Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings.
Summary: Comparing the two names in this verse leads us to an interesting study of Paul’s companions.
Luke and Demas are an interesting pair. One we know well, the other is obscure.
Let’s begin with Luke.
Luke is most famous for the Gospel account that bears his name. Luke’s Gospel is the longest by word count and includes details not shared in the other Gospels. Luke’s perspective is unique. In the opening words of his Gospel he writes, “… since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account…” (Luke 1:3).
Given that Luke’s name is not among the Jews listed as Paul’s companions (Colossians 4: 10-11) it is likely that he was a Gentile. Given the quality of his writing and his attention to detail, we surmise that Luke is intelligent. Judging by the fact that Paul tells us he is a doctor, we can conclude he is well-educated, too.
In addition to his Gospel account, Luke wrote the “Acts of the Apostles,” the book we know simply as “Acts.” While Luke is careful not to place himself in the stories he tells, it is obvious from his writing that he mostly gives us firsthand accounts of what happened during the early years of the church.
Finally, Paul calls Luke his “dear friend.” (Most translations use the word “beloved.”) The fact that Luke is with Paul when he is writing this letter speaks to his faithfulness as Paul’s companion.
Then there is Demas.
Right away, we can tell there is a difference between the two men. Paul mentions Demas, but not with the warmth he uses to describe his other companions. For example, he could have said, “My dear friends, Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings.” But he didn’t. He seems to hold Demas apart.
Did he know something about Demas that he wasn’t telling us?
In a later letter* Paul writes to Timothy, “Do your best to come to me quickly, for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica” (2 Timothy 4:9-10).
Ouch!
It is one thing to have your name preserved in the Bible. It is another to be recorded as a deserter in the most popular book ever written.
One is a faithful friend and companion, the other a deserter, leaving Paul alone at the end of his life. They make quite a pair of bookends to the story of the early church.
Application: Consider following Luke’s example.
Food for Thought: How does Demas’s love for the world compare with Luke’s faithfulness to Paul?
*While we don’t have the postmarks for Paul’s letters, there are a number of indications that Colossians was written before Paul’s letters to Timothy.
I think the same way our love for the world compares to our faithfulness to Christ. There is a pull in both directions. If my name were included in a book, I would hope it would speak of my faithfulness to Christ over my love for the world. I have decisions each day, or even each moment, which will determine what that book would say about me.
1 John 2: 15 – 17: Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father d is not in them. 16For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
Thanks, Rich!
This passage from Romans 7 comes to mind:
“21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
Good meditation this morning.
In meditating on the question, I looked up what word Paul used in 2 Timothy 4:10 for “this world.” He used the Greek word aion which technically means a long indefinite period of time, but in the context of the word usage, Paul meant Demas loved “this age” or “his life in this age.” At surface level, it may seem like saying the same thing as “the world” but I think there is a distinction there. When we speak about “the world” it brings the connotation of what is outside of us. When we speak about “our world” it is an internal perspective. Demas loved his life too much to submit it to Christ. In doing so, he put himself above God and his neighbor. What we know about Luke is that he loved Christ more than he loved his life. In doing so, he loved God first and his neighbor as himself (probably more than himself). He was faithful to Paul because he was faithful to Christ. I think their relationship was rooted in Christ, and they shared the love of Christ.
John 12:25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
I was “today years old” when I really internalized this verse that comes before John 12:25
John 12:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
Demas’s love for the world would have left him alone in the world, maybe he would have had “company,” but he would have been alone. Luke’s faithfulness to Christ and Paul bore fruit. Fruit in the Ministry of Christ, and Fruit of the Spirit between Luke and Paul.
Thank you, Chris!
Great research and excellent perspective on our “inner world” vs our “outer world.”
How does Demas’s love for the world compare with Luke’s faithfulness to Paul?
Paul writes to Timothy. Do your best to come to me quickly, for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica.
2 Timothy 4:9-10
Thessalonica was possibly chosen because Demas had business connections there, and he preferred, his rich and prosperous friends, to life with Paul, who was a condemned and dying prisoner of Rome.
Demas demonstrated his love for self, life as part of this temporary world as he chose to separate himself from Gods work with Paul to satisfy the worldly desires of his flesh in Thessalonica, God chose to have his name recorded forever as an example of love for this world over righteousness.
Jesus tells us, No one can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one and love the other; or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Matthew 6:24
Luke is in many ways, a man of mystery, believed to have been chosen by God to record His word in the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts. He has been described as a follower of Paul.
The Gospel of Luke focuses on the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and Acts details the early history of the Christian church and the spread of the gospel.
Luke the Physician, a close companion of Paul, was a man of faith, Never personally saw Jesus, led by the Spirit to actually pen the Gospel of Luke 50-65 years after the Crucifixion of Christ, but served as a follower, and evangelist for all his adult life.
Thank you, Ron!
It is interesting to add the “business” perspective to our discussion. And yes, I agree, Luke is a “man of mystery.” I conclude from that fact that Luke was able to put others above himself, just like Jesus.
This passage deeply reflects the tension between worldly desires and spiritual faithfulness. The emphasis on choosing Christ over the world resonates with the daily decisions we all face. The distinction between “the world” and “this age” offers a nuanced perspective on Paul’s teachings. How do we ensure that our love for Christ consistently outweighs our attachment to worldly pursuits?