A crown of righteousness. — More accurately rendered, the crown of righteousness. St. Paul, after speaking calmly of death, the bitterness of which he was already tasting, looks on beyond death, and speaks of the crown which awaited him. The crown was the victory prize which the “good fight” of 2 Timothy 4:7 had won. It is called “the crown of righteousness,” it being the crown to which righteousness can lay claim — that is, the crown awarded to righteousness.
Which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me. — As a righteous judge will the Lord award him the crown, recognising him as one who had the prize of victory. Not improbably, the expression “the righteous judge” was written in strong contrast to that unrighteous judge who had condemned Paul, and in accordance with whose unjust sentence he would presently suffer a painful death.
At that day. — This is the third time the words “that day” are used in this Epistle (see 2 Timothy 1:12-18). The day of judgment is, of course, signified, the day when the Lord shall come again with glory.
And not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. — Then St. Paul, instead of concluding this section of his letter with the glorious words telling of his serene courage and of his confidence in a crowned and immortal life, adds a gentle reminder to Timothy: he, too, with any others who really look for the Second Coming of the Lord, might win the same glorious crown — the sure guerdon of righteousness. The Apostle specifies here exactly the persons for whom “the crown” was reserved — those who in this life have indeed longed for the appearance of the Lord in judgment. None here could in very truth desire “His appearing,” save His own, who love Him and struggle to live His life. Calvin well remarks: “(St. Paul) excludes from the number of the faithful those to whom Christ’s coming is a source of terror.”