The Mailman

(Ephesians 6:21 – 22)

1. Introduction
Karl Malone
This NBA Hall of Famer played 18 seasons for the Utah Jazz and one
season with the LA Lakers before retiring. He was voted MVP twice
and represented the US basketball in the Olympic Games at Barcelona
and Atlanta. He was nicknamed the Mailman because of his
consistency. As the saying goes, the mailman always delivers. He is
considered one of the greatest power forwards in the history of NBA
and has score the second most points in NBA history at 36,928,
second only after Kareem Abdul Jabbar. He indeed delivered.
Pony Express
The Pony Express was a fast mailservice crossing the Great
Plains and theRocky Mountains from St. Joseph, Missouri,
to Sacramento, California, from April 1860 to October 1861. It
became the west's most direct means of east-west communication
before the telegraphand was vital for tying California closely with the
Union just before the American Civil War.

This original fast mail 'Pony Express' service had messages carried by

horseback riders in relays to stations across the prairies, plains,
deserts, and mountains of the Western United States. For its 18
months of operation, it briefly reduced the time for messages to travel
between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts to about ten days, with
telegraphic communication covering about half the distance across the
continent and mounted couriers the rest. Pony express motto is “the
mail must go through”. It was a tall order considering the distance,
terrain, and hostilities that the Pony Express riders had to go through.
Their worst enemy were the hostile Native Americans who were not
impressed by the incursion of Europeans in their hunting grounds.

Tychicus, Paul’s trusted friend and messenger is no different. He

consistently delivered and the messages, among which is this epistle,
went through. Ephesians 6:21 – 22 pays tribute to this man, who was
mentioned in 4 other instances in the New Testament. Tychicus was
described as an Asiatic Christian, a friend and companion of the

1
Apostle Paul. Tychicus was more than a messenger. He was also a
pastor who brought cheers to the churches established by Paul.

2. Messenger – Tychicus Dispatched Paul’s Epistles (v.21)

Tychicus, a name which translates from Greek word, tykikos as
chance or fortuitious or lucky. He accompanied Paul, along with
Trophimus , on part of his journey from Macedonia to Jerusalem. Paul
had entrusted Tychicus with a very important mission. He was to
deliver the Epistle to the Ephesians, that is the circular letter, to the
churches in proconsular Asia, the present day Turkey. A copy of the
letter was also given to the church in Laodicea. He was then to
proceed to Colosse, with the epistle for the church there.
Selfless Sibling
Paul labelled Tychicus as a dear brother. In the King James he called
him beloved brother. What is it in Tychicus that endeared him to Paul?
He is the embodiment of John 13:34 – 35 (      34  “A new command I
give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love
one another.  35  By this everyone will know that you are my
disciples, if you love one another.”). Clearly he first loved others. He
displayed the three levels of love in the New Testament:
 Love others as yourself (Mark 12:31) – This epistle was written
when Paul was imprisoned in Rome, yet Tychicus was there.
 Love others more than yourself (Philippians 2:3,4) His mere
presence in Paul could put him in jeopardy. He might be
implicated in whatever charges they may bring to Paul. Yet he
was unfazed.
 Love others as Christ love (John 13:34) Christ’s love is about
the saving grace He brought us through His sacrifice. Tychicus
also cared about our salvation through Christ by being an active
partner in Paul’s ministry.
Staunch Servant
Paul called Tychicus the faithful servant. The Greek word is diakonos
or deacon. What made Tychicus a faithful servant, a loyal worker? In
Colossians 4:7, Tychicus was even called a fellow slave, co-sufferers.
The Greek word in this text is sundolus or slave together. This word
applies to two slaves in a Roman galley seated side by side and rowing

2
the same oar. Paul was in house arrest in Rome as at the time of this
epistle. He was chained to a Roman soldier 24/7, yet he was able to
reach out to the churches he had planted. Tychicus, the loyal servant
made it possible by dispatching Paul’s letters to various places in Asia
Minor and Eastern Europe. He walked thousands of kilometres just to
deliver Paul’s letters. With the help of Google maps, I was able to get
an estimate of the walking distance between Ephesus and Rome. It is
3,000 kilometres!!! That is 5 trips from Auckland to Wellington. On
foot!! Yet Tychicus persevered. Ephesus was not his only destination.
He also travelled to Colossi. He was with Paul when the latter
travelled through Macedonia and Greece. We can assume that he
sacrificed his personal life for the Lord’s case by being with Paul. Paul
called himself a servant, yet Tychicus acted as a servant to this
servant. He was a servant’s servant. How low can that be? Perhaps
you can imagine what went through the mind of the soldiers chained
to Paul? Who is this man who suffered needlessly for a prisoner who
had been found innocent by Festus? Who is this man who makes
himself a servant or slave to this old man? What drives them to these
extremes?
Suffering Steward
1 Peter 4:10 ( Each of you should use whatever gift you have
received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its
various forms.) is an admonition to service as stewards. Tychicus is an
excellent example of a faithful steward. His gift is to serve Paul and
act as a bridge to the various churches. Without Tychicus we wouldn’t
be preaching on this epistle. Paul’s was under house arrest when this
letter was written. He was chained to a Roman solder 24/7 while
awaiting trial and audience before the emperor. Email did not exist
then. Phones, faxes, even telegraphs were not available. The Roman
postal system, cursus publicus, was the state-run courier and transport
service of the Roman Empire. It was created by the Emperor Augustus
to transport messages, officials, and tax-revenues from one province to
another. An effective communication system is essential in running an
empire. But the cursus publicus was not a postal system in the mould
of NZ Post. There are no regular employees who gathers, sorts, and
delivers the mail. A single courier is sent to deliver the message to the
recipient through a network of lodging places and stations. Ordinary
citizens sent messages across the sea through slaves and travelling
associates. This is where Tychicus comes in. He made sure that Paul’s
letters reaches their destinations. In the previous point we have viewed
looked at Tychicus’ role as a servant, this time we will be looking at it

3
from the point of view of a person who makes things happen. Though
Paul may command the respect of Christians around, he really had no
authority and can only perform things as far as persons like Tychicus
would like to do. Tychicus was free to move around, perhaps under
certain restrictions, to conduct Paul’s business. He was doing it at his
own expense. He was suffering for it. He was commiserating with
Paul. He was carrying out Paul’s orders not for Paul’s sake alone, but
for the concern and love to his fellow believers. Tychicus had to
endure suffering. He had to face the risks of travelling alone from
Rome to Asia Minor. We can assume that they did not have money to
pay couriers and messengers so it was a DIY task.
Yet Tychicus delivered

Application
We do not have to travel thousands of kilometres like Tychicus to
serve. We do not have to suffer as much as he did to serve God. There
are ways that we can be of service and it is just a matter of refocusing
and changing our priorities. At the men’s retreat one of the group
activities is conducting an audit of how much time we spent on the
Lord’s business in the previous week. The Lord’s business includes:
church attendance, Bible studies, quiet time, Bible reading, prayers,
and so on. A week consists of 168 hours and assuming that you spent
8 hours a day sleeping and 8 hours a day at work for 5 days, that
leaves us with 72 hours where we have to subtract travel time,
exercise and other leisure activities. How much of that 72 hours do
you spend for the Lord’s work? Think about it. Do you spend more
time watching TV than reading God’s Word? Do you spend more
time surfing the net than studying His Word or in prayer. If you do
think about it and pray about changing your priorities in life. There is
always room for improvement, it just a matter of refocusing our
priorities. Tychicus spent his whole waking hours to be in God’s
service. By default, Paul spent whole days in Christ’s service. Perhaps
you may be wondering how I scored in that audit. It was timely that I
was prepared lessons for the fortnightly Bible study and BTCP as well
as this message that I am preaching so it came to 20 hours, which is
equivalent to a part-time job. I suppose for Mike it is 24 hours a day
because like Paul his presence in NZ is to serve the Lord as a full-time
missionary. It was his choice to be here. It was his choice to leave his
job in the States and come here to serve. Not all of us can be like Mike
or Paul or Tychicus but there is always room for improvement.
Remember the time we will spend on earth is nothing compared to
eternity facing us.

4
3. Mover – Tychicus Delivers Paul’s Encouragement (v 22)

Tychicus was more than a messenger. He was also a preacher and

pastor. He was like a cheerleader sent by Paul to encourage the
believers in the churches they had planted. He was a troubleshooter or
problem solver who made things happen. He cheered up Paul and he
cheered the churches
Serious Shepherd
We’ve said that Tychicus was more than a messenger. He was a pastor
and elder who preaches and teaches God’s Word. There was an
element in Tychicus that was fearless. He was truly serious about the
matters of God. What does a serious shepherd look like? What does it
take to have such an intensity in carrying out the Lord’s work?
 Perseverance – no matter what came his way. No matter what
mistakes he made. No matter how he felt. He still gave himself
wholly or entirely to Jesus and serve Him. He was committed
100%. In Matt. 16.24-25 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If
anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take
up his cross, and follow Me. 25 "For whoever desires to save
his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will
find it. 
 Patience: Impatience has ruined many believers.
· How many times have people run ahead of the Lord and fallen
flat on their faces? Many times.
· But a serious believer will spend their time and attention in the
Word, in prayer, seeking God’s will not theirs.
· So there is silence? God is still there. SO there is some
confusion. God will clear it up.
Acts 2.42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’
doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in
prayers. 

 PROGRESS: A serious servant is growing more like Jesus.

· Now this work is already happening by the Spirit of God.
2 Cor. 3.17-18 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit
of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face,
beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being
transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by
the Spirit of the Lord. 

5
We can find these three traits in Tychicus. He did not give up. He did
not take a short cut. And he made a lot of progress and we still enjoy
the fruits of that progress as we read and meditate on Paul’s epistles.
Sharing the Status
When Paul wrote this epistle, he was not in the best situation he could
have hoped for. In fact, he was under house arrest chained to a Roman
guard. We can read an account of Paul’s stay in Rome in Acts 28:17 –
30. The first thing that Paul did was met with the Jews in Rome and
shared with them the conditions that lead to his arrest. He told them
that the Roman law exonerated him and wanted to release him, but the
Jews objected. Paul was in a political tight spot in spite of his
innocence. Yet Paul used that difficult situation to share the gospel.
He took that opportunity to share the Gospel by quoting from Isaiah
6:9,10.One of the clichés in the field of Information Technology is
Information is power, he who is forewarned is forearmed. Tychicus’
ministry was empowering the churches by sharing with them Paul’s
situation and status in Rome. In Paul’s letter to Galatia (Galatians 6:2)
he advised to carry each other’s burden. Letting others know about our
status is the first step in carrying each other’s burden. Having others
share the concerns and issues in our lives is uplifting. It is in man’s
nature to let others know what’s bothering them, believers or not. This
is the reason why suicide lifelines work. Desperate people require
desperate attention. Perhaps you’ve seen the ads on TV featuring an
ex-All Black who advises letting others know about how we feel. Paul
is not really depressed but he had shown the model amongst believers
how we should carry each other’s burdens. Tychicus carried his fair
share of Paul’s burden, perhaps even more that he ought to. Paul’s
burden is not about being imprisoned for Christ’s sake, it is about how
to reach the churches that he established and cheer them in spite of his
dire situation. Tychicus carried this burden for Paul as he moved
around and showed that Paul’s trials fail in comparison to Christ’s
ultimate sacrifice.
Solace to Sorrows
As at the time Paul wrote this letter, the churches were being
persecuted. Nero was the Roman emperor and he was famous or
infamous for Christian persecution. Paul’s letters to the churches are
not superficial encouragement but inspiring words to cheer them up.
They were all great risk. Paul’s life hung at a balance yet he aspired to
encourage the churches, amongst them are the Ephesians. Here’s an
excerpt from the Foxe’s Book of Martyrs about the persecutions under
Nero,

6
“Nero even refined upon cruelty, and contrived all manner of
punishments for the Christians that the most infernal imagination
could design. In particular, he had some sewed up in skins of wild
beasts, and then worried by dogs until they expired; and others
dressed in shirts made stiff with wax, fixed to axletrees, and set on fire
in his gardens, in order to illuminate them. This persecution was
general throughout the whole Roman Empire; but it rather increased
than diminished the spirit of Christianity. In the course of it, St. Paul
and St. Peter were martyred.
That’s how serious it was for the Christians in those days. Paul wrote
in his epistle that Tychicus role is to bring encouragement. It was a
big job and risk for Tychicus. He faced the danger of being caught and
become a statistic in Nero’s persecutions. He also wrote in Colossians
4:8 about Tychicus encouraging the church at Colosse. He had to
provide comfort and solace to the persecuted Christian community.
Christ Himself encouraged Paul in Acts 23:11, 11 The following night
the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have
testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”
Paul passed on that encouragement to Tychicus then to the Ephesians
and the other churches they established. It still conveys that message
to this day as we read the Scriptures.

Application
Tychicus was named only 5 times in the New Testament yet we can
feel that he made a lot of difference. He was the glue that bound Paul
to the churches he had established. He was Paul’s go to guy when he
wants to make things happen. He was there to cheer up the
discouraged believers who were facing persecution and grave threats
to their very existence. They were up against the dominant empire at
the time. Yet he made things happen. Tychicus faith showed in his
commitment to the work of God. Can you identify with this man who
silently made things happen behind the scene. Do you have his
courage and commitment to move things for Christ’s sake?

4. Conclusion –

Are you ready to deliver?

This is the biggest challenge that face every believer who takes the
first step to follow Christ. It is living up to our Christian identity,
followers of Christ. Tychicus lived up to this identity. Can you be like
him, ready to be deliver for the Lord’s cause. Are you ready to suffer

7
and be inconvenienced? Right now we do not face the same
challenges and risks as Tychicus who faced up to the dangers as he
delivered Paul’s messages and cheered up the discouraged believers of
Ephesus. Yet we face another challenge and this is more subtle. The
challenge is to be more involved in the Lord’s work as much as you
can. Otherwise, the lures of this world will overcome you. The Lord’s
work will take second place in your life.
Are you reliable?
Delivery is one thing but constant delivery is another. Tychicus
showed that he was persevering and patient. Can you be depended
upon? Are you habitually available to do the Lord’s work? Are you
like Tychicus who was relied upon to constantly deliver the message
of the gospel and carry Paul’s burden. It will not be easy. It wasn’t
easy for Tychicus and the Christians of that time. A lot of them paid
with their lives. We will be paying with our lifestyle. It is not much to
ask but it will make a lot of difference.