II Timothy ends with strong declarative sentences. They are short and to the point, with the possible exceptions of verses 17 and 18 which posed a bit of a challenge in rendering.

II Timothy 4:10-22

10. Demas went to Thessalonica. He loved this present age and so abandoned me. Crescens went to Galatia. Titus went to Dalmatia.

11. Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to my ministry.

12. I sent Tychichus to Ephesus.

13. When you come, bring the coat I left with Carpus on Troas, and the letters, but more than anything, the parchments.

14. Alexander the coppersmith did many bad things to me. The Lord will give to him according to his works.

15. You must keep away from him, for he strongly opposed our words.

16. At my first trial no one stood with me. Everyone abandoned me; may it not be held against them.

17. But the Lord stood with me, and he empowered me, so the gospel message might be fulfilled and should be heard by all nations. I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.

18. The Lord will rescue me from all works of evil. He will save me in his heavenly kingdom, to whom be glory ever and ever. Amen.

19. Greet Prisca and Aquila as well as the household of Onesiphorus.

20. Erastus stayed in Corinth and I left Trophimus in Miletus because he was weak.

21. Try hard to come before winter. Eubulus, Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brothers and sisters say, ‘Hi.’

22. The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.

Here is the good news – you’re a first century Christian and are mention by name in a positive context in the Bible. You made it into the Bible. Hooray for you! Now, the bad news. Your name is Pudens. How unfortunate to be named Pudens, which autocorrect keeps changing to pudding; the struggle is real.

I love a good names list in the Bible. Most people just blow right through those, like genealogies, but I find these sections to be the most intimate, especially a names list like this where it is very personal. My all-time favorite is the names Paul drops at the end of Romans. There is is homiletical gold in those closing thoughts.

Listing these names gives a personal touch to the letter that reminds us Paul is a real person and has real needs. I am reminded of reading Bonhoeffer’s prison letters and he asks for them to send him things like books, paper to write on, and laxative because he is terribly constipated. One gets a similar feeling here from Paul. This letter is theological and it is instructive for us, but it was also a personal communication about real needs in relationship with real people who had their own story. ‘Get my coat from Carpus, even if he says it is his and won’t give it up. It’s mine. Bring it to me. I need it.’

Let’s talk about the people. Two people are mentioned by name as being bad, and maybe three. Alexander did bad things to Paul and opposed his message. That seems clear enough, and Alexander seems to be in Ephesus where Timothy is. Compare this to Acts 19 and the silversmith Demetrius.

Demas flat out went apostate. He loved the world too much. He wanted the applause of people and a girlfriend on the side.

For me, the verdict is out on whether or not Trophimus in verse 20 is on Paul’s bad list. The text uses a word that can mean sick as in poor health or it may mean weak. Certainly, Paul may mean to say he was sick so he left him behind. Maybe. However, that doesn’t sound very Paul-like to me. I know this is my GenX cynicism creeping in, but I perceive there is an equal chance he is condemning Trophimus for being a weak person as in not strong enough to do the work of ministry. He was not, like Mark, useful so Paul just left him behind. Paul cut him from the team, terminated him, gave him the pink slip. He was weak.

I don’t think I could do that. I wish I could, that I could be strong enough and single-minded enough to cut those out of my life who are not strong enough to keep up. However, I just don’t think I could and my ministry probably suffers from it. I am guilty of enabling weakness. Kyrie eleison.

Crescens, Titus, Tychicus, and Erastus are not on Paul’s bad list but instead are where he wants them in Galatia, Dalmatia, Ephesus, and Corinth. The result is that he is ministerial speaking, alone. Luke is the only other minister who is part of his team with him. Yeah, there are others who say, ‘Hi’ like Linas, Claudia, and poor Pudens but they are not a part of the leadership team. They don’t preach, teach, exhort. It is this loneliness that probably makes him pine even more for Priscilla (here, Prisca) and Aquila who had been so much to him and in so many different places and ways. An interesting tidbit about these two is whenever they are mentioned, Priscilla is always mentioned first. She must have been a powerhouse of a woman. I can see her going toe to toe with Paul, and here, in prison, Paul misses that.

When he says no one came to stand with him at his trial, he probably means no one from the local congregation of believers came to vouch for him. That is how I understand it. It is impossible to think he is bitter at Titus or Erastus for not being there. He means the church in Rome. They, like Demas, abandoned him. He stood alone.

But not really alone, for the Lord was with him, and Paul compares himself to Daniel in the lion’s den but he might actually mean he was spared being thrown to lions. We know how horrible and bloodthirsty the Romans were. But Jesus saved him so that the gospel might flourish and be proclaimed.

Paul is ready to be poured out, but he’s not quite dead yet. Bring the coat, he says, you know the one. Winter is coming and it will be cold. And bring me something to read, particularly the parchments, for I’ve made some notes in the margins I’d like to expand on.

Timothy, time is running out. Do try hard to come before winter.