Crescens

Biblical Record

Crescens appears only once, in 2 Timothy 4:10. Writing to Timothy from prison, Paul reports on the coworkers who have left his side. The King James Version renders the verse: "For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia." In the very next verse Paul says, "Only Luke is with me," and asks Timothy to bring Mark with him.

Scripture says nothing about Crescens's origins, family, conversion, or later activities. His name is generally understood to mean "growing" in Latin.

Significance Within Scripture

Paul attaches a judgment only to Demas, saying that he "hath forsaken me, having loved this present world." For Crescens and Titus he records only where they went. Most commentators therefore conclude that Crescens did not abandon Paul but went to Galatia in accordance with Paul's wishes or was sent there for ministry. The fact that Titus was one of Paul's trusted coworkers is also cited in support of this reading. The passage reveals both Paul's loneliness near the end of his life and his continuing ministry as he sent coworkers to various regions.

Interpretation and Issues

Destination: Some ancient manuscripts reportedly read "Gaul" (the region of present-day France) instead of "Galatia." Some scholars also hold that the Greek word for "Galatia" could refer to Gaul as well. Interpreters are therefore divided over whether Crescens went to Galatia in Asia Minor or to Gaul in western Europe. Korean translations generally render the word as "Galatia."

Later tradition: The church historian Eusebius is reported to have recorded that Crescens was sent to Gaul. Various later traditions describe him as the founder or bishop of churches in Gaul, or as a martyr. Eastern church tradition also counts him among the seventy disciples of Luke 10. Because these accounts are later traditions not found in the biblical text, they should be distinguished from the scriptural record.

Date of composition: Some scholars hold that Paul wrote 2 Timothy himself, while others regard it as a later work. Consequently, the precise dates of Crescens's activity are difficult to determine.

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church, Crescens is rarely the subject of a sermon in his own right. He is mentioned mainly in sermons on 2 Timothy 4, where he is often briefly contrasted with Demas, who left because he loved the world. In such sermons Crescens serves as an example of a coworker who did not forsake Paul but departed for the place to which he had been assigned.