2 Timothy– Chapter Four XXIV

by Ed Urzi

“At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them” (2 Timothy 4:16).

It helps to know something about the ancient Roman judicial system to grasp Paul the Apostle’s reference to his “first defense” in this passage. You see, the “first defense” mentioned here was similar to a modern day pre-trial legal hearing. It served as a judicial inquiry that examined the allegations made against a defendant. If the evidence presented was sufficient to support the charge, the defendant was brought to trial.

Three sources provide us with additional information regarding this process…

“In the Roman legal system, an accused person received two hearings: the prima actio, much like a contemporary arraignment, established the charge and determined if there was a need for a trial. The secunda actio then established the accused’s guilt or innocence. The defense Paul referred to was the prima actio.” (1)

“Customarily under Roman law, accused prisoners underwent a preliminary hearing before their trial. At this hearing, witnesses could speak on behalf of the accused. In Paul’s case, at his ‘first defense,’ after he had arrived in Rome as a prisoner for the second time, ‘no one’ had come to his defense. This was probably because, when Rome burned in July of A.D. 64, Nero blamed the Christians, and from then on it was dangerous to be a known Christian in Rome. Neither local Christians nor Paul’s fellow workers were willing to stand with the apostle (‘all deserted me’; cf. Matt. 26:56). Paul hoped the Lord would not hold (‘count’) their failure ‘against them'” (cf. Ps. 32:2; Luke 23:34; Acts 7:60). (2)

“The word ‘stood’ (paraginomai) is a technical word used of one who appeared in a court of justice in behalf of the accused. No one appeared, to act as his advocate, to advise him as to legal forms, to testify to his character. The last persecution had been so severe, that those who lived through it, dared not appear in Paul’s defense.” (3)

So, anyone who stood with Paul during this period did so at the potential cost of his or her life. This helps explain why no one came to support him when he appeared for this preliminary hearing. Unfortunately, this also meant that Paul had no legal counsel to represent him, no character witnesses to testify on his behalf, and no one to offer evidence in his defense. However, that lack of support didn’t mean Paul was entirely alone. We’ll see why next.

(1) MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (2 Ti 4:16). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

(2) Dr. Thomas L. Constable, Notes on 2 Timothy 2021 Edition [B. Paul’s preliminary hearing in court 4:16-18] https://www.planobiblechapel.org/tcon/notes/html/nt/2timothy/2timothy.htm

(3) Kenneth S. Wuest, Word Studies in the Greek New Testament [note on 2 Timothy 4:16-17] Copyright © 1942-55 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.