¹⁵You are aware of the fact that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. ¹⁶The Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains; ¹⁷but when he was in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me— ¹⁸the Lord grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on that day—and you know very well what services he rendered at Ephesus.

One of the greatest disappointments in the Christian life comes when people turn away from the Lord. Paul was God’s servant and the greatest discipler of all time (next to the Lord Jesus Christ, of course), and some of his followers turned away. Much can be learned from this. If you are an elder, deacon, or leader of any ministry, you will have people abandon you. This need not cause insecurity. Paul did not grovel in discouragement, for the call to serve God outweighs such disappointments. He brings this truth out into the open in his letter to Timothy.

We find it remarkable that Paul wrote, “[A]ll who are in Asia turned away from me,” since Ephesus, where Timothy was serving, was in the Roman province of Asia (different from our contemporary reference to Asia). It is unlikely that Paul meant all the Christians in Asia had rejected him, for his epistle to the Ephesians shows no animosity toward him. To whom does the word, “all” refer? Probably, Paul is reminding Timothy of a situation that is well known to both of them.

Some have suggested that the apostle refers to those in the Asian Christian community who had been in Rome to help him, possibly as when he was in prison, facing trial. They apparently abandoned him because of his persecution, and now they were back “in Asia.” The contrast with Onesiphorus, who “often refreshed [Paul] and was not ashamed of [his] chains,” would support this interpretation. Whatever the circumstances, those who abandoned Paul must have been among the community in which Timothy served, which would further support Paul’s emphasis in his letters to Timothy for godly leadership and sound teaching.

The apostle identifies two individuals, possibly the ringleaders of the abandonment, Phygelus and Hermogenes. But then he quickly expands on his highlight of Onesiphorus, who serves as an example of supporting those who are on the front lines, suffering the difficulties and sacrifices that inevitably come in following the call of God. This should inform us of how we should support the missionaries, evangelists, elders, and leaders among us.

Lord, give me the humility to practically serve others as they are serving You.