Question Concerning "World" (Matthew 13:22 & 2 Timothy 4:10)

Matthew 13:22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
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2 Timothy 4:10 For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world.

In Matthew 13:22, the word "world" is defined by some as the literal world (the Greek word kosmos). However, in this case, it is from the Greek word aion, which means "an age." It is the same word the Apostle Paul used concerning Demas in 2 Timothy 4:10. There is not a tremendous distinction in what is being conveyed in these two verses. 

People who are overcome with the care of this "age" are overcome with what this age consists of—the things of this world, or current life. It could be said that they have the things of this current age as their focus and priority, rather than things of eternal value.

The Jews viewed two ages: the current age and the age to come, or the Messianic era (Hebrews 2:5).  Jesus could also have been contrasting people being caught up with the current age rather than the realities of the Messianic era. "The care of this world" is the things of the current age that catches people's attention and becomes their priority.

In 2 Timothy 4:10, Paul was saying Demas had chosen the present "age" rather than the proper position for eternity, contrasting time with eternity. Whether spoken or implied, one who chooses such does so because of the attraction and love of the world, or what the literal world (kosmos) offers in the "age" (aion).

Earl R. Borders

From the December 2024 issue of The Gospel Trumpeter