If we judged success by worldly standards, some might be inclined to assess Paul’s leadership career as an abject failure and a bitter disappointment. In the closing days of his life, when Paul wrote 2 Timothy, Luke was virtually his only contact with the outside world (4:11). Paul was confined in a Roman dungeon, dreading the savage cold of coming winter (vv. 13, 21), and without any hope of deliverance from the death sentence that had been imposed on him. He suffered because of the sadistic contempt of his enemies. He was even abandoned or disavowed by some of his closest friends. He wrote, “This you know, that all those in Asia have turned away from me” (2 Timothy 1:15).
“Asia” refers to Asia Minor, where Paul had focused his missionary work. Ephesus, where Timothy pastored, was the capital of that region. So Paul wasn’t telling Timothy anything Timothy didn’t already know firsthand. In that time of fierce persecution, association with Paul had become so costly that all but a few of the apostle’s own spiritual children had in effect disowned and abandoned him.
That’s why people who see things superficially might think the end of Paul’s life was tragic. At first glance, it might even seem as if his enemies had finally defeated him.
A failure? Actually, the apostle Paul was not a failure as a leader by any measure. His influence continues worldwide even today. By contrast, Nero, the corrupt but powerful Roman emperor who ordered Paul’s death, is one of history’s most despised figures. This is yet another reminder that influence is the true test of a person’s leadership, not power or position per se. In fact, a careful look at how Paul’s life and ministry came to an end can teach us a lot about how to gauge the success or failure of a leader.
Paul’s first long imprisonment and trial before Nero apparently ended in the apostle’s release sometime before AD 64, because he wrote the epistles of 1 Timothy and Titus as a free man (1 Timothy 3:14–15; 4:13; Titus 3:12). But that liberty was short-lived. In July of the year 64, seven of Rome’s fourteen districts burned. When the original fire was nearly extinguished, another fire, fanned by fierce winds, broke out in another district. Rumors circulated that Nero himself had ordered the burning of the city in order to make room for some ambitious building projects, including a golden palace for himself.
Trying desperately to deflect suspicion, Nero blamed Christians for starting the fires. That began the first of several major, aggressive campaigns by the Roman government to destroy the church. Christians in Rome were rounded up and executed in unspeakably cruel ways. Some were sewn into animal skins and ripped to death by dogs. Others were impaled on stakes, covered with pitch, and burned as human torches to light Nero’s garden parties. Many were beheaded, fed to lions, or otherwise disposed of at Nero’s command in equally ruthless ways.
During that persecution, Paul was again taken prisoner by the Roman authorities, brought to Rome, subjected to persecution and torment (2 Timothy 4:17), and finally executed as a traitor because of his relentless devotion to the lordship of Christ.
Throughout his first imprisonment at Rome, Paul had been kept under house arrest (Acts 28:16, 30). He was allowed freedom to preach and teach those who visited him (v. 23). He was under the constant guard of a Roman soldier but was treated with respect. The influence of his ministry had therefore reached right into the household of Caesar (Philippians 4:22).
Paul’s second imprisonment, however, was markedly different. He was virtually cut off from all outside contact and kept chained in a dungeon (2 Timothy 1:16). He was probably held underground in the Mamertine Prison, adjacent to the Roman forum, in a small, dark, bare stone dungeon whose only entrance was a hole in the ceiling scarcely large enough for one person to pass through. The dungeon itself is not large; about half the size of a small one-car garage. Yet it was sometimes used to hold as many as forty prisoners. The discomfort, the dark, the stench, and the misery were almost unbearable.
That dungeon still exists, and I have been in it. The stifling, claustrophobic confines of that dark hole are eerie and depressing even today. It was there (or in a dungeon just like it) that Paul spent the final days of his life.
There is no reliable record of Paul’s execution, but he obviously knew the end of his life was imminent when he wrote his second epistle to Timothy. Evidently he had already been tried, convicted, and condemned for preaching Christ, and perhaps the day of his execution was already scheduled. He wrote to Timothy, “I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand” (2 Timothy 4:6).
Naturally, there are notes of profound sadness in Paul’s final epistle. But its dominant theme is triumph, not defeat. Paul wrote that last letter to Timothy to encourage the young pastor to be bold and courageous and to continue following the example he had learned from his apostolic mentor. Far from writing a concession of failure, Paul sounds a clarion note of victory: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7–8).
Facing his own imminent martyrdom, Paul had no fear, no despondency, and no desire to stay in this world. He longed to be with Christ and eagerly anticipated the reward He would receive in the next world. Therefore, as he reviewed the course of his life, he expressed no regret, no sense of unfulfillment, and no feeling of incompleteness. There was not the smallest duty left undone. He had finished the work the Lord gave him to do, just as in Acts 20:24 he had hoped and prayed he would do: “so that I may finish my race with joy.”
Paul measured his own success as a leader, as an apostle, and as a Christian by a single criterion: He had “kept the faith”—meaning both that he had remained faithful to Christ and that he had kept the message of Christ’s gospel intact, just as he had received it. He had proclaimed the Word of God faithfully and fearlessly. And now he was passing the baton to Timothy and to others, who would be “able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2).
Therefore, Paul faced his own death with a triumphant spirit and with a deep sense of joy. He had seen the grace of God accomplish all that God designed in him and through him, and now he was ready to meet Christ face-to-face.
In the closing section of 2 Timothy, as Paul finished the last chapter of his final epistle—as he wrote what would literally stand as the concluding paragraph of his life—what filled the heart and mind of this great leader were the people he ministered to and worked alongside. He spoke of several individuals who had been part of his life. They were the most visible and immediate legacy of his leadership. Although he was left virtually friendless in prison, although he had been forsaken at his defense before a Roman tribunal, he was clearly not alone in life.
In fact, the true character of Paul’s leadership is seen in this brief list of people he had poured his life into. They personified the team he built, the treachery he endured, the trials he suffered, and the triumph he ultimately obtained. This catalog of individuals is therefore instructive in assessing why Paul’s leadership was not a failure. This is why his influence continues to be an example to millions of Christians even today.
What we have in the closing paragraph of 2 Timothy is an abbreviated sample of the network of people whom Paul depended on in his ministry. Here we are reminded that none of us who would serve Christ can do so alone. We are not islands. Although leadership is sometimes a lonely calling, the true leader must never be isolated from people. Just as people need leaders, leaders need people. Leadership itself is by definition a process of team building. Moses needed Aaron and Hur to hold up his hands (Exodus 17:12). When David was an outcast, he gathered men who were distressed, in debt, and discontented, and he made an army of them (1 Samuel 22:2). Even Jesus’ earthly ministry was devoted to training a few individuals, and at the hour of His soul’s deepest agony, He asked three of them to watch with Him in prayer (Matthew 26:37–41).
The more we cultivate people to depend on, and the more we learn to delegate, the better we can lead. The more a leader invests his life in people, the more effective that person will be in the Lord’s service.
The modern business world illustrates how vital networking is to success in leadership. The world of commerce depends on sophisticated networks of suppliers, customers, government agencies, stockholders, employees, and management. Scripture compares the church to a body to make this very point (1 Corinthians 12:14–27). The human body is perhaps the most graphic visual demonstration of networking as we live and move in an incredible network of organs, muscles, tissue, blood, and bones that all function in perfect harmony.
Paul had built a network of people around him. He had a large and effective team. He had many people on whom he depended, people to whom he delegated responsibility, and people in whom he trusted. Among them were some who were constantly faithful, some who proved unfaithful; some who remained friends no matter what, some who turned away from Paul in trials; some who became longtime partners, some who were short-term accomplices; some who were consistent, some who were inconsistent; some who were always ready to volunteer, and some who were never ready to volunteer. They were all a part of his life, and all were influenced in one way or another by his leadership.
As Paul faced the ax that would cut off his head and knew that his life was about to end, those people were on his mind. Remember, he wrote his two epistles to Timothy in order to pass the mantle of church leadership to his young protégé. And one vital step in that process required him to inform Timothy about what was going on with all the people on the team. In this farewell paragraph, he sounds like an old coach turning over the team to a young coach. The young coach needs to know where everyone plays so he can step in as the team leader with a minimum of trauma and difficulty. Paul wrote:
Be diligent to come to me quickly; for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica—Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry. And Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. Bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas when you come—and the books, especially the parchments. Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works. You also must beware of him, for he has greatly resisted our words. At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them.
But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!
Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus. Erastus stayed in Corinth, but Trophimus I have left in Miletus sick. Do your utmost to come before winter. Eubulus greets you, as well as Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brethren. The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Grace be with you. Amen. (2 Timothy 4:9–22)
Some of the people Paul mentioned in that passage were close friends whom he wanted with him in his last days, both for mutual comfort and to assist him in the ministry that would carry on even after his death. Those included Timothy, Luke, and Mark. Some were partners in ministry whom he mentioned simply to greet and share his love and his concern because they, too, were lifelong friends. Those included Priscilla, Aquila, and the family of Onesiphorus. Some whom he mentioned he had already said good-bye to and sent to serve in strategic places to keep the work strong. Those included Crescens, Titus, Tychicus, Erastus, and Trophimus. Some whom he mentioned were sending their own greetings to Timothy. Those were faithful believers living in Rome, including Eubulus, Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and others. He also mentioned some because of the intense grief they brought him. Those included Demas, Alexander, and several anonymous deserters.
People, not programs, were on Paul’s mind as he came to the end of his life. People are the most vital and valuable resource any leader can cultivate. Paul had the happy privilege of living a life that fulfilled the words of 1 Samuel 10:26, which says this about Saul: “Valiant men went with him, whose hearts God had touched.”
Paul had a band of men and women whose hearts God had touched too. He wanted Timothy to know who they were, where they were, and what they were doing as Timothy took over the reins of leadership. Notice whom he mentioned, beginning with Timothy himself.
Paul longed to see Timothy face-to-face one more time. In verse 9 he wrote, “Be diligent to come to me quickly.” Paul regarded Timothy as “a true son in the faith” and “a beloved son” (1 Timothy 1:2; 2 Timothy 1:2). Timothy was in a sense a reproduction of the apostle, and that is why he was to be the heir of Paul’s mantle of leadership.
In writing to the Corinthians about his tremendous concern for them, Paul had said to them in 1 Corinthians 4:17, “For this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church.” He regarded Timothy as a clone of himself, a carbon copy of his leadership. He trusted Timothy’s teaching and knew the young pastor would teach people just what he himself had taught.
Timothy was unique in that regard. Paul likewise had written to the Philippians, “I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I also may be encouraged when I know your state. For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state” (Philippians 2:19–20). Timothy more than anyone else had the heart of Paul. He had the habits of Paul. He had the theology of Paul. He was Paul reproduced—the faithful son.
Therefore, as Paul sat in that cold, dark dungeon, he longed to see his dear friend and beloved son in the faith. He began 2 Timothy by writing, “I remember you in my prayers night and day, greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy” (1:3–4). Although Paul’s work was finished, there was much work yet to be done in the churches. No doubt Paul had much more to say to Timothy in person before Timothy took the mantle of leadership. He had things to say that could not be set down in a brief epistle. So he urged his faithful son to come.
He said, “Be diligent to come . . . quickly.” There’s an urgency in the plea. Time was of the essence. Paul would be executed soon. Winter was approaching (v. 21), after which travel would be impossible because the seas would be too rough. There was much yet to say, and Paul wanted Timothy by his side as soon as possible.
Most great men owe their leadership skills to the influence of a mentor. They learn from someone whose heart they desire to emulate. For Timothy it was Paul. And Timothy was Paul’s number one son in the faith. Mutually they had bound their lives together by God’s wonderful grace and had found strength in one another.
One of the richest joys we will ever know as a leader in ministry occurs when God gives us the privilege of raising up Timothys, those who not only desire to hear what we say but who also emulate our example. As a young man, Timothy had struggled with fear and timidity, but he turned out to be a faithful son in every way. Like Paul, he was even imprisoned for his faithfulness (Hebrews 13:23). He became everything Paul had hoped.
Every true leader can thank God when by His grace He gives us spiritual children who are like Timothy, reproductions of ourselves. In the best cases, they become even better than we are, more devoted than we are, more godly than we are. But they catch the vision of our hearts and make the commitment to live to the glory of God and carry on the work to which we have devoted our lives.
Timothy contrasted starkly with Demas, whom we’ll discuss shortly. Demas, as we shall see, proved to be as unfaithful as Timothy was faithful. Virtually everyone who is in leadership for any amount of time will eventually suffer the disappointment of a Demas. But faithful souls like Timothy are the true backbone of the team.
Skipping Demas for the moment, notice the next two names Paul mentions: “Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia” (2 Timothy 4:10 NASB).
Nothing is known about Crescens except for this mention of his name. Don’t assume because he is named in the same verse as Demas that he falls into the same category of unfaithfulness. If that were the case, Titus wouldn’t also be grouped with them. We know that Titus, like Timothy, was regarded by Paul as “a true son in our common faith” (Titus 1:4). Therefore, in this context, Paul was simply reporting how his friends had been dispersed into various regions of Asia Minor. He expressly stated that Demas had abandoned him. He said no such thing about Crescens or Titus.
Crescens had gone to Galatia—probably at the behest of Paul himself—to care for the troubled church there. Evidently Crescens was a capable and trustworthy man, or Paul would never have sent him to Galatia. Galatia was a region where Paul had labored extensively. He went there on each of his three missionary journeys. Each time, he did evangelistic work, founded churches, and began the process of building church leaders.
Paul’s epistle to the Galatians reveals that the churches in that region had been subsequently ravaged by legalistic false teachers, known as the Judaizers, who corrupted the gospel by teaching that circumcision and other practices borrowed from Old Testament ceremonial law were essential for salvation. Paul’s epistle to the Galatians answered those errors but also revealed that the false teaching had become deeply rooted in the Galatian churches.
The fact that Crescens had been sent to such a strategic and difficult field of ministry as Galatia probably indicates that he was a man of great spiritual strength and experience. He was trusted by Paul to give leadership and teaching and to represent Paul in that region where false teachers had already done so much to undermine Paul’s influence.
Yet Crescens is virtually unknown. There were undoubtedly many like him who were trusted fellow laborers behind the scenes with Paul, who are never explicitly mentioned in Scripture, but “whose names are in the Book of Life” (Philippians 4:3). No one today remembers their names, but God knows, and they will be fully rewarded for their work. Thus Crescens represents the quiet, unknown hero who comes along in godly maturity and spiritual strength to stand behind someone like Paul and work faithfully without human accolades. I thank the Lord for the multitudes like them who are gifted, called by God, and who in doing their duty are content to be unknown.
Titus, by contrast, is well-known. His name appears thirteen times in the New Testament. One of Paul’s pastoral epistles was written to him and bears his name. Remember (as we saw in an earlier chapter) that Titus was the one who represented Paul in Corinth when the apostle was unable to visit there. Paul wrote of him, “If anyone inquires about Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker concerning you” (2 Corinthians 8:23).
Titus seemed to flourish in new and challenging circumstances. Paul had planted many churches across the Mediterranean region, and when he left to go to the next region, he would turn leadership of the church over to someone like Titus. Titus was an equipper, a builder, and a man who could train other leaders. In fact, when Paul wrote the epistle to Titus, Titus was on the island of Crete, where Paul had planted a church and left it in the capable hands of Titus. Paul wrote to him, “For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you” (Titus 1:5).
Titus had been working with Paul for years. He was in close and intimate fellowship with the apostle. Titus 3:12 indicates that Titus left Crete to meet Paul at Nicopolis (probably in northwest Greece). He apparently went from there to Dalmatia at about the same time Paul was being taken to Rome in his final imprisonment. Dalmatia was part of Illyricum, a region on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea, north of Macedonia. (Dalmatia is part of modern Croatia and Albania.) Paul had preached in Illyricum, according to Romans 15:19. It was exactly the kind of setting where Titus could go and follow up Paul’s missionary work, strengthen the church, and build leaders.
Every person in spiritual service needs not only the quiet, behind-the-scenes helpers like Crescens, but also those (like Titus) who can take a place of prominence. People like Titus are strong builders of other leaders, equippers, reproducers.
The next name on Paul’s list is Luke, Paul’s constant and faithful companion. In 2 Timothy 4:11 Paul wrote, “Only Luke is with me.” Don’t get the idea that Paul was in any way depreciating the character or the importance of Luke. Quite the contrary. Luke was one of the closest and most beloved of Paul’s fellow workers. In Colossians 4:14, Paul referred to him as “the beloved physician.”
Although Luke’s name appears only three times in the New Testament, he is a dominant character in the early church, and especially in Paul’s ministry. He wrote the gospel that bears his name, which is the longest of all four Gospels. (Luke’s gospel has only twenty-four chapters and Matthew’s has twenty-eight, but Luke has more verses and more words than Matthew.) Luke also wrote the entire book of Acts. So fifty-two chapters of the New Testament were penned by this faithful physician, who was also an able historian. He chronicled the life of Christ, and then he chronicled the life of the early church, all under the Holy Spirit’s inspiration.
But Luke was obviously humble, and thus he was content to come alongside a great apostle and labor in his shadow. He was a constant companion to Paul, faithfully at his side. He was with Paul on his second missionary journey at Troas and Philippi. He joined Paul at the end of the third missionary journey and went with him to Jerusalem. As we saw throughout the early part of our study, Luke was with Paul in the shipwreck recorded in Acts 27. He remained with Paul through both of his imprisonments. His presence is indicated, starting in Acts 16:10 with the pronoun we, indicating that he traveled with Paul from that point on.
Although Luke was an articulate, godly, educated, gifted man, he made himself Paul’s servant. His main ministry was to come alongside Paul and serve his personal needs. And if anybody ever needed a personal physician, Paul did. Beaten, stoned, whipped, shipwrecked, imprisoned, and suffering so much, Paul needed a first-rate physician and an intimate friend. That was the role Luke gladly embraced.
Luke apparently wasn’t a preacher. There’s no record that he ever taught, except through his writing. He doesn’t appear to have been a theologian. He was a friend who acted as a personal aide and secretary to Paul and as a historian under the Holy Spirit’s inspiration. So the expression “only Luke” does not in any way minimize his value, but simply means that Paul was left with no one other than his personal attendant. For the work that needed to be done, he needed Timothy as well.
Leadership and ministry are greatly enriched by a personal confidant. There probably wasn’t anything in Paul’s life that Luke didn’t know. Luke attended to Paul when the apostle was ill. He stayed with him through every ordeal. He had seen his response in every kind of situation. Theirs was not a nine-to-five association; they had traveled together and worked together for years. Luke was Paul’s companion, and he was his closest friend.
These men were all key players in the team Paul had built. They and others like them represented the very heart of Paul’s network of beloved people.
As Paul continued his catalog of people who played a significant role in his life and ministry, he named a few people who, in one way or another, were reminiscent of various trials he had suffered.
The first of these, Mark, had at one time been a severe personal disappointment and a source of great grief to Paul, but he had since recovered his relationship with the apostle and was now a useful and important fellow laborer. Paul told Timothy, “Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry” (2 Timothy 4:11).
Mark is first mentioned in Acts 12:12 (where he’s called “John whose surname was Mark”). Luke recorded that many believers had gathered in his mother’s home to pray for Peter, who had been imprisoned by Herod. It may be that the church regularly met in Mark’s mother’s home.
Mark himself was one of the bright, promising young lights in the Jerusalem church. He was chosen to accompany Paul and Barnabas on the first missionary journey. Shortly into the trip, however, according to Acts 13:13, he abandoned the team. Apparently, the hardship was too much for him. He was still immature and didn’t have the courage or the character for the rigors of missionary life, so he went home.
Paul had little tolerance for weak, cowardly, or uncommitted men. Therefore, a few years later, when Paul and Barnabas were preparing to depart on their second missionary journey, Paul had no interest in taking Mark with them again. He did not want someone who would be excess baggage, someone who might have to be pushed or carried and might slow them down. This resulted in a sharp dispute between Paul and Barnabas. (According to Colossians 4:10, John Mark was a relative of Barnabas.) Luke recorded what happened:
Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark. But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work. Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus; but Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of God. (Acts 15:37–40)
In other words, Paul and Barnabas split over Mark. Barnabas went with Mark, and Paul took Silas. Providentially, this turned out to be a blessing because it resulted in two fruitful missionary teams instead of one, but at the time of the rift with Barnabas, Paul clearly did not anticipate that Mark would ever prove useful.
About twelve years later, when Paul was under house arrest in Rome, he wrote to the church at Colosse. In that epistle, Paul sent this greeting: “Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, with Mark the cousin of Barnabas” (Colossians 4:10). Moreover, he added, “These are my only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are of the circumcision; they have proved to be a comfort to me” (v. 11). Apparently Mark had proved himself and was back in Paul’s good graces—a companion restored.
After that, according to 1 Peter 5:13, Mark also spent time with Peter. Probably it was during that time, at the request of the Roman church, that he wrote his gospel, which strongly reflects the perspective of Peter.
Perhaps when Peter was martyred, Mark returned to labor alongside Paul. He evidently served him well and seems to have been well-known to Timothy. And some twenty years after his original failure, Mark was still faithful. So Paul told Timothy to bring him, “for he is useful to me for ministry.”
Useful, because although he had once been the cause of disappointment and conflict for the apostle Paul, he had long since proved himself trustworthy, again and again. Now he was a living reminder of the triumph that comes even through trials. What’s more, he was a native Roman. He knew the Roman church and had been part of that flock from the beginning. He could be of great help to Paul in the final days of the apostle’s life.
Indeed, one of the great joys in Christian ministry and spiritual leadership is to see someone restored to usefulness after experiencing failure.
The next name in Paul’s catalog is Tychicus. “Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus” (2 Timothy 4:12). Tychicus is mentioned four other times in Scripture. We learn from Acts 20:4 that he came from Asia Minor and accompanied Paul to Jerusalem with the offering for the poor saints there. He is also mentioned in Ephesians 6:21, Colossians 4:7, and Titus 3:12. In each case, his special task was to deliver the epistles that Paul wrote. He carried the manuscript of the Ephesian epistle to Ephesus, Colossians to Colossae, and Titus to Crete. In this case, it seems likely that he was also the one delivering 2 Timothy to Ephesus.
Three of these four epistles were written from prison. So Tychicus was apparently, like Luke, one of those who filled a role made necessary by the trials Paul suffered. Because Paul’s feet were shackled with chains, Tychicus became Paul’s feet for him, delivering vital personal messages to churches Paul himself could not personally visit. But they were more than personal messages; they were the autographs of some of the most important books in the New Testament canon.
Tychicus was given great responsibility, delivering the Word of God to churches; therefore he must have been a loyal and trustworthy man. He himself was evidently not a preacher, but he was nonetheless an important messenger of the truth.
The network of my own ministry is filled with people like Tychicus. I thank God for the people around me who work to disseminate the preaching of God’s Word. Most of them do not do what I do, but they make it possible for the message to reach the uttermost parts of the world, by the printed page, through tapes, and on the radio. Every leader needs people like Tychicus. Such people are a wonderful support through every kind of trial.
Next on Paul’s list is Carpus. Paul told Timothy, “Bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas when you come—and the books, especially the parchments” (2 Timothy 4:13). While Tychicus was the faithful one who traveled for Paul, Carpus was the faithful one who stayed home and played host to the apostle.
Carpus apparently lived in Troas and gave Paul a place to stay during his travels. Paul wanted Timothy to pick up Mark, stop in Troas on the way to Rome, and bring the personal effects Carpus had kept for him.
Troas was north and west of Ephesus in Asia Minor. Paul evidently expected Timothy to travel overland to Greece, then take a ship across the Adriatic to Italy.
Why does Scripture make a point of noting that Paul wanted his cloak? Notice that verse 21 says winter was coming. The cloak was a heavy, square-shaped woolen garment with a hole or a slit in the middle where it went over the head. It could be worn like a poncho or used like a blanket. Paul needed the cloak in that dungeon to keep warm.
That tells us something about Paul’s personal economic condition and the poverty of the church in those days. You might think there was no need to trek across Europe with a coat for Paul. But it was obviously more feasible than buying a new one. Besides, Paul wanted the books as well.
Why had he left his cloak at the house of Carpus? Perhaps he didn’t want to carry it in the summer. Or perhaps he was arrested suddenly and not given an opportunity even to collect his personal effects. Either way, Carpus becomes another living reminder of the trials Paul suffered, because he was the one lovingly safeguarding Paul’s most precious earthly goods while the apostle was imprisoned.
What are the books and parchments Paul refers to? “Parchments” would be important writings preserved on expensive animal-skin scrolls. The “books” were probably papyrus scrolls. Some of them were surely rare personal copies of Old Testament books. Others may have been Paul’s own letters, of which he kept copies. Some of them may have even been blanks on which he was about to write other things. The point is clear: Paul wasn’t finished reading, writing, and studying, and he wanted his books and papers so that he could redeem the time during his final days on earth.
Paul’s network included not only people who formed the core of his team, but also people who ministered to him and encouraged him in his trials. Sadly, there were also a few people in whom he had invested his life who proved to be unfaithful to the Lord and disloyal to Paul personally. He mentioned them as well.
Rare is the leader who doesn’t experience disloyalty and defection. Even Jesus had to endure the treachery of Judas. Usually, betrayal comes from where you least expect it. Paul’s experience was no exception to that rule. In fact, the wounds of a good friend’s defection were still smarting when he wrote this epistle to Timothy.
We return now to Demas, whom Paul mentioned in 2 Timothy 4:10: “Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica.”
In fact, Paul mentioned Demas as one of the reasons he needed Timothy to come speedily: “Come to me quickly; for Demas has forsaken me.” Why is Demas’s defection a reason for asking Timothy to make haste? Could it be that Demas had occupied such a strategic role in Paul’s ministry that only Timothy could take his place? The implication is that Timothy needed to come not only for the sake of encouraging Paul, but also for the sake of whatever work had heretofore been Demas’s responsibility.
We don’t know much about Demas, aside from the fact that he had been with Paul for some time. He is mentioned along with Luke in Colossians 4:14 as one of the esteemed and intimate companions of Paul. While Paul was writing to Colosse during his first imprisonment in Rome, Demas was there. Paul most likely wrote Philemon at about the same time, and Demas is mentioned in verse 24 of that brief epistle too. Along with Mark, Luke, and Aristarchus, Paul named him as a fellow laborer.
So Demas had been associated with Paul at least since that first imprisonment in Rome. He must have been given some kind of important or strategic ministry. He was no doubt someone in whom Paul had invested much. He surely knew much truth. And when he deserted Paul, he left a void that Paul needed Timothy to step into.
The verb translated “forsaken” is the Greek word egkataleipo. It is a strong word that speaks of desertion. Its root (leipo) means “to leave.” It is compounded with two prepositions (eg and kata, having the sense of “against” and “alone”), making it doubly intense. In this context, it con veys the idea of “leaving me in the lurch.” Indeed, Demas had not only abandoned Paul, but he had also left him in a dire situation, at a most inappropriate time.
Perhaps the deprivation had become too much for Demas. It may have been that in the midst of Paul’s most extreme difficulty, he could see the handwriting on the wall. Paul was about to lose his life, and apparently Demas wasn’t willing to give his life for Christ. He wasn’t that committed.
Maybe Demas had first joined Paul because of the noble cause. But he had never really counted the cost. He may well have been like the rocky soil, where the seed has no root in itself, but when tribulation comes, it withers (Mark 4:16–17). Or, more likely, Demas was a classic example of weedy ground, where “the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful” (v. 19). He probably was never a true Christian at all because Paul said he “loved this present world.” And “friendship with the world is enmity with God” (James 4:4). As the apostle John wrote, “If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15).
Demas had much in common with Judas. He fell in love with the world because he apparently never had any genuine love for Christ. Like Judas, he seemed to follow for a while, but his heart was always in this world.
Why did Demas go to Thessalonica? Most likely, that was his home. Paul linked him with Aristarchus in Philemon, and according to Acts 20:4, Aristarchus was a Thessalonian. Whatever the reason for the place, the reason for his desertion is clear: He loved this world more than he loved Christ.
Virtually every Christian leader will eventually face the desertion of a Demas—someone you pour your life into; you think he is on the team; he is outwardly following Christ; but he brings deep pain and a sense of betrayal when it finally becomes apparent that he loves the present world. This was no reflection on Paul’s leadership, any more than Judas reflected negatively on Jesus’ leadership.
In 2 Timothy 4:14–15, Paul mentioned another man whose treachery had caused him great grief: “Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works. You also must beware of him, for he has greatly resisted our words.”
Alexander was a common name in the ancient world, so there’s no need to assume that this Alexander was the same one mentioned in 1 Timothy 1:20 together with Hymenaeus as a false teacher. Nor do we need to assume that this is the same Alexander mentioned in Acts 19:33, whose testimony sparked a riot. In fact, by referring to him as “Alexander the coppersmith,” Paul seemed to set him apart from the other Alexanders. This man was a craftsman who worked with metals. Perhaps he was an idol maker. Remember that a silversmith named Demetrius had once caused a riot in Ephesus, because Paul’s preaching was a threat to his idol-making business (Acts 19:24–26).
Whatever Alexander’s story, he had caused Paul great harm, and therefore Timothy also needed to be warned to be on guard against him. The nature of the harm he caused is also clear: He opposed Paul’s teaching (2 Timothy 4:15). That means he stood against the truth of the gospel.
Notice Paul’s response: “May the Lord repay him according to his works” (v. 14). Paul was not asking Timothy to take any action against Alexander, only to beware of him. He did not seek personal vengeance. He did not threaten or revile Alexander in return. Following the example of Christ, he simply “committed Himself to Him who judges righteously” (1 Peter 2:23).
Everyone in leadership and ministry encounters people who set themselves against the truth of God and seek to do us harm. They want to discredit faithful teachers and make them appear as fools, liars, charlatans, or whatever.
Alexander, like Demas, was a living example of the treachery Paul had endured.
There were many more. In verse 16, Paul described how he was abandoned by everyone soon after his arrest: “At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them.”
We can piece together what had apparently happened from the sparse details Paul gave. He was most likely tracked down and captured somewhere in the Roman Empire, likely far from Rome. Paul may well have been singled out by Nero personally because he had already appeared before the emperor, and he was well-known as a leader of the church. Therefore, when Nero began to persecute Christians, he would have specifically targeted Paul.
Once arrested, Paul would immediately have been transported to Rome for trial. This time Luke probably would not have been permitted to accompany him; the physician would have to arrange his own travel and arrive later.
As soon as Paul reached Rome, he would have been arraigned. The Roman court system demanded that he be given an opportunity to defend himself at that initial hearing. That is most likely what he was describing as his “first defense.” It apparently occurred before Luke or Onesiphorus (2 Timothy 1:16), or any of Paul’s usual companions were able to reach Rome.
But the church at Rome was filled with believers who knew Paul well. Paul probably anticipated that some of them would testify on his behalf or at least show up at the trial for moral support. But no one did.
“All forsook me.” He used the same verb he used to speak of Demas’s defection: egkataleipo. They left him in the lurch. They abandoned him at a crucial time. They were no doubt embarrassed or afraid to be identified with Paul because of the persecution. Such deliberate neglect of the great apostle who had given so much for them was unthinkable.
Notice Paul’s prayer for them: “May it not be charged against them” (v. 16). This makes a stark contrast with his words about Alexander. That’s because Alexander’s treachery was driven by evil motives. The people who were no-shows at Paul’s defense were most likely driven by their own fears and frailty. They were fainthearted, not false hearted. Paul’s wish for them is reminiscent of Stephen, who said of those who were stoning him to death, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin” (Acts 7:60). And it reflects the spirit of Christ, who from the cross prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34).
Abandoned by his friends, hated by his enemies, Paul might have felt like giving up in despair. But instead he wrote:
The Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen! (2 Timothy 4:17–18)
Christ has promised, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). Indeed, when everyone else forsook Paul, Christ stood by him.
Paul would have been put on trial in a large basilica teeming with hostile people. Nero himself may have overseen the proceedings, considering the importance of the prisoner. There Paul stood, without an advocate, without any witnesses on his behalf, and with no one to defend him. He was absolutely alone and helpless in front of an imperial court that, from the human point of view, held his life in their hands.
But the Lord stood with him and strengthened him. The Greek verb for “strengthened” speaks of an infusion of power. Paul began to feel Christ’s empowerment in his spirit, enabling him to be the human instrument through which the gospel was fully preached, so that all the Gentiles might hear.
That moment was, in effect, the pinnacle of Paul’s ministry and the fulfillment of his deepest desire. He was called to be the apostle to the Gentiles. Rome was the cosmopolitan center of the pagan world. Paul had long sought an opportunity to preach the gospel in such a venue before the world’s most important political leaders and philosophical trendsetters. This was that opportunity. In the midst of it, Paul was strengthened by the Spirit of Christ to speak boldly and thoroughly.
“I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion,” he wrote (v. 17). That’s probably figurative language (cf. Psalm 22:21; 35:17) meaning he was spared immediate execution. God delivered him from that perilous tribunal and turned it into an opportunity to preach a strategic gospel message.
But it didn’t end his imprisonment or permanently end the danger to Paul’s life. He would eventually be executed. And he knew that. But notice that even while acknowledging that his death was imminent, the apostle Paul could write, “The Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom” (v. 18). The deliverance he sought was an eternal reality, not a rescue from temporal or earthly tribulations.
When Paul thought of the certainty of that deliverance, he could not resist a glad expression of worship: “To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!” (v. 18). This was authentic triumph. And Paul could enjoy it fully despite his circumstances.
Finally, Paul closed both the epistle and the final chapter of his life with some assorted greetings to old friends, news about key ministry partners, and greetings from select people in the church at Rome:
Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus. Erastus stayed in Corinth, but Trophimus I have left in Miletus sick. Do your utmost to come before winter. Eubulus greets you, as well as Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brethren. The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Grace be with you. Amen. (2 Timothy 4:19–22)
Notice the remaining names of people who also were part of Paul’s extended network:
Priscilla and Aquila are familiar to us. They were the couple who worked with Paul in the tent-making trade during his first visit to Corinth (Acts 18:2–3). They left Corinth with Paul and traveled with him to Ephesus (vv. 18–19). Having learned so much from Paul, they patiently taught Apollos (v. 26). Thus Paul’s influence extended to Apollos through the ministry of this couple. They were the instruments God used to help bring Apollos to maturity, and Apollos became a powerful extension of Paul’s ministry and leadership
When Paul wrote Romans about six years later, Aquila and Priscilla were living in Rome (Romans 16:3). They apparently left Rome during the brutal persecution of the Jews carried out by Emperor Claudius. From there they went back to Ephesus and hosted the Ephesian church in their house, because when Paul wrote 1 Corinthians (from Ephesus), he sent greetings to old friends in Corinth on behalf of Aquila and Priscilla and “the church that is in their house” (1 Corinthians 16:19).
So this was a couple that had traveled extensively with Paul for years. They were old friends and longtime fellow workers. Paul sent them greetings.
Onesiphorus may have been in Rome with Paul when Paul sent greetings back to his household in Ephesus. In 2 Timothy 1:16–17, Paul mentioned that Onesiphorus had frequently refreshed him without being ashamed of Paul’s imprisonment. Moreover, when Onesiphorus had first come to Rome, he zealously sought Paul out. He arrived, apparently, soon after that bitter experience at Paul’s trial when no one had stood with him. So Paul was obviously very grateful for Onesiphorus’s singular kindness to him.
Paul then reported that “Erastus stayed in Corinth” (2 Timothy 4:20). This is most likely the same Erastus mentioned in Acts 19:22, who had ministered alongside Timothy in Macedonia. Here was another old friend, a longtime fellow worker, with whom Paul still had a close connection. Now Erastus was apparently helping lead the church in Corinth, and Paul wanted Timothy to stay in contact with him.
Next on Paul’s list is another beloved old friend, Trophimus. According to Acts 20:4, Trophimus was from Asia Minor. He also had left his home in order to travel with Paul and work alongside the apostle. He had helped bring the Gentile offering to the poor Christians in Jerusalem. On the way, he traveled through Troas with Paul and was there when Eutychus fell out of the window and was resurrected. When they arrived in Jerusalem, the Jews took notice of Trophimus because he was presumably a Gentile. When they saw Paul in the temple, they wrongly assumed he had Trophimus with him, and that was the incident that led to Paul’s first arrest (Acts 21:29).
Now Trophimus was sick, and Paul had left him at Miletus. He must have been rather seriously ill, because Miletus is only about thirty-six miles from his home in Ephesus. We can safely assume that Paul would have healed him if possible. But here is rather dramatic evidence that even before the death of the apostle Paul, the apostolic gifts of healing and miracles (“the signs of an apostle” [2 Corinthians 12:12]) were beginning to cease, or had ceased already. It obviously wasn’t the plan of God to heal Trophimus, but Paul had not forgotten his dear friend.
In closing, Paul sent greetings from a few believers in Rome who had not been scattered in the persecution: “Eubulus greets you, as well as Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brethren.” We know nothing of these people, but they furnish evidence that even in his worst extremity, the apostle Paul’s influence was still powerful and active. Even in the worst kind of persecution, people were still coming to Christ, and Paul was still ministering to them.
Finally, here was the sum of Paul’s situation: He was in a fetid hole in the ground. Demas was gone. Crescens was ministering elsewhere. Titus was in Dalmatia. Tychicus had been sent to Ephesus. Priscilla, Aquila, Onesiphorus and family, Erastus, and Trophimus were all scattered, carrying on the work Paul had begun. Only Luke was still with the apostle. A few believers in the church at Rome had also lately befriended him. But he longed to see his son in the faith one more time, to finish passing the baton of leadership.
So he said in verse 21, “Do your utmost to come before winter.” The appeal is full of pathos and melancholy, even though Paul himself was triumphant. He knew the day of his departure was at hand. Yet he also knew that if Timothy delayed they’d never see each other face-to-face on earth again, and Paul still had much more in his heart to say. Thus the tender plea that sums up and ends this epistle.
Was Paul a failure as a leader? Not in the least. His continuing influence in the lives of so many people gives ample proof of the effectiveness of his leadership to the very end. He had kept the faith. He had fought a good fight. He had finished his course with joy. That was his legacy in this life, and through eternity.