Demas

Demas (meaning popular) was a co-worker of Paul who is mentioned three times in the New Testament, and his trajectory traces a sobering arc of apostasy. He is first mentioned as a fellow laborer alongside Luke in Paul's greeting from Rome (Philemon 1:24) and is named again in Colossians 4:14. However, in Paul's final letter, written from his second Roman imprisonment, he reports with evident grief: "Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica" (2 Timothy 4:10). The contrast with Luke, who remained faithful, and with Crescens and Titus, who departed on missions, underscores that Demas's departure was motivated not by gospel work but by worldly attraction. He became a cautionary figure for the love of the world over faithfulness to Christ.