Onesiphorus . . . oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain.
Onesiphorus was a real friend to the Apostle Paul and often went to where he was and encouraged Paul when he was finding things hard to endure. Onesiphorus was not ashamed to be identified with Paul and what he preached. He made a special effort to find Paul when he was held in prison in Rome and went to visit him. And so the Apostle mentions him in this letter as one to whom the blessing of God would be granted because of his faithfulness to one of the greatest missionaries of the Christian era.