2 Timothy 4.11-Paul Informs Timothy Luke Alone was with Him and He Orders Timothy to Bring Mark with Him
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Wednesday October 14, 2015
Second Timothy: Second Timothy 4:11-Paul Informs Timothy Luke Alone was with Him and He Orders Timothy to Bring Mark with Him
Lesson # 100
2 Timothy 4:9 Make every effort to come to me soon. 10 for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. 11 Only Luke is with me. Pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service. (NASB95)
The apostle Paul is employing the figure of asyndeton in order to express the disjunction between Demas, Crescens, Titus and Luke.
Demas was unfaithful since Paul states in Second Timothy 4:10 he deserted him because he loved this present age.
Paul sent Crescens to Galatia in order to serve the church in that province and Titus he dispatched to Dalmatia to serve the church in that region.
Now, here in Second Timothy 4:11, the apostle Paul informs Timothy that only Luke was with him in Rome.
Therefore, this figure of asyndeton in Second Timothy 4:11 expresses the disjunction between the three men mentioned in Second Timothy 4:10 and Luke since the latter was the only one who was still keeping Paul company.
Luke was a close personal friend and traveling companion of the apostle Paul and a doctor (Colossians 4:14) who penned the gospel of Luke as well as the book of Acts.
Once again, the apostle Paul is employing the figure of asyndeton in order to distinguish Luke who was present with Paul in Rome when he wrote Second Timothy and Mark who was not.
“Pick up” is the nominative masculine singular third person singular aorist active participle form of the verb analambanō (ἀναλαμβάνω), which means “to get, to pick up, to take someone along with you on a journey” since it pertains to bringing someone along with you on a trip to a particular destination.
Therefore, this verb indicates that Paul is ordering Timothy to take Mark along with him on his journey to Rome to visit him.
The participle form of this verb analambanō is a participle of attendant circumstance which is used to communicate an action that, in some sense, is coordinate with the finite verb.
Therefore, the action of analambanō is coordinate with the action of this verb agō.
Greater emphasis is on the action of the verb agō whereas the action of the verb analambanō is a prerequisite before the action of agō can occur.
In other words, Timothy can’t bring Mark with him to Rome to visit Paul until he first picks him up to take him with him.
This construction emphasizes with Timothy the urgency of Paul’s request regarding Mark.
“Bring” is the second person singular present active imperative form of the verb agō (ἄγω), which means “to bring, to take along” since it pertains to directing or guiding the movement of an object without special regard to point of departure or goal.
It speaks of bringing someone along with you for a particular purpose.
Here it speaks of Timothy “bringing” or “taking” Mark along with him on his trip to Rome to visit Paul in prison before his execution.
The present imperative form of this verb agō is an ingressive-progressive present imperative who force is to begin and continue.
It emphasizes both the inception and progress of an action commanded.
Here it emphasizes with Timothy that he is to get Mark and bring him with himself until he reaches his destination in Rome to visit him in prison.
“For he is useful to me for service” presents the reason for the previous command Paul issues Timothy which required that the latter get Mark and take him along with himself to Rome when he visited the apostle in prison.
“Useful” is the nominative masculine singular form of the adjective euchrēstos (εὔχρηστος), which means “useful, helpful, profitable, beneficial” pertaining to being of positive or good use.
It was a common term in Greco-Roman literature for describing service which was of special value.
Here in Second Timothy 4:11, Paul uses this word to describe Mark as being “useful” or “beneficial” to himself for service.
“For service” is composed of the following: (1) preposition eis (εἰς), “for” (2) accusative feminine singular form of the noun diakonia (διακονία), “service.”
The noun diakonia means “service” and pertains to a position or role of service.
Here it is used in relation to Mark serving Paul.
This word is the object of the preposition eis which means “for” since it is functioning as a marker of purpose indicating the purpose for which Paul wanted Timothy to get Mark and bring him to Rome with himself.
Second Timothy 4:9 Please don’t delay, make every effort to come to me soon 10 because Demas has deserted me because he loved this present age. He also traveled to Thessalonica. Crescens traveled to Galatia. Titus traveled to Dalmatia. 11 Only Luke is present with me. Get and bring along with yourself Mark because for my benefit he is useful for service. (My translation)
After informing Timothy that Demas had deserted him and that he had dispatched Crescens to Galatian and Titus to Dalmatia, Paul informs him that only Luke was present with him in Rome.
However, in Second Timothy 4:21, Paul passes along greetings from Eubulus, Pudens, Linus, Claudia and all the brethren.
So how are we to understand Paul’s assertion here about Luke?
It appears to be a contradiction but it is of course not a contradiction.
Paul’s assertion that Luke alone was with him means that Luke was the only Christian permitted in the Mamertine dungeon in Rome so he might take care of Paul’s health needs since he was a doctor.
Luke was also serving as Paul’s secretary and was serving as his amanuensis when dictating this second epistle to Timothy.
On the other hand, the individuals he mentions in Second Timothy 4:11 were not with him in prison on a day by day basis but were simply acquaintances from the Roman church whose greetings the apostle was simply passing along to Timothy.
The early church fathers say that Luke was from Antioch, which is substantiated by several passages in Acts (Acts 11:19–27; 13:1–3; 14:26; 15:22, 35; 18:22).
He is mentioned in the writings of Paul in Colossians 4:14, Philemon 24 and here of course in Second Timothy 4:11.
Many scholars believe Luke wrote his Gospel and the book of Acts while in Rome with Paul during the apostle’s first Roman imprisonment.
Apparently Luke remained nearby or with Paul also during the apostle’s second Roman imprisonment.
Shortly before his martyrdom, Paul wrote that “only Luke is with me” (2 Timothy 4:11).
An early source supplied a fitting epitaph: “He served the Lord without distraction, having neither wife nor children, and at the age of 84 he fell asleep in Boeatia, full of the Holy Spirit.”
Kenneth Wuest writes “What a trophy of God’s grace Luke is. Here is a Greek doctor of medicine, leaving his medical practice to be the personal physician of an itinerant preacher, to share his hardships and privations, his dangers, and toil. The great success of the apostle whom he attended in a medical way, is due in some measure, to the physician’s watchful care over his patient who was the recipient of stonings, scourgings, and beatings, a man whose physical strength was always at the ragged edge of exhaustion because of his incessant and intense work and long difficult journeys. Luke knew all the marks (stigmata (στιγματα)) of the Lord Jesus (Gal. 6:17) on the body of the apostle, the scars left after the assaults upon his person. He had bathed and tended those wounds. Now, his patient, grown old before his time, was suffering the discomforts of a Roman cell. He had to be guarded against disease. ‘Only Luke is with me.’ What a comfort he was to Paul. A Gentile and a Jew, one in Christ Jesus.”
After informing Timothy that only Luke was with him in Rome, Paul directs him to get Mark and bring him along with himself to Rome.
He then gives the reason for this command by asserting that for his benefit, Mark was useful for service.
Mark was the author of the Gospel of Mark and was the cousin of Barnabas.
He accompanied Paul and Barnabas during the first missionary journey but deserted them in the middle of it.
It was because of this that Paul and Barnabas parted ways during this missionary journey.
Mark is also called “John-Mark” in Acts 12:22.
The fact that Mark is with Paul in Rome when Paul was writing to Philemon indicates that there was a reconciliation between Paul and Mark and that Paul had forgiven him.
Also the fact that Paul directs Timothy to bring Mark along with him for his trip to Rome to visit him also indicates that Mark and Paul had reconciled.
In Philemon 24, both Luke and Mark are described by Paul as his co-workers meaning that like Paul they were serving the Lord.
Here in Second Timothy 4:11, Paul asserts that for his benefit, Mark was useful for service.