2 Timothy 4:9-12 9Hurry to come to me soon; 10 for Demas has deserted me because he has loved the present age and has gone to Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. 11Luke alone is with me. Bring alone Mark with you, for he is useful to me for ministry. 12But Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus.
Paul begins to close out the letter with personal directions and desires. He shifts his focus to his present situation in Roman imprisonment. There is a sense of loneliness in these words as Paul feels abandoned, although his confidence in God remains strong. There is urgency as he asks Timothy to come quickly. Soon is a relative term because correspondence like this had to be hand delivered by trusted people and could take some time. Timothy first had to deal with the crisis in Ephesus, appoint leaders to keep the ministry going, and then travel to Rome. All of this would take many months. The urgency could have been because Paul was unsure of when his trial would take place. Acts 28:30 says that Paul was under house arrest for two years, so it is possible Timothy came during that time.
Paul mentions people by name, the first being Demas. Demas is mentioned in Colossians 4:10, 14; Philemon 24 and described as a faithful coworker with Luke and Mark. Paul uses strong language about Demas in this verse and gives two frustrations about him. First, he deserted Paul in the way of abandoning him in an uncaring way. The adverbial participle loved (agapēsas) has a strong causal sense indicating that the reason Demas left Paul was, second, because he loved the present age. This age is where sin and self dominate. What might drive a person to act like Demas? One possible reason is fear of being shamed by others or the threat of persecution. It is easier to fit into the world than to stand up for Christ. Demas’ attention was drawn back to the world and away from the mission of preaching the gospel. It is a sad thing to be known in history as a deserter.
Paul mentions two others who left him, Crescens and Titus, but does not mention why they left. This is the only mention of Crescens in the New Testament. Galatia was a Roman province where Paul did significant mission work (Acts 16). Titus had significant involvement in the Pauline mission, especially in relation to the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 2:13; 8:23) and Crete (Titus 1:4). Dalmatia was part of the province of Illyricum. There is no other mention in the New Testament of mission there. These two brothers could have been dispatched by Paul either to start new ministries or check up on young churches.
Next, Paul mentions Luke, who was an important travel companion with Paul (Acts 16:10-17; 20:5-15; 21:1-18; 27:1-28:16). Luke wrote 25% of the New Testament (The Gospel of Luke and Acts of the Apostles). Acts ends with the possibility that Luke was with Paul during his house arrest and possibly wrote Acts at that point since there is mention of Paul’s trial or death. Having the trusted physician with Paul would have been a significant comfort. It is possible that Luke helped Paul write this letter since the language of this letter has similarities to Luke’s writing.
The mention of Mark presents an interesting situation since Paul did not want to take Mark on the second missionary journey because he deserted Paul and Barnas in Perga and returned to his home in Jerusalem (Acts 12:12, 25; 15:37, 39). At some point, Mark returned to the mission and helped Paul and others (Colossians 4:14; Philemon 24). Paul’s description of Mark as useful for ministry shows that personal differences can be worked out in order to further the mission of Christ.
Paul had also Tychicus to Ephesus. Since it is likely that Timothy was in Ephesus at this time, Tychicus may have been the one to deliver this letter. He had an important role in helping to take the offering to the needy believers in Jerusalem (Acts 20:4). He may have been one of the important and trusted couriers for Paul (Ephesians 6:21; Colossians 4:7).
All of these persons present the image of a growing ministry team. Each person had gifts, talents, and open doors for ministry. Some are called to go, to stay, and to come. We also must be open to God’s leading and the needs of the ministry. God can call people to ministry through the voice of people in need or leaders who see the big picture. We must be careful of the temptation to divert our focus back to the world and its promised comforts.
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