When Trophimus Got Sick

By Jeremy Walker

You remember Trophimus, right? 

Trophimus the Asian? 

Trophimus the Ephesian? 

No? 

Probably not many Christians do. He doesn’t get that many mentions in the course of the Bible. He’s first introduced to us as part of a group traveling with the Apostle Paul through Asia. “And Sopater of Berea accompanied him to Asia—also Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians, and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia“ (Acts 20:4).

He was one of those who went ahead and waited at Troaz. He comes again in Acts 21:29, indirectly getting the Apostle Paul into trouble because the Jews in the city saw Trophimus, an Ephesian, with the Apostle as he went about. They assumed Paul brought Trophimus into the temple. For a Gentile to be in the temple was grossly offensive the Jews.

The third and last time we hear of Trophimus is in 2 Timothy 4, right at the end of the chapter amongst a group of other faithful men and women. “Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus. Erastus stayed in Corinth, but Trophimus I have left in Miletus sick. Do your utmost to come before winter.

Eubulus greets you, as well as Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brethren.”

So we don’t know a great deal about Trophimus. We know he was an Ephesian, so of Asian heritage. We know Paul had to leave him in Miletus when he became sick. 

It is good for us then to remember that Christians get sick. We live in a day when many wild claims are made about all kinds of healings and apostolic ministries. But even the Apostle Paul, who was second to none with regard to the signs of an Apostle, had companions who fell sick and were not healed. It’s at least a hint about the kinds of gifts and the way that the Lord God is pleased to use them in His apostles. 

So Trophimus was left in Miletus sick. He did not receive any kind of miraculous healing, even though he traveled with the Apostle Paul. This is not indicative that Trophimus was left behind because he was in some way lesser than the other companions Paul had. Nor is it an indication that he lacked enough faith to be made well. Now, some Christians down through the ages have been famously sick, even infamously sick. Perhaps you know the litany of illnesses and discomforts that afflicted John Calvin. His medical history would read like a catalogue or a medical textbook. For Robert Murray M’Cheyne or Robert Peirce with tuberculosis. Or look to Spurgeon who suffered from gout and depression.

But Trophimus was just sick. We don’t know what afflicted him. We don’t know how long it lasted. We only know he had to be left behind in Miletus. We don’t know what he did in Miletus. We don’t know how long he stayed there. We don’t know what kind of ministry he may have had there. We’re not told a great deal about his sickness or his recovery, or if this was the occasion the Lord God called him home. 

But it is good for us to remember that the sickness of a man like Trophimus, a man otherwise unknown to Christian history, is not in and of itself some kind of punishment from God. It is not an exposure of spiritual weakness. It is part of the normal course of life in a fallen world. And while we are laid aside, let Trophimus and his sickness serve as a reminder that we are still noticed by God, still beloved by the saints, and there may even be work for us to do that is utterly unknown to the rest of the world. 

Who knows how many people Trophimus told about the Lord Jesus Christ? Who knows whether or not he ministered to saints in Myletus in a way that stirred and encouraged their hearts. 

The same could and should be true of us. Unknown to the world at large but known to God. If we are left behind because of sickness for a season, let us use that time to the best of our ability to the honor and glory of Jesus Christ.

Watch this episode of A Word in Season here.

Jeremy Walker is the pastor of Maidenbower Baptist Church in Crawley, West Sussex, UK where he lives with his wife Alissa and his two sons, Caleb and William, and a daughter, Cerys. This article first appeared on his blog, The Wanderer.