2 Timothy 4:16

‘At my first defence no one took my part, but all forsook me. May it not be laid to their account.’

Paul refers here to a preliminary hearing, and probably to an initial examination before a wider audience, a kind of show trial. Compare that before Herod Agrippa in Acts 25:12 to Acts 26:32. Rome had been intending to have fun at Paul’s expense, but as he had done previously, Paul turned the situation around, and made it a Gospel opportunity.

‘All forsook me.’ None could be found among the Christians in Rome to testify on his behalf. This might also be seen as pointing towards an unusual form of public trial of which they were wary. Or it may indicate how dangerous it had become for Christians to be involved in the justice system in Rome under Nero. They had welcomed this famous man, and had probably ensured his provisioning. The greetings that follow (2 Timothy 4:21) confirm that they visited him and were on good turns with him. But when it came to the crunch, appearing before a Roman court as a witness for the defence in Rome under Nero had seemed too dangerous.

It should be noted that these facts, combined with the attitudes of Demas in 2 Timothy 4:10 and of the two mentioned in 2 Timothy 1:15, bring out the sense of fear that had permeated the Christian church as a result of the activities and influence of Nero which had become known throughout the empire. We may ask why Luke did not stand with him. But Luke in fact may well have not been acceptable to the court as a witness. It may well be that he had been able to stay with Paul continually by posing as his slave, for a Roman citizen awaiting trial was allowed two slaves to minister to his needs. A man’s slave would not be seen as an acceptable or reliable witness.

‘May it not be laid to their account.’ Paul’s gracious prayer is that God would overlook what they had failed to do. He is concerned for them rather than being bitter against them. He understands their weakness.