Much of the remainder of the letter consists of greetings to specific individuals in the house churches of Rome. Unlike the seemingly endless genealogies of the OT (I'm being dramatic), there are some super important things for us to see in these lists. Today we will look at some of the big picture things and tomorrow we will look at some of the specific names.
Romans 16:1–16
1 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon, of the church in Cenchreae. 2 I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me.
3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus. 4 They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.
5 Greet also the church that meets at their house.
Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.
6 Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you.
7 Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.
8 Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord.
9 Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys.
10 Greet Apelles, whose fidelity to Christ has stood the test.
Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus.
11 Greet Herodion, my fellow Jew.
Greet those in the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord.
12 Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord.
Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord.
13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too.
14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the other brothers and sisters with them.
15 Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas and all the Lord’s people who are with them.
16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings.
(It's difficult to see the themes I'll talk about here if you're just listening to the audio devotional, so if you want to do a deeper dive into the text here head on over to the devotional page where you can see it.)
Paul goes out of his way here to greet a lot of people compared to his other letters. Why? The answer is likely that it applies directly to the application of 14-15. When we look at the names he mentions here we see a mix of Jewish, Greek and Latin names. We can't make too much of this because many people in the first century had a Greek and a Jewish name (Ex: Paul, Saul). But it fits nicely with his theme of the Jews and Gentiles being in the people of God.
In the midst greeting each of them individually note how often he describes them as being in Christ or some derivative of that phrase. This serves the purpose of his theme through the whole book. The church consisting of individuals is united in its common identity in Christ.
It's also a not-so-subtle affirmation of those he thinks the people should be listening to. Remember in verse 14 he says that they are full of goodness and competent in knowledge to instruct one another. It largely because of these people he mentions. The churches in Rome likely consist of 100-200 people. The folks he mentions here are to be held in high regard, in Paul's view at least, likely because they preach the same gospel he does. As we will see on Friday there were some who were preaching a different gospel.
From this list of names most scholars come to the conclusion that there are at least 5 house churches in Rome (there certainly could be more).
- In the home of Prisca and Aquilla (v. 5)
- In the house of Aristobulus (v. 10)
- In the house of Narcissus (v. 11)
- The names in v. 14 because of the "and the brothers and sisters with them".
- The names in v. 15 because of the "and all the saints with them".
We also should notice that Paul mentions a lot of women in these greetings. Big picture this indicates that women played a major role in the ministry of the early church. We will look at specific women he mentions tomorrow.
Scholars also notice that many people mentioned here are likely the names of slaves or freedmen and freedwomen. Ten of the names Paul mentions here were in that category. This makes perfect sense as the gospel is for all people, from the wealthy, powerful members of society to the impoverished and the slaves in Rome. As is his theme in the whole book, everyone is welcome in the people of God without distinction. Even the people he addresses the letter to serves the purpose of indicating that glorious truth.
This text should remind us that Romans is not an impersonal theology textbook. When we note the number of times he says dear friend also translated beloved, Paul is clearly writing to people that he loved, for the church that he loves and to represent Jesus, whom he cherishes most of all.
Additional Content
Reflection
Think of some of your brothers and sisters in Christ in your church. How would you describe them in a greeting like this? Can you call them your dear friends or loved ones? Would you describe them often as being in Christ with you? Is there much diversity in those names, in terms of the nationality, religious background, socio-economic status? Let's try to view one another as warmly as Paul views the believers in Rome.