2 Timothy 4:11 (LSB)

Passage

Only Luke is with me. Pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service.

Nearby Context

2 Timothy 4:9 Be diligent to come to me soon,

2 Timothy 4:10 for Demas, having loved this present age, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.

2 Timothy 4:11 Only Luke is with me. Pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service.

2 Timothy 4:12 But Tychicus I sent to Ephesus.

2 Timothy 4:13 When you come bring the cloak which I left at Troas with Carpus, and the scrolls, especially the parchments.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "only", "luke", "pick", "mark", "bring", "useful", and "service". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "only" and "luke", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 10's "for Demas having loved this present age..." into verse 12's "But Tychicus I sent to Ephesus...", so "only" and "luke" belong inside that flow. In 2 Timothy context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "only" and "luke" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.