Demas Hath Forsaken Me

2 Tim. 4:9 Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me: 4:10 For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.

Of course, Paul is in prison in Rome awaiting his execution. In this section in his final chapter of his final letter, he lists some who had forsaken him beginning with Demas.

Paul writes in 2 Tim. 4:10 “For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world…”

Did you notice that Paul begins that verse with the word “For”?  He says in 2Ti 4:9 “Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me: FOR Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world…” That word “For” connects those two verses.

Timothy needed to come to Paul because Demas had forsaken him.

I don’t think this means, “I need you to be with me to comfort me because Demas has abandoned me.” I think that what this means is that it had been Paul’s intent to send Demas to Troas to collect the parchments and bring them back to Rome, but Paul couldn’t do that anymore because Demas had abandoned him and the ministry.

Why? Because he loved this present world.

I think Paul is saying that because Demas won’t do this task for me, I now need you to get those parchments instead and bring them here. (Why was this trip so important? Consider my other article, Timothy Risks His Life.)

Not only has Demas left but also Crescens and Titus.

This isn’t a “woe is me” verse.

This verse is explaining why Timothy now had to do his diligence to go to Troas to collect the parchments and bring them to Rome, because no one else was around who could do the job.

I have no doubt it would have been Paul’s preference to not risk Timothy’s life in order to bring those parchments into Rome, but he’s saying here that he has no choice. Timothy is now one of the few people left who can be trusted and who will most likely have the best chance of success in bringing those parchments into Rome.

We know very little about Demas.

He was part of Paul’s entourage involved in the work of the ministry mentioned only in Colossians and Philemon.

But now Demas has forsaken Paul. The word “forsaken” has the idea of “deserted, abandoned, left behind,” which brings to mind what Paul said about Asia in 2 Tim. 1:15. Just as all of Asia turned away from Paul, so too, Demas has turned away from Paul.

Because we have such a similarity in thought in those two expressions, I’m inclined to think that Demas abandoned the ministry altogether. And he gives a reason why.

He loved this present world.

Some commentaries would say that “having loved this present world” simply means that Demas wanted to live. He wanted to remain in the world, but that’s not what this verse says. This verse says that he loved this present world. He had a love for the world, which is a stark contrast to what Paul had previously written in 2 Tim. 4:8, “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” At the Rapture, a crown of righteousness will be given to all those who love his appearing, but what does Demas love? He loves this present evil world.

To me, there is no doubt that Paul is intentionally contrasting the heart of Demas with the hearts of those who will be given crowns of righteousness at His appearing. If the Rapture had happened in that moment, I’ll bet you Demas would not be given a crown of righteousness. He did not love His appearing, because he still loved the world.

And when it comes to Demas, you cannot help but think of 1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 2:17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

Paul writes that Demas had left to Thessalonica. Some suggested that he may have been from that city, which we do not know for certain, but I’d suggest that if you loved the world back in Paul’s day, Thessalonica would have been a great city to go indulge the world. Thessalonica was an extremely wealthy, extremely gorgeous, extremely vibrant trade port, a city truly embodying all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.