‘And he came also to Derbe and to Lystra: and behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewess who believed, but his father was a Greek. The same was well reported of by the brethren who were at Lystra and Iconium.
Eventually therefore he came to Derbe and Lystra. And there he came across a young man who would be closely connected with him for the remainder of his life. Often in the days to come Timothy was to be Paul's trusted messenger (1 Corinthians 4:17; 1 Thessalonians 3:2-6). He was at Rome with Paul when Paul was in prison (Philippians 1:1; Philippians 2:19; Colossians 1:1; Philemon 1:1). Indeed Timothy and Paul had a very special relationship like father and son. When Paul wrote to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 4:17) he called him his beloved and faithful child in the Lord, probably indicating that Paul had led him to Christ. When he wrote to the Philippians he said that there was no one whose mind was so much at one with his own (Philippians 2:19-20). Happy indeed are those who enjoy such close affinity with each other. He would later write to him two letters for guidance in his important ministry.
It must be considered possible that his disagreement about taking Mark had made him think about his own responsibility for enabling young men to mature. He may well have thought things over and recognised that perhaps Barnabas had been right after all in insisting on helping Mark. Timothy also would prove to need encouragement and nurturing. And in the event two young men instead of one would grow and be established as Christian teachers whose impact on the future of the church would be great.
As we learn here Timothy was a half-Jew. The mention of so small a place as Derbe may suggest that Timothy actually came from Derbe (as would later Gaius), although it may equally have been Lystra. We cannot be sure (‘there' could apply to either). Timothy was clearly well known in the churches of both Lystra and Iconium, and well thought of in both, so that he probably ministered acceptably in both cities. Paul saw in this young man the person that he could become.