‘For even when we were come into Macedonia our flesh had no relief, but we were afflicted on every side; without were fightings, within were fears. Nevertheless he who comforts the lowly, even God, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not by his coming only, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you, while he told us your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced yet more.'
The ‘for' connects back with the thought in the previous verse, as he explains it was the coming of Titus that had led on to his present sate of rejoicing. But he also now returns to the thought from which he had previously digressed in 2 Corinthians 2:13, although the change from singular to plural serves to demonstrate that it is a connection in thought rather than the fact that 2 Corinthians 7:5 once literally connected with 2 Corinthians 2:13. Even the arrival in Macedonia had given ‘them' no relief, no rest and relaxation. The thought of his arrival in 2 Corinthians 2:13 and of its consequences had helped to trigger the digression, but now he remembers how he had felt at that actual moment. For on his arrival no Titus had been there. And their arrival had been accompanied by further afflictions and concerns. Corinth was not his only worry. And he had been very much weighed down.
‘Our flesh had no relief.' In 2 Corinthians 2:13 it was his spirit that had no relief. The thought here may therefore be to emphasise outward further physical afflictions which came on top of the inward ones of the spirit. The contrast of the ‘without' with the ‘within'. We are not told what their nature was. But it brought on him the sense of being afflicted on every side. ‘Without were fightings, within were fears.' For wherever Paul went false teaching was penetrating the churches, strong minded men in the churches had their own ideas, and there were unbelievers who would attack him because his presence was a reminder of all that this new, outwardly mobile religion had meant in disturbing the old ways. And he bore ‘the care of all the churches', which no doubt had as many difficult members in them then as we have today, and themselves often faced difficulties from outside.
We are reminded elsewhere how the church in Thessalonica faced intense opposition on more than one occasion (Acts 17:1-9; 1 Thessalonians 1:6-8; 1 Thessalonians 2:2; 1 Thessalonians 2:14; 1 Thessalonians 3:1-5; 2 Thessalonians 1:4), so much so that Paul at one point was fearful that his evangelistic labours there had been in vain (1 Thessalonians 3:1-5). While in his letter to the Philippians he has cause to warn them to "watch out for the dogs," those "mutilators of the flesh" and "workers of evil" (2 Corinthians 3:2) who are "enemies of the cross" (2 Corinthians 3:18). There were ever those who followed after him seeking to undermine his work and cause trouble.
‘Nevertheless he who comforts the lowly, even God, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not by his coming only, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you, while he told us your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced yet more.' ‘Nevertheless, in spite of the fact that without were fightings and within were fears, God eventually brought him encouragement in the form of Titus. For, he comments, God is the One Who comforts those who are brought low. Compare 2 Corinthians 1:3-7; Isaiah 49:13; Psalms 113:6-7.
This theme of comfort and encouragement in the face of affliction was the thought with which his letter opened (2 Corinthians 1:3-7) and continues all the way through. Even Paul was human. The one kept him going in the face of the other.
In this case the comfort came through the arrival of Titus and the good news that he brought that Paul's stern letter had been effective in thwarting the efforts of his opponent and had brought the church back to regret their behaviour towards Paul, restoring their loyalty towards him. And Titus' detailed description of their longing now to see him again, their mourning over how they had behaved, and of the zeal towards Paul that had been restored, which had encouraged Titus as well, for he too shared Paul's concerns, came as a great solace, indeed made him even more joyful over them than he had been before. (But it is still necessary to bear in mind that while the central point of the need for reconciliation was settled, many of the old problems yet remained, as we have seen all through).
‘He told us your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me.' He wants the Corinthians to realise that he does know of and appreciate their complete turnaround. They had longed for any barrier between them and Paul to be removed, they had mourned over the situation, and they had zealously set about remedying it by punishing the offender. Compare 2 Corinthians 7:11 where he again goes into detail. It indicates to them that it was very necessary, but has his full approval. It is quite clear that he sees the church as partly reconciled to him, as here, and eager to go on, and partly doubtful, so that he has some of them in doubt and has to issue continual warnings. (This is always a problem when writing to a church as a whole, and even more so in this case).
‘Mourning' (Odyrmos) is a strong word and commonly denotes wailing and lamentation, often accompanied by tears and other outward expressions of grief. Its only other appearance in the New Testament is in Matthew 2:18, where it is used of Rachel's weeping for her children and refusing to be consoled. To their credit they were clearly very upset at the pain that they had caused Paul. Little do we often know what pain we cause to those who watch over us.