“But that you also may know my affairs and how I am doing, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make all things known to you; whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, that you may know our affairs, and that he may comfort your hearts” (Ephesians 6:21-22).
The Bible reader is introduced to this godly Christian in Acts 20. Tychicus was one of the seven brethren who accompanied Paul and Luke when the Great Collection was physically transported from the congregations in Asia Minor and Europe (Acts 20:4-6) to the needy, destitute saints in Jerusalem and Judaea. Unlike Sopater, Aristarchus, Secundus, and Gaius, Luke does not identify which city of Asia Tychicus haled from. Because of this, it is impossible to know where Paul and Tychicus may have first met or how long they knew each other.
Though the Bible writers exercise their usual brevity and economy of words, the pregnant descriptors used by Paul in reference to Tychicus deliver a worthy example to study and imitate.
Tychicus was trustworthy. To be one of the men tasked with transporting a generous monetary gift over hundreds of miles indicates a noteworthy level of dependability and integrity. On this occasion, the trustworthy Tychicus was tasked by Paul himself to deliver the letter to the Ephesians (Ephesians 6:21-22) and his epistle to the Colossians (Colossians 4:7) while accompanying the runaway slave Onesimus as he returned to his master Philemon (Colossians 4:9; Philemon 1-16). Clearly, Tychicus was trustworthy.
Tychicus was a beloved brother. The time and work Tychicus had shared with the apostle Paul had kindled a deep and rich agape bond between these two brothers in Christ. Though Paul was an apostle (and thus an ambassador of Christ) and Tychicus was not, his superior authority in Christ in no way hindered their relationship. Paul saw Tychicus as an equal—his brother to love, not an inferior to lord over. What a great example of sincere, fervent, pure-hearted brotherly love (1 Peter 1:22)!
