Demas

Demas appears three times in the Pauline letters, twice as a coworker greeting the recipients alongside Paul and once as the man who deserted Paul in his final imprisonment.

Coworker

In the letter to the Colossians, Demas stands among those sending greetings: "Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas greet you⁺" (Col 4:14). The same pairing reappears in the letter to Philemon, where Paul lists his coworkers: "[and so do] Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my coworkers" (Phm 1:24).

Desertion

The last word on Demas comes from 2 Timothy, where his alignment shifts: "for Demas forsook me, having loved this present age, and went to Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia" (2Ti 4:10). The companion who once greeted churches with Paul has now left him, drawn away by love for the present age.