need to address the list. What exactly is it? We know that it is a list for support based on verse 9. We also read in verse 5 that it is for widows who are truly in need and left all alone. The qualifications of the widow indicate that she is of good moral character. These widows could also have been used to minister in the local church. A. Dwayne Litfin writes in his commentary on 1 Timothy, “Widows may be put on the list if they meet three primary qualifications. What exactly this list involved is not known. It may have been an official order for service in the congregation; More likely it was merely a role of those widows who were to receive assistance from the congregation.”

There are three primary qualifications, but the third is divided up further. We will briefly discuss the first two and then spend the rest of the time on the third.

First, a widow must be at least sixty years old to receive support. Today, sixty does not seem that old. At least, I hope it doesn’t, because I turned sixty last summer! Life expectancy in those days was far different than for us today for obvious reasons such as diseases and lack of medicines. And although the average life expectancy in ancient Rome was around 25 to 30 years, this number is highly skewed by high infant and child mortality rates. As the article from UNRV Roman History (Life Expectancy in Ancient Rome) says, “Those who survived the dangerous early years of life could often live into their 50s, 60s, or beyond.” During that time, a woman in her 60s was unlikely to get remarried, unlike younger widows.

Second, the widow was to have been the wife of one husband. Litfin writes, “the Greek here is literally ‘a one-man woman, the mirror image of the stipulation for both the overseer- elder (cf. 3:2; Titus 1:6) and the deacon (1 Tim. 3:12), and for the same reasons.” Paul goes on later to tell younger widows to remarry (1 Timothy 5:14), so the implication would be that a twice widowed woman over the age of sixty would qualify for the list. A divorced widow would not qualify.

Thirdly, a widow must be well known for her good works. Paul lists five things that make up good works: having brought up children; shown hospitality; washed the saints’ feet; helped the afflicted; and devoted herself to every good work. Let’s look at each one of these items.

Paul writes that one of the ways she will be known for her good works is if she has brought up children. Several commentaries I read said that these could be her own children or orphans. I have written previously about the practice of the Romans to leave their infant daughters to die of exposure. The early Christians rescued these infants and raised them as their own. Warren Wiersbe writes in The Bible Exposition Commentary, “Children can refer either to a widow’s own children or the reference may be to orphans who needed a home. If it refers to her own children, then they would have to have died; Otherwise the church would not support her. It is likely that the reference here is to the practice of rescuing abandoned children and raising them to know the Lord.”

Next Paul writes that she is to have shown hospitality. Hospitality was a vital part of that culture. The letter that we are reading as 1Timothy would have been carried to Ephesus by a courier who would have needed a place to stay. The gospel was spread from place to place, enabled by the hospitality of believers. Paul writes in Romans, “Share with the saints in their needs; pursue hospitality” (12:13). The author of Hebrew writes, “Don’t neglect to show hospitality, for by doing this some have welcomed angels as guests without knowing it” (13:2). And in 3rd John, he commends his friend for showing hospitality to traveling teachers of the Word (vv 5-8). One of the ways that the Christian faith spread so quickly in the early years was through the hospitality of the believers.

The next qualification is that she has washed the saints’ feet. We don’t necessarily understand this in today’s world, especially here in the West. We don’t have to walk miles to get from one place to another daily. We can hop in our car, or on a bus or train, or even ride a bike to where we need to go. When Paul was writing to Timothy, the main mode of transportation was one’s feet. And the roads were dirt. Even as far back as Genesis, we see Abraham offering his guests water to wash their feet. “Let a little water be brought, that you may wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree” (18:4). In Luke 7 we read about the woman who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears. He then turns to Simon the Pharisee and He rebukes his sinful thoughts by saying, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she, with her tears, has washed my feet and wiped them with her hair” (v. 44). Foot washing was reserved for servants, and especially the Gentile ones, because it was considered too degrading for Jewish servants. So when Jesus tied a towel around Himself, poured water into a basin, and began to wash His disciples feet, this was the ultimate act of servant-leadership. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia explains, “As recorded in John’s Gospel, this act of Jesus has twofold significance. First, it is a symbolic prophecy of Jesus’ atoning death, which would cleanse from sin and make possible for His disciples to inherit eternal life with Him (13:8; cf. Lk. 22:28-30). Second, it is a lesson in humility.” Jesus then turned to the disciples and said, “So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done for you” (John 13:14-15). So when Paul says that widows are to have washed the saints’ feet, they are to be humble and willing to serve. The Encyclopedia puts it this way: “The reference to foot washing is probably both figurative and literal. Following the example of the Lord, the widow was to give evidence of her humility by performing even the most menial tasks.”

Paul writes that widows need to help the afflicted in order to be on the list. This one seems straightforward, but here is a passage that is helpful. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

And lastly, she is to have devoted herself to every good work. Paul uses this phrase often in his letters. Let’s look at a few of them. “And God is able to make every grace overflow to you, so that in every way, always having everything you need, you may excel in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8). “…so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God…” (Colossians 1:10). “Remind them to submit to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work…” (Titus 3:1). As we see by these verses, Paul is not requiring anything of the widows that he is not asking of every believer.

These widows apparently had an impact on the early church. Michael Eaton writes in The Branch Exposition of the Bible: A Preacher’s Commentary of the New Testament, “The widows were a recognizable group within the church when Ignatius (in about AD 115) wrote to Smyrna and sent greetings to the widows. Polycarp commended them (at about the same time) for their faithfulness in prayer. In the third century Tertullian wrote of a definite group of registered widows who had a ministry of prayer, who cared for the sick, looked after orphans, visited people in prison, reached out to unsaved women and taught women who were new converts.” Wow! This is the sort of ministry every church needs.

Next, we will move on to the verses about younger widows and why they do not qualify.

Grace be with you!