2 Corinthians 8:17

17 Not only did he welcome our request; he was so eager to help that of his own free will he decided to go to you.

2 Corinthians 8:17 Meaning and Commentary

2 Corinthians 8:17

For indeed, he accepted the exhortation
The Macedonians besought the apostle with much entreaty to give unto him, ( 2 Corinthians 8:4 2 Corinthians 8:6 ) or which being moved by their example, they gave unto him, namely, that he would go and finish what he had already begun; and accordingly he did not refuse, but readily accepted the exhortation: yea, not only so,

but being more forward;
than was known or could have been expected; which shows that this was put into his heart by God, before it was moved unto him; so that if he had never been asked, or exhorted hereunto, he would have gone of himself:

of his own accord he went unto you;
so great is his care of you; so great his love unto you so willing was he to come again and pay another visit: and especially on this account, where he had before been treated with so much respect and kindness. Titus having been at Corinth already, and being well known there, the apostle forbears saying anything more in his commendation.

2 Corinthians 8:17 In-Context

15 As the scripture says, "The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little."
16 How we thank God for making Titus as eager as we are to help you!
17 Not only did he welcome our request; he was so eager to help that of his own free will he decided to go to you.
18 With him we are sending the brother who is highly respected in all the churches for his work in preaching the gospel.
19 And besides that, he has been chosen and appointed by the churches to travel with us as we carry out this service of love for the sake of the Lord's glory and in order to show that we want to help.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.