(10) For Demas hath forsaken me.--This once faithful companion of St. Paul had been with him during the first imprisonment of the Apostle at Rome (Colossians 4:14; Philemon 1:24); but now, terrified by the greater severity and the threatened fatal ending of the second imprisonment, had forsaken his old master.

Having loved this present world.--Chrysostom paraphrases as follows: "Having loved ease and safety, chose rather to live daintily at home than to suffer affliction, than to endure hardship, with me, and with me to bear these present dangers." The tradition, however, which relates that he became in after days an idol priest at Thessalonica is baseless. Demas is a shorter form, probably, for the well-known and now common Grecian name of Demetrius.

The present world (ai?na): that is, the present (evil) course of things.

Is departed unto Thessalonica.--From Chrysostom's words above quoted, Thessalonica was apparently the "home" of Demas. It has been supposed, however, by some, that Thessalonica was chosen by Demas as his abode when he left St. Paul because it was a great mercantile centre, and his business connections were there, and he preferred them, the rich and prosperous friends, to St. Paul, the condemned and dying prisoner. Thessalonica was, at this time, one of the great cities of the empire. It was the most populous of the Macedonian cities, and had been chosen to be the metropolis of that great province. Before the founding of Constantinople, it was evidently the capital of Greece and Illyricum, as well as of Macedonia. It was famous throughout the Middle Ages, and is celebrated by the early German poets under the abbreviated name of "Salneck," which as become the Saloniki of the Levant of our days. It is singular that the name of its patron saint, "Demetrius," martyred about A.D. 290 (identified above with Demas), whose local glory (comp. Conybeare and Howson's St. Paul, chap. 9) has even eclipsed that of St. Paul, the founder of the Church, should be identical with that of the "forsaker" of St. Paul.

Crescens to Galatia.--Nothing is known of this friend of St. Paul. One tradition speaks of him as a preacher in Galatia, and another of his having founded the Church of Vienne in Gaul. There is a curious variation in some of the older authorities here, "Gallia" being read instead of Galatia. Whether Crescens, on his leaving St. Paul, went to Galatia or Gaul is, therefore, uncertain.

Titus unto Dalmatia.--Dalmatia was a province of Roman Illyricum, lying along the Adriatic. Nothing is known respecting this journey of Titus. It was, most probably, made with the Apostle's sanction.

Verse 10. - Forsook for hath forsaken, A.V.; went for is departed, A.V.; to for unto, A.V. (twice). Demas. Nothing more is known of Demas than what is gathered from the mention of him in Colossians 4:14 and Philemon 1:1:24. We learn from those passages that he was a fellow labourer of the apostle, and it is remarkable that in them both he is coupled, as here, with Luke and Mark (Colossians 4:10). (See Introduction.) Having loved this present world. It would appear from this that Demas had not the faith or the courage to run the risk of sharing St. Paul's imminent martyrdom at Rome, but left him, while he was free to do so, under pretence of an urgent call to Thessaloniea; just as Mark left Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:13). But there is no ground to believe that he was an apostate from the faith. The coupling together of Demas and Aristarchus in Philemon 1:24 suggests that Demas may have been a Thessalonian, as we know that Aristarchus was (Acts 20:4). Demas is thought to be a shortened form of Demarchus. If so, we have a slight additional indication of his being a Thessalonian, as compounds with archos or arches would seem to have been common in Thessalonica (compare Aristarchus and πολιτάρχης, Acts 17:6, 8). Crescens (Κρήσκης); only mentioned here. It is a Latin name, like Πούδης, Pudens, in ver. 21. There was a cynic philosopher of this name in the second century, a great enemy of the Christians. The tradition ('Apost. Constit.,' 7:46) that he preached the gospel in Galatia is probably derived from this passage. Titus, etc. The last mention of Titus, not reckoning the Epistle to Titus, is that in 2 Corinthians 12:18, from which it appears that St. Paul had sent him to Corinth just before his own last visit to that city. How the interval was filled up, and where Titus passed the time, we know not. He is not once named in the Acts of the Apostles, nor in any of St. Paul's Epistles written during his first imprisonment. But we gather from Titus 1:5 that he accompanied St. Paul to Crete, presumably after the apostle's return from Spain; that he was left there for a time to organize the Church; that later he joined the apostle at Nicopolis (Titus 3:12),and, doubtless by St. Paul's desire, went to Dalmatia, as mentioned in this tenth verse. And here our knowledge of him ends. Tradition pretty consistently makes him Bishop of Gortyna, in Crete, where are the ruins of a very ancient church dedicated to St. Titus, in which service is occasionally performed by priests from the neighbourhood (Dean Howson, in 'Dict. of Bible:' art. "Titus").

4:9-13 The love of this world, is often the cause of turning back from the truths and ways of Jesus Christ. Paul was guided by Divine inspiration, yet he would have his books. As long as we live, we must still learn. The apostles did not neglect human means, in seeking the necessaries of life, or their own instruction. Let us thank the Divine goodness in having given us so many writings of wise and pious men in all ages; and let us seek that by reading them our profiting may appear to all.For Demas hath forsaken me,.... Of this person; see Gill on Colossians 4:14. It does not appear by what is said in this clause, and in the following, that he entirely apostatized; he might forsake the apostle, and yet not forsake Christ and his interest, or make shipwreck of faith and a good conscience: his faith might be right, though low, and his love sincere, though not fervent; and through a fear of persecution, and loss of life, he might be tempted to leave the apostle, and withdraw from Rome, for his own safety; which though it was far from being commendable in him, yet may be accounted for in this state of frailty and imperfection, consistent with the grace of God; and it should seem that he afterwards was delivered from this temptation, and returned to the apostle, Colossians 4:14 for when those epistles were written, both Timothy and Mark, who are here wrote for, 2 Timothy 4:9 were with the apostle, Colossians 1:1 and Plm 1:1 and especially he ought to be thought very well of after all this, if Demas is only a contraction of Demetrius, and he is the same who is so much commended many years after this, in 3 John 1:12,

having loved this present world, not the sins and corruptions of the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life; such a love is inconsistent with the love of the Father and the grace of God; nor an immoderate love of worldly substance, or of money, which is the root of all evil; but a love of life, or of a longer life in this present world; he was desirous of living longer in this world, and chose not to hazard his life by staying with the apostle, a prisoner at Rome; and therefore left him, and provided for his own safety and security: and is departed unto Thessalonica: which perhaps was his native country; and however he was at a sufficient distance from Rome, where he might judge himself safe; and if he was a worldly and earthly minded man, this was a fit place for him, being a place of trade and business: and this doubtless gave rise to a tradition, that he afterwards became a priest of the idol gods among the Thessalonians. Epiphanius (a) places him among the heretics Ebion and Cerinthus, as if he was one of them.

Crescens to Galatia; he might not depart on the same account as Demas, but might be sent by the apostle to Galatia, to visit the churches there, to set things in order, and establish them in the faith, and bring an account of their state. Epiphanius (b), instead of Galatia, reads Gallia, or France; and so does Eusebius (c) and the Ethiopic version; and Jerom asserts, (d), that Crescens preached in France, and was there buried; though others say he was bishop of Chalcedon in Galatia, and put him among the seventy disciples; See Gill on Luke 10:1. The Syriac version calls him "Crispus", and the Arabic version "Priscus".

Titus to Dalmatia; who Titus was is well known; the place he went to, Dalmatia, is a country in Europe, a part of Illyricum, where the apostle had preached; see Gill on Romans 15:19. Pliny says (e), that part of Pannonia, which lies to the Adriatic sea, was called Dalmatia; it had its name from Dalmius, a city in it. The Alexandrian copy reads "Dermatia". Here the apostle had doubtless been useful for the conversion of souls, and planting of churches, and therefore sent Titus thither, to assist them in their state and condition, and bring him an account of them. For in the "second" and "third" centuries we read of churches in Dalmatia; and likewise in the "fourth" century; for there were bishops from Dalmatia in the synod at Sardica; and in the "fifth" century, Glycerius was bishop of Salo, a city in this country; and in the "sixth" century, one Malchus was bishop of the Dalmatian church (f).

(a) Contra Haeres, Haeres. 51. (b) lbid. (c) Hist. Eccl l. 3. c. 4. (d) Catalog. Script. Eccles. sect. 13. p. 90. (e) Nat. Hist. l. 3. c. 25. (f) Hist. Eccl. Magdeburg, cent. 2. c. 2. p. 4. cent. 3. c. 2. p. 4. cent. 4. c. 2. p. 6. c. 9. p. 425. cent. 5. c. 2. p. 7. cent 6. c. 2. p. 8.