Read with Me
Philemon 22-25 (HCSB)
But meanwhile, also prepare a guest room for me, for I hope that through your prayers I will be restored to you.
Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my coworkers.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
Listen with Me
Before Paul closes his letters to Philemon, he includes one more motivator for him to treat Onesimus not fairly, but with Christian love and forgiveness. He indicates that when he is released from his house arrest in Rome (Acts 28:30-31), hopefully very soon, he is planning a trip to Colossae, and plans to stay with Philemon and his family and to receive a report on the resolution of the situation.
Paul next includes greetings from those who are with him in Rome. Epaphras is from Colossae (Colossians 4:12-13) and is always praying for the Christians in Colossae. Mark is, of course, John Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, who caused a rift between Paul and Barnabas at the start of their second missionary journey (Acts 15:36-41). That rift had been healed over time, and Mark had become a part of Paul’s ministry and support team (2 Timothy 4:11).
Aristarchus was one of Paul’s traveling companions from Thessalonica (Acts 19:29, 20:4, 27:2) who was actually being held in house arrest alongside Paul (Colossians 4:10). Damas would later desert Paul in his final imprisonment “because he loved this present world” (2 Timothy 4:10). And, of course, Luke, the faithful physician, fellow traveler and chronicler, was at Paul’s side and sent his greetings as well.
Paul closes this short note with a prayer for the grace of Jesus to operate powerfully in the spirit of Philemon.
Pray with Me
Father, it would be easy to write Paul off as a master of manipulation. But that was not what he was doing here. What he was trying to accomplish was so earth-shaking, so outside the norm, such a rewriting of the rules by which life was normally lived, that he felt the need to impose some accountability on Philemon. He was urging him to accept back into his household and his trust a slave who had violated both by fleeing. He wanted him to not impose the normal penalties that such an act normally merited, and instead to accept his repentance and extend forgiveness. Even though Paul’s rationale was reasonable and consistent with Christian principles, he still required a bit of a push. So, Paul pushed a bit. Lord, help me to have a heart that follows you entirely and doesn’t require any kind of push to move me in the right direction. Amen.