“Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry” (2 Timothy 4:11 NKJV).
In contrast to Demas (a man who abandoned Paul the Apostle), 2 Timothy 4:11 presents us with two individuals who possessed character traits that were much more positive: Luke and Mark.
First, we have Luke, Paul’s faithful friend until the end. Luke served as Paul’s traveling companion on some of his earlier missionary journeys and remained with him as Paul faced his final days. Since Luke was a physician by trade, his presence must have been a great comfort to Paul as he neared the end of his life.
Next, we have a reference to Mark, also known as John Mark. Mark’s relationship with Paul carries an interesting back story that is detailed for us in the New Testament book of Acts…
“…Paul said to Barnabas, ‘Let us go back and visit the brothers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.’ Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus” (Acts 15:36-39).
From this, it seems clear that Paul had some reservations about Mark at one point in his ministry. Much like Demas, Mark had also abandoned Paul when he needed him. But that is where the similarities between Mark and Demas end. By the time we reach 2 Timothy 4:11, it appears that Mark had grown to become a valuable asset to the aged apostle.
So, 2 Timothy 4:11 tells us that Paul gave Mark a fresh start and refused to hold his past failure against him. Paul’s example provides us with an important reminder concerning those (like Mark) who bear fruit in keeping with repentance…
“There’s a lesson in these few words. We should allow people to grow up and not hold them back from ministry or leadership for faults in the past that have now been corrected. When we encourage someone and open our minds to the possibility that he or she has changed and matured, we may be salvaging a significant ministry. Mark went on not only to be Paul’s good friend and a trusted Christian leader (Col_4:10; Phm_1:24), but he also wrote the Gospel of Mark.” (1)
(1) Life Application Study Bible [2 Timothy 4:11-12] Copyright © 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1996, 2004 by Tyndale House Publishers Inc., all rights reserved.