Did Paul’s colleague Demas really desert Paul? If so, in what sense? The relevant Scripture reads, “For Demas has forsaken me, having loved the present world-age and gone to Thessalonica, Crescens to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me…” (2 Timothy 4:10–11a).
Traditionally speaking, Paul is said to be writing this letter to Timothy when in prison in Rome. The way the apostle speaks of Demas in tandem with Crescens and Titus may suggest all three of them either rejected Paul’s ministry, or Paul, feeling despondent in prison, shows signs of being overly dramatic here. Luke alone is still tending to him in prison, while his other colleagues have left him in Rome to start or resume other ministries in the cities mentioned. In that case, Demas simply left Rome to go minister in Thessalonica.
I suspect the correct answer may be somewhere in between these options. A more complete reading of 2 Timothy is in order here.
Earlier in 2 Timothy 1:15
It is helpful to read a parallel text written earlier in the letter. Paul claims that those from Asia Minor, “all” turned away from him, among whom are Phylegus and Hermogenes (2 Tim 1:15). This could hardly mean that all the Christ-followers in that region deserted him or had fallen away from faith. Timothy is currently in this region, as are Onesiphorus, Prisca, and Aquila; these are obviously faithful believers (cf. 1 Timothy 1:3; 2 Timothy 1:16; 4:16). The “all” probably should be understood as an overstatement expressed with great emotion. Kelly suggests that the apostle’s language is an exaggeration to be expected when someone is depressed (Kelly, Pastoral Letters, 169).*
What Paul seems to be stating here is that none of these believers helped him when he was arrested. This presumably took place somewhere in Asia Minor or alternatively in Rome with a number of his colleagues from Asia with him until his arrest. He now feels abandoned in prison as he awaits his impending trial. Phygelus and Hermogenes are probably the primary colleagues who abandoned Paul at his arrest; they feared imprisonment or persecution. It is possible that this abandonment included a rejection of Paul’s ministry, but we cannot know for sure, and there is no more information about them.
Back to Demas
With the option of abandoning Paul at his arrest, we might gain a better understanding of Demas deserting Paul (2 Tim 4:10). What is unique in Demas’s case, though, is that his desertion includes his having “loved this world-present age.”
Quinn and Wacker suggest that loving the present age relates to wealth (1 Tim 6:17), and the “precarious poverty of the apostolate” led to Demas’s downfall; he may have even ran off with Paul’s purse (Quinn and Wacker, First and Second Letters, 800–01). The allurement of wealth is viewed as a problem that leads to ruin in 1 Timothy 6:10.
While this explanation cannot be ruled out, a more probable cause for Demas’s disloyalty involved his fear of persecution. Perhaps we can suggest from the text that Demas was with Paul when he was arrested but fear of imprisonment caused Demas to run away. Or is it that he, along with others Paul mentions, failed to come to his court trial? (2 Tim 4:16).
The early Christian martyr, Polycarp, contrasts the idea of loving the present age over against a willingness to be martyred (Polycarp Phil. 9:1–2). A similar thought may rest behind the Pauline words about Demas. It appears to be in the face of persecution that Jesus warns that the person who tries to save his life will lose it. For “what will it profit a person to gain the whole world and lose his soul?” (Mark 8:35–36). It so happens that Jesus’s disciples abandon him at his arrest (Mark 14:50). After his resurrection, though, there is restoration.
Perhaps Demas lacked courage or concern for his imprisoned brother in the Lord. Even so, Paul probably did not intend to condemn him or other “no-shows” at his arrest and trial. His prayer wish seems to be that God would not punish them (1 Tim 4:16b). Mercy stands out here in stark contrast to Paul’s decision to deliver Hymenaeus and Alexander to Satan after they shipwrecked their faith (1 Tim 1:19–20). We do not appear to be dealing with the same type of disloyalty in comparison. Demas does not appear to have turned into a false teacher; his fault seems to be letting fear overwhelm him in the midst of persecution.
Titus, Crescens, and Mark
Crescens and Titus also left Paul to go to Galatia and Dalmatia, respectively, as Demas departed to Thessalonica. Luke alone remained with Paul (2 Tim 4:10–12).** Crescens and Titus’s departure into these cities suggests at most that they decided to leave the Pauline mission for a while until things simmered down. They do not appear to have abandoned their faith. But a question remains as to whether they reconciled with Paul before his death. The Pauline Letter to Titus is of no help here if it happened to be written before 2 Timothy—Titus 1:4–5 finds this disciple ministering in Crete, on good terms with Paul and under his leadership.
It is quite possible that Demas joined a house congregation in Thessalonica. No persecution was taking place in that city at that time, presumably. These examples of colleagues leaving Paul remind us of John Mark’s departure from Paul’s missionary journey in Acts 13:13. Paul did not permit Mark to join his second mission despite Barnabas insisting that Mark come along (Acts 15:36–40). There is no indication that Paul considered Mark an apostate; rather, he may have thought him unreliable for the purpose of the apostle’s ministry.
In 2 Timothy, Paul in later years is portrayed as accepting Mark for his ministry and is satisfied with his performance (2 Tim 4:11b; cf. Col 4:10–11; Philem. 24). If this is the same Mark, then the apostle seems to have conceded that unfaithful workers might be given second chances successfully.
Conclusion
From what we can determine, although Demas abandoned Paul, it is not clear that he also entirely abandoned his faith. That remains a possibility, but we cannot say for sure.*** In any case, it appears that our author wants to make sure that Timothy does not turn out to be cowardly and disloyal like some of the persons Paul mentions (cf. 2 Tim 1:7; 2:1, 3). Timothy is to be a strong solider and endure hardships for the sake of the gospel, much like his mentor.
Notes
* Portions of this study have been adopted and developed from my book, B. J. Oropeza, Jews, Gentiles, and the Opponents of Paul (Eugene: Cascade, 2012). For a more thorough study, see esp. pp. 301–306.
** The Pastoral Letters have often been questioned regarding their authorship. That Paul did not write these letters first-hand is very likely given the wide-spread use of secretaries at the time, inclusive of Paul’s other letters. On Paul’s amanuenses, see “Tertius Wrote Romans, the Most Famous Bible Letter, Not Paul.” Beyond this, it seems that Luke was Paul’s amanuensis for these letters—one could draw this inference plausibly enough from 2 Tim 4:11. Luke is the only colleague with Paul, presumably during his final days in prison.
His hand in these letters became evident to me when doing word studies in 1–2 Timothy and Titus. I noticed that a number of words in them are found uniquely in Luke-Acts or Luke-Acts and Paul. Whether he wrote or started them when Paul was still alive, or wrote them as memoirs afterward, Luke’s fingerprints may be present.
It also happens to be the case that all the major colleagues of Paul in Pauline letters are also mentioned in Acts as Paul’s colleagues. This includes Timothy, Silas, Barnabas, Mark, and others. The only exceptions are Luke (the traditional author of Acts), Demas (Philemon 24; Col 4:14; cf. 2 Tim 4:10), and Titus (2 Cor 2:13; 7:6–15; 8:16–24; 12:18; Gal 2:1, 3; Tit 1:4; cf. 2 Tim 4:10). Crescens is also not mentioned in Acts, but he does not appear to be a major colleague given that his only mention anywhere is in 2 Tim 4:10.
If Luke is the writer of the Pastoral Letters on behalf of Paul, could it be that when he wrote Acts, he remembered the departure of Demas, Crescens, and Titus from Paul as something that hurt Paul deeply? And this is the reason why he does not name them anywhere in Acts? I leave that question open for ponderance.
*** This is not to say, however, that believers could never genuinely abandon their faith. On the issue, see my recent post, “Do Paul’s Warnings Preserve Believers from Falling Away?”
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