This last section of Chapter 4 has seven [7] verses.
 
2 Timothy 4:16-22
16 At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.
17 Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.
18 And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. 19 Salute Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus.
20 Erastus abode at Corinth: but Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick.
21 Do thy diligence to come before winter. Eubulus greeteth thee, and Pudens, and Linus, and Claudia, and all the brethren.
22 The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit. Grace be with you. Amen.
 
We will begin with the Barclay commentary:
 
 LAST WORDS AND GREETINGS
 2 Timothy 4:16-22 …paraphrased
 At my first defense, no one was there to stand by me, but all forsook me. May it not be reckoned against them! But the Lord stood beside me, and he strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation of the gospel was fully made so that the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the mouth of the lion. The Lord will rescue me from every evil, and will save me for his heavenly kingdom. Glory be to him for ever and ever. Amen.
 
 Greet Prisca and Aquila [AK-wih-luh], and the family of Onesiphorus [on'uh-SIF-uh-ruhs]. Erastus [ih-RAS-tuhs] stayed in Corinth. I left Trophimus [TROF-uh-muhs] at Miletus. Exibulus [Ex-aw-bu-lus] sends greetings to you, as do Pudens [POO-dinz], Linus and Claudia, and all the brothers.
 
 The Lord be with your spirit.
 Grace be with you.
 
 A Roman trial began with a preliminary examination to formulate the precise charge against the prisoner. When Paul was brought to that preliminary examination, not one of his friends stood by him. It was too dangerous to proclaim oneself the friend of a man on trial for his life.
 
 One of the curious things about this passage is the number of reminiscences of Psalm 22. ‘Why have you forsaken me? – all forsook me.’ ‘There is no one to help – no one was there to stand by me.’ ‘Save me from the mouth of the lion! – I was rescued from the mouth of the lion.’ ‘All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord – that the Gentiles might hear it.’ ‘Dominion belongs to the Lord – The Lord will save me for his heavenly kingdom.’ It seems certain that the words of this psalm were running in Paul’s mind. And the lovely thing is that this was the psalm which was in the mind of Jesus when he hung upon his cross. As Paul faced death, he took encouragement from the same psalm that his Lord used in the same circumstances.
 Three things brought Paul courage in that lonely hour.
 
 (1) Everyone had forsaken him; but the Lord
 was with him. Jesus had said that he would never leave his followers or forsake them, and that he would be with them to the end of the world. Paul is a witness that Jesus kept his promise. If to do the right means to be alone, as Joan of Arc said, ‘It is better to be alone with God.’
 
 (2) Paul would use even a Roman court to proclaim the message of Christ. He obeyed his own commandment: in season and out of season, he pressed the claims of Christ on men and women. He was so busy thinking of the task of preaching that he forgot the danger. Those who are immersed in the task before them have conquered fear.
 
 (3) He was quite certain of the ultimate rescue. He might seem to be the victim of circumstances and a criminal condemned by Roman justice, but Paul saw beyond the present time and knew that his eternal safety was assured. It is always better to be in danger for a moment and safe for eternity than to be safe for a moment and to jeopardize eternity. ~Barclay Commentary
 
 Now to the other commentaries. As usual, we will begin with the general and move to the specific. We will begin with the Matthew Henry Main commentary.
 
 The Matthew Henry covers verses 16-22 at this point. We will break in where it begins on verse 20 and read through the commentary to the end of the chapter.
 
 II. He mentions his leaving Trophimus [TROF-uh-muhs] sick at Miletum (2 Timothy 4:20), by which it appears that though the apostles healed all manner of diseases miraculously, for the confirmation of their doctrine, yet they did not exert that power upon their own friends, lest it should have looked like a collusion.
 
 III. He hastens Timothy to come to him before winter (2 Timothy 4:21), because he longed to see him, and because in the winter the journey or voyage would be more dangerous.
 
 IV. He sends commendations to him from Eubulus, Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brethren. One of the heathen writers at this time mentions one Pudens and his wife Claudia, and says the Claudia was a Briton, whence some have gathered that it was this Pudens, and that Claudia here was his wife, and that they were eminent Christians at Rome.
 
 V. He concludes with a prayer, that the Lord Jesus would be with his spirit. We need no more to make us happy than to have the Lord Jesus Christ with our spirits; for in him all spiritual blessings are summed up. And it is the best prayer we can put up for our friends, that the Lord Jesus Christ may be with their spirits, to sanctify and save them, and at last to receive them to himself; as Stephen the proto-martyr prayed, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit, Acts 7:59. “Lord Jesus, receive that spirit which thou hast been with while it was united to the body; do not now leave it in its separate state.” Grace be with you. Amen. This was our apostle's token in every epistle; so he wrote. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen, 2 Thessalonians 3:17-18. And if grace be with us here to convert and change us, to make us holy, to keep us humble, and to enable us to persevere to the end, glory will crown us hereafter: for the Lord is a sun, and a shield; the Lord will give grace and glory, and no good thing will he withhold from those that walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee, Psalm 84:11-12. Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God our Saviour, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen. ~Matthew Henry Main.
 
Quoted verses:
Acts 7:59
And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
 
2 Thessalonians 3:17-18
17 The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle: so I write.
18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
 
Psalm 84:11-12
11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
12 O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.
 
Now to the Matthew Henry Concise which uses much of the same phrasing as the main commentary:
 
We need no more to make us happy, than to have the Lord Jesus Christ with our spirits; for in him all spiritual blessings are summed up. It is the best prayer we can offer for our friends, that the Lord Jesus Christ may be with their spirits, to sanctify and save them, and at last to receive them to himself. Many who believed as Paul, are now before the throne, giving glory to their Lord: may we be followers of them. ~Matthew Henry Concise
 
 I want to go now to the Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge to establish the other places in scriptures we find the individuals Erastus and Trophimus [TROF-uh-muhs]  and the town of Miletum. At the same time, we will look at what Bible dictionaries have on these two individuals and the two locations mentioned in this verse.
 
Erastus:
Acts 19:22
So he sent into Macedonia two of them that ministered unto him, Timotheus and Erastus; but he himself stayed in Asia for a season.
 
Romans 16:23
Gaius mine host, and of the whole church, saluteth you. Erastus the chamberlain of the city saluteth you, and Quartus a brother.
 
Erastus:
The "chamberlain" of the city of Corinth (Romans 16:23), and one of Paul's disciples. As treasurer of such a city he was a public officer of great dignity, and his conversion to the gospel was accordingly a proof of the wonderful success of the apostle's labours.
 
A companion of Paul at Ephesus, who was sent by him along with Timothy into Macedonia (Acts 19:22). Corinth was his usual place of abode (2 Timothy 4:20); but probably he may have been the same as the preceding. ~Easton's Bible Dictionary
 
Now something from the Wikipedia:
Erastus, also known as Erastus of Paneas, is a person in the New Testament. According to the Epistle to the Romans, Erastus was a steward in Corinth, a political office of high civic status. The word is defined as "the manager of household or of household affairs" or, in this context, "treasurer"; [1] The King James Version uses the translation "chamberlain", while the New International Version uses "director of public works". A person named Erastus is also mentioned in the 2 Timothy and Acts, and these mentions are usually taken to refer to the same person. ~Wikipedia
 
Trophimus [TROF-uh-muhs]:
I am pointing out these verses where we see the name Trophimus [TROF-uh-muhs] but understand there is a whole discourse around these verses; things that are going on in and around the church in those days. Many of the accounts have to do with Paul getting into trouble for preaching around the country and trouble in the churches.
 
Acts 20:1-4
1 And after the uproar was ceased, Paul called unto him the disciples, and embraced them, and departed for to go into Macedonia.
2 And when he had gone over those parts, and had given them much exhortation, he came into Greece,
3 And there abode three months. And when the Jews laid wait for him, as he was about to sail into Syria, he purposed to return through Macedonia.
4 And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater [SOP-uh-tuhr] of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus [a'ruh-STAR-kuhs] and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus [TROF-uh-muhs].
 
Acts 21:29
(For they had seen before with him in the city Trophimus [TROF-uh-muhs] an Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)
 
Notice this from the Easton's Bible Dictionary:
 
Trophimus:
A foster-child, an Ephesian who accompanied Paul during a part of his third missionary journey (Acts 20:4 ; 21:29). He was with Paul in Jerusalem, and the Jews, supposing that the apostle had brought him with him into the temple, raised a tumult which resulted in Paul's imprisonment. In writing to Timothy, the apostle says, "Trophimus [TROF-uh-muhs] have I left at Miletum sick" (2 Timothy 4:20). This must refer to some event not noticed in the Acts. ~Easton's Bible Dictionary
 
From Wikipedia:
Cause of Apostle Paul's Arrest
He [Trophimus] was the innocent cause of Paul being assaulted in the courts of the temple by the Jewish mob, and then of his being arrested and imprisoned by the Romans. The occasion of this outrage was that the Jews supposed that Paul had "brought Greeks also into the temple, and....defiled this holy place" (Acts 21:28). The modicum of fact lying at the root of this false accusation was that they had seen Paul and Trophimus in each other's company in the city. On this slender basis "they supposed" that Paul had brought Trophimus past the barrier or middle wall of partition (Ephesians 2:14), beyond which no Gentile was allowed to penetrate, on pain of death. ~Wikipedia
 
Now the town of Miletum:
Miletum [Miletus]:
Acts 20:15
And we sailed thence, and came the next day over against Chios; and the next day we arrived at Samos, and tarried at Trogyllium; and the next day we came to Miletus.
 
 Acts 20:17
 And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church.
 
From Easton's:
Miletus
(Miletum, 2 Timothy 4:20 ), a seaport town and the ancient capital of Ionia, about 36 miles south of Ephesus. On his voyage from Greece to Syria, Paul touched at this port, and delivered that noble and pathetic [affecting or moving the feelings] address to the elders of Ephesus recorded in Acts 20:15-35 . The site of Miletus is now some 10 miles from the coast. ~Easton's Bible Dictionary
 
From Wikipedia:
Roman period
The New Testament mentions Miletus as the site where the Apostle Paul in AD 57 met with the elders of the church of Ephesus near the close of his Third Missionary Journey, as recorded in Acts of the Apostles (Acts 20:15–38). Miletus is also the city where Paul left Trophimus, one of his travelling companions, to recover from an illness (2 Timothy 4:20). Because this cannot be the same visit as Acts 20 (in which Trophimus accompanied Paul all the way to Jerusalem, according to Acts 21:29), Paul must have made at least one additional visit to Miletus, perhaps as late as AD 65 or 66. Paul's previous successful three-year ministry in nearby Ephesus resulted in the evangelization of the entire province of Asia (see Acts 19:10, 20; 1 Corinthians 16:9). It is safe to assume that at least by the time of the apostle's second visit to Miletus, a fledgling Christian community was established in Miletus. ~Wikipedia
 
Sick:
Philippians 2:26-27
26 For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness, because that ye had heard that he had been sick.
27 For indeed he was sick nigh unto death: but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.
 
Ye had heard that he had been sick - “In this passage,” says Dr. Paley, “no intimation is given that the recovery of Epaphroditus [ee-paf-roh-DI-tuhs] was miraculous, it is plainly spoken of as a natural event. This instance, together with that in the Second Epistle to Timothy, Trophimus [TROF-uh-muhs] have I left at Miletum sick, affords a proof that the power of performing cures, and, by parity of reason, of working other miracles, was a power which only visited the apostles occasionally, and did not at all depend upon their own will. Paul undoubtedly would have healed Epaphroditus [ee-paf-roh-DI-tuhs] if he could; nor would he have left Trophimus [TROF-uh-muhs] at Miletum sick, had the power of working cures awaited his disposal. Had this epistle been a forgery, forgery on this occasion would not have spared a miracle; much less would it have introduced Paul professing the utmost anxiety for the safety of his friend, yet acknowledging himself unable to help him, which he does almost expressly in the case of Trophimus [TROF-uh-muhs], Him have I left sick; and virtually in the passage before us, in which he felicitates himself on the recovery of Epaphroditus [ee-paf-roh-DI-tuhs] in terms which almost exclude the supposition of any supernatural means being used to effect it. This is a reverse which nothing but truth would have imposed.”  ~Wikipedia
 
 Now to the specific commentaries:
 
 We can easily see that the verse is in two parts:
 
 1] Erastus abode at Corinth.
 2] But Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick.
 
 1] Erastus abode at Corinth.
 Erastus abode at Corinth - He was treasurer of that city, as we learn from Romans 16:23. The apostle had sent him and Timothy on a mission to Macedonia, Acts 19:22, whence it is probable he returned to Corinth, and there became finally settled. ~Adam Clarke
 
Erastus abode at Corinth - This was his home, where he filled an important office. It would seem that when Paul went to Rome, there was some expectation that he would accompany him, but that reasons had occurred for his remaining in Corinth. His doing so is referred to without blame. ~Barnes Notes
 
 2] But Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick.
 Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick - Even the apostles could not work miracles when they pleased; that power was but rarely given, and that for very special purposes. Trophimus [TROF-uh-muhs] was an Ephesian. ~Adam Clarke
 
Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick - Probably he designed to accompany him to Rome, as he had been often with him in his journeys. ~Barnes Notes
 
Let us now go to the Biblical Illustrator for a couple of things.
 
Use of sickness ...this from a true life account
Hannah More made the following entry in her journal (Jan. 21, 1798): “Many temptations this week to vanity. My picture asked for two publications. Dedications—flattery without end. God be praised, I was not flattered, but tired—twenty-four hours’ headache makes me see the vanity of all this.” ~Biblical Illustrator
 
Note: Do we see what Hannah is saying? She is saying that sickness has a purpose. This is abundantly true in the life of a firstfruit. Every episode of sickness has a purpose for the simple reason that God knows you are sick. Sickness has a way of taking us to all kinds of spiritual interface. Sickness drives us to our knees, to prayer, to meditation, self-examination, resolve and it takes us in sure direction. It takes us into the Word of God and before the very throne of Almighty God. It immerses us into the doctrine of healing, which is the most extensive and complex of all our doctrines for it touches virtually every aspect of the greater Plan of God for mankind and this Universe.
 
Notice some quotes about the positive aspects of sickness:
 
"Health is not valued till sickness comes."
 
"Hope is necessary in every condition. The miseries of poverty, sickness and captivity would, without this comfort, be insupportable."
 
“You cannot tailor-make the situations in life but you can tailor-make the attitudes to fit those situations.”
 
 “Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy in it.”
 
 "When you squeeze an orange you get orange juice because that's what's inside. The very same principle is true about you. When someone [or something] squeezes you--puts pressure on you--what comes out is what's inside. And if you don't like what's inside, you can change it by changing your thoughts.
 
Note: This is a quote that speaks directly to the life of the Christian.
 
Proverbs 16:3
Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.
 
Proverbs 21:5a
The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness...

Also from the Biblical Illustrator:
 
Trophimus sick.
Unaccomplished aims
How many broken-down servants of God are there today, Christian men and women, who have proved their sincerity, who do prove their sincerity, but whose thin hand can do little or nothing in raising the stones of the shrine they so passionately desire to build? As in the busiest thoroughfares of great cities we behold wistful faces looking down from hospital windows, longing to share in the strong life of the streets; so are there frail, broken-down watchers of the work of God who long to share the toil and sacrifice of God’s workmen. ~Biblical Illustrator
 
Note: I venture to conclude that this is a thought of virtually every servant of God who has been severely sick or who now are not with us. I am thinking of Garner Ted Armstrong just a day or two before it died watching the news from his hospital bed. He had an immediate response to a news story he was viewing about China. "I have to write a commentary on this one right away and get it posted on our website." Despite sickness or even impending death, servants of God have their focus on the Work. Herbert W. Armstrong kept repeating from his deathbed, "keep doing the Work."
 
Today would have been the 36th wedding anniversary to my beloved wife, Joan. She was the heart of the newly established Web Site Office back in 2002. I remember sitting next to her bed in the hospital saying all those things that a husband ought to say to his wife, just in case she actually died. Neither of us knew that in less than 12 hours, she would be dead. When she perceived all those things I was saying to her, she looked me directly in the eye and proclaimed, "You know I am coming home don't you; we have a lot of work to do."
 
None of us will ever be done doing the Work of God. If we ultimately die, we die, and this too is in the able hands of God, but as we lay there sick or dying, our focus will be on what's next in the Work of God.
 
Paul, Timothy, Erastus and Trophimus all had their focus on the Work of God and this is the lesson of verse 20.