2 Timothy 4:11
11 Only [monos] Luke [Loukas] is [esti] with [meta] me. [emou] Take [analambano] Mark, [Markos] and bring
him [ago] with [meta] thee: [seautou] for [gar] he is [esti] profitable [euchrestos] to me [moi] for [eis] the ministry. [diakonia] KJV-Interlinear
11 Only
Luke is with me. Pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me
for service NASB
Luke is mentioned here
and in two other places in Pauls letters, Col. and Philem.
Luke is the author of
the Gospel of Luke, and Acts. Combined,
those two books make him the writer of the majority of the New Testaments
length. Whereas, Paul wrote most of the books, Luke wrote most of the content
of the New Testament.
Luke is called a
physician, but beyond that description, there is nothing more mentioned
concerning the nature of his practice.
Luke was with Paul at
Troas and Philippi during the second missionary journey, joined him again at
the end of the third, and went with him to Jerusalem to face arrest and
imprisonment. Luke accompanied Paul on
the trip to Rome, was shipwrecked with him off the shores of Malta, ministered
in Rome with him during his imprisonment, and comforted him to the last.
Marks location is not
mentioned, but he obviously must be somewhere along the way of Timothy’s travel
if he is to pick him up.
Mark, who sometimes was
called John, was a native of Jerusalem, and one of the first assembly’s of new
believers met in his home, Acts 12:12. He
was chosen to go with Paul and Barnabas as they set out with others on the
first missionary journey. But when they came
to Perga, John [Mark] left them and returned to Jerusalem, Acts 13:13. Whatever Mark's reason for leaving, Paul did
not think it was adequate or excusable.
Years later, Paul and
Barnabas set out again from Antioch and Barnabas wanted to give Mark a second
chance, but Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along, who had
deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them. And there arose such a sharp disagreement that
they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed
away to Cyprus, Acts 15:36-39.
We do not know when a
change in Mark occurred with Barnabas, his older cousin, Col 4:10. From all New Testament accounts, Barnabas
fully lived up to his name, which means "Son of Encouragement," Acts
4:36 and probably was a factor facilitating that change.
By the time of Paul's
imprisonment in Rome, perhaps twenty years after the two had parted company, Mark
had proved himself not only to Barnabas but also to Paul. During that incarceration, the apostle asked
the church at Colossae to welcome the now faithful Mark if he visited them, Col
4:10, and counted him among his devoted "fellow workers," Philem 24.
Mark also spent time
with Peter, 1 Peter 5:13.
Mark also wrote the
Gospel by his name. Eventually Paul asked
Timothy to bring him [Mark], for he is ‘useful to me for service,’ (our current
passage).
Throughout a persons
life, there will be those who will be close in friendship, those who will fade
away and forgotten, and those who will float in and out of your life.
And while people can be
fickle and inconsistent, the Word of God always remains faithful and never
changes.
You will live your life
guided by either the world or by doctrine.
The one that you dedicate yourself to is the one that will rule you and
determine your personal outcome in life.
Today we celebrate
Thanksgiving, and offer thanks and remembrance to God for all that we are and
have.
From my family to
yours, I wish to offer our thanks to all who have supported this daily study
over the years, and wish each one of you the very best Thanksgiving holiday.
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