Final Greetings

We have now come to the final greetings. Paul closes by reaching out to all the people he knows that are either living in Rome or traveling to Rome. We also see some greetings from others who are with Paul. Finally we see that Paul closes with some final endearing blessings. Let us read Rom. 16

Romans 16 TLV

Now I recommend to you our sister Phoebe—who is a servant-leader of Messiah’s community at Cenchrea— so you may receive her in the Lord, in a way worthy of kedoshim, and help her in whatever matter she may need from you. For she herself has become a patroness of many, including me as well. Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Messiah Yeshua, who risked their own necks for my life. Not only I give them thanks, but also all of Messiah’s communities among the Gentiles. Greet also the community that meets in their house. Greet Epaenetus whom I dearly love, who is the first fruit in Asia for Messiah. Greet Miriam, who has worked hard for you. Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kin and fellow prisoners who are well known among the emissaries. They were in Messiah before me. Greet Ampliatus, whom I dearly love in the Lord. Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Messiah, and Stachys whom I dearly love. Greet Apelles, who is approved in Messiah. Greet those from the household of Aristobulus. Greet Herodion, my kinsman. Greet those from the household of Narcissus, who are in the Lord. Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, workers in the Lord. Greet Persis whom I dearly love, who has worked hard in the Lord. Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother—who was also a mother to me. Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers and sisters with them. Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, also Olympas and all the kedoshim with them. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All of Messiah’s communities greet you. Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, to keep your eye on those who are causing divisions and stumbling blocks, contrary to the teaching that you learned. Turn away from them. For such people do not serve our Lord the Messiah, but only their own belly. By their smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. Your obedience has become known to all, so I rejoice over you—but I want you to be wise about what is good and innocent about what is evil. Now the God of shalom will soon crush satan under your feet. May the grace of our Lord Yeshua be with you. Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you; so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kin. I, Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord. Gaius, host to me and the whole community, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, greets you, and so does brother Quartus. Now to the One who is able to strengthen you according to my Good News and the proclamation of Yeshua the Messiah, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages but now is revealed and through the Writings of the Prophets has been made known to all the nations, according to the commandment of the eternal God to bring about obedience of faith— to the only wise God, through Yeshua the Messiah, to Him be the glory forever. Amen.

Our Sister Phoebe

We will look briefly at each of the people that Paul mentions starting with the one who was carrying Paul’s letter to Rome, Phoebe. Phoebe was a leader in the congregation of Cenchrea which was a sea-port about 10 km from Corinth. Paul had stopped there several times when he traveled. Her name means “bright” or “radiant”, and she was a wealthy woman and a benefactor of Paul and many other people. The commentators point out the following:

Phoebe is called a “servant” (diakonos) of this church. The same word can be rendered “deaconess” or “minister”. Women as well as men served in leadership positions in the early church … Women clearly held positions of responsibility in local congregations. Stuhlmacher rightly comments, “Women played a role in the early Christian mission churches which was in no way merely subordinate, but rather fundamental.”

Paul has no problem recommending her to the believers in Rome, and askes them to help her with whatever she needs.

Prisca & Aquila

Next, Paul wants to extend greetings to his dear friends Priscilla and Aquila, although he uses Priscilla’s nick name of Prisca. This couple is mentioned in Acts 18, 1 Cor. 16:19 and 2 Tim. 4:19, and worked together in the ministry. It is also important to point out that many of these people that Paul is greeting are Messianic Jews who go by Greek, or Latin names in the same way that Paul went by his Greek name instead of Sha’ul, his Hebrew name.

David Stern points out that:

The Jewish New Testament Commentary Romans, Chapter 16

Continuing the theme of v. 1, the mention of the woman first may indicate her greater prominence (see

Epaenetus & Miriam

You may be wondering how Paul got to know so many people in Rome even though he had never visited? Well, apparently all roads lead there, and Nero was giving away a lot of bread and games. But in all seriousness, Paul had been ministering to many cities and by this time had established many congregations throughout Asia Minor, Greece and the surrounding areas.

Paul mentions Epaenetus, who’s name means “praise worthy” with affection, as he was the first unbeliever that Paul led to faith on his mission trips to Asia Minor.

Miriam is the only one in this list who’s name is Hebrew, but as I mentioned before, the majority of people had a Hebrew and a Greek name.

Andronicus & Junia

According to the patristic writers of the Middle Ages, this is a man and his wife. And Paul calls them his “kin” or “relatives”. This could have referred to some long distance cousins, of Paul’s or more probably “fellow tribesmen” from his home town of Tarsus.

These two are described as “outstanding among the apostles.” Now normally the word “apostle” refers to the 12 talmidim, however it seems in this case that the role of apostle extends further to the role of “emissary”. Which is where we get the name Missionary. David Stern points out that:

The Jewish New Testament Commentary Romans, Chapter 16

The matter takes on importance from the remark that they were

Ampliatus, Urbanus, Stachys & Apelles

Paul had a deep friendship with many of these people. He had worked with them while undergoing some difficult persecution. There is a brotherly love that can grow between people who have gone through hard times together. Paul regards Ampliatus and Stachys as close personal friends.

Aristobulus & Herodion

J.B. Lightfoot identifies Aristobulus as the grandson to Herod, who had moved to Rome and ended up dying there. This is possible considering that Paul then mentions another of his “kin folk” named Herodion. If this is the case, then we see that many of the descendants (grand children) of Herod have come to faith in Yeshua, along with a messianic Jew, Herodian.

Narcissus, Tryphaena & Tryphosa

Narcissus was a famous, wealthy Roman who had huge influence during the reign of Emperor Claudius. Tryphaena and Tryphosa were most likely sisters, as it was very common to have rhyming names in families. Since their names mean “dainty” and “delicate” respectively, it is possible that they had come from a wealthy family. It would seem that many famous and wealthy people were coming to faith in Yeshua. It should be noted, that this often meant that they would loose their inheritance and wealth, so it should be noted that Paul commends their working in the Lord.

Persis, Rufus & His Mother

The name Persis simply means “a Persian lady”, and we see that Paul dearly loves this friend who had worked diligently for God. Rufus is identified with the son of Simon the Cyrene that we read about in Mark 15:21

Mark 15:21 TLV

Now Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was coming in from the countryside. The soldiers force this passerby to carry Yeshua’s cross-beam.

It would seem that the whole family: Simon, his wife and his son Rufus were now all following Yeshua. And Paul is looking forward to some time with his family-away-from-family.

Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, Philologus, Julia, Nereus, his sister & Olympas

In some ways, Paul is mentioning every single person who he has ever met that now lives in Rome. He has already told them that he is planning on visiting, and he is wanting everyone who does not know him to go and talk to those who do. In this way, there will be increased expectation for Paul, and a willingness to listen to him when he comes.

Wise for Good, Innocent of Evil

Paul has one final warning to the congregation in Rome. He is warning about those who would cause division. In a way this sums up the whole letter, Paul has been doing all that he can to bring together the Jewish and Gentile believers, and now warns about the motives of those who would seek to split it apart. Those who would cause division and set stumbling blocks are only in it for themselves, or literally “for their belly.”

Since Paul does not give any specifics, it is unlikely that these divisive, false teachers had already come to the congregation in Rome. Paul was probably warning them based upon his experience throughout his missionary journeys. Paul’s greatest concern is that the believers in Rome will be tricked if they are not paying attention. Paul then finishes with a proverb that is very similar to 1 Cor. 14:20 which states

1 Corinthians 14:20 TLV

Brothers and sisters, stop being children in your thinking—rather, be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.

Paul knows that if the congregation in Rome remains vigilant, and pays attention, thinks things through, then they will not be deceived by these smooth talking charlatans. Paul concludes by looking to the end of days when Yeshua will achieve ultimate victory over the ultimate bad guy, Satan, and he reminds them of the first messianic prophesy in Gen. 3:15.

Final, Final Greetings

It is possible that Paul initially planned to finish the letter at verse 20, but ended up having some blank space at the end of the page. Then the rest of Paul’s companions wanted to write their greetings as well. Timothy, Lucius, Jason and Sosipater stuck their head in and, yelled, “Say hello from me!”

Then the Scribe wanted to add his greeting, especially since his hand would have been quite tired from writing the longest letter recorded in ancient history. And then we get a piece of history.

Erastus

And you all know how I love archaeology! Here is a pavement that was laid in Corinth by Erastus who was the commissioner of public works, or as Paul calls him, the city treasurer. He was a follower of Yeshua and a city official in Corinth, and he paid to have this stone cut with his name in it.

Application

Each Life is Precious

How do we apply this chapter to our lives? Firstly, when I come to a list of names in Scripture, even though I don’t yet know these people, I am reminded that God is interest in us as individuals. Here is a list of Paul’s friends and co-workers. We can see that God cares who each of us is, and how we live our lives. For instance, as regards Phoebe, God is watching out for for those who serve in the congregation. Also we see that God will honour those who handle money well and the resources that God has given them. The Parable of the Talents also shows us this same truth.

With Prisca and Aquila, we see that some people serve God as a couple, just as some serve him as a single person like Paul or Phoebe. Each of us are called to serve God in different ways. Prisca and Aquila had a habit of starting home groups and laying their lives down for others. There is a great blessing from the Lord for those who are willing to do this.

With Epaenetus we can learn that we all have value and we are all loved by God simply because we have accepted Him and chosen to follow His ways. And in Miriam we see that God notices the work that we do.

Some of us come from wealthy families, others may have had to pay a higher price and have been rejected by our families because we have followed God. Like Rufus, some of us had the blessing of growing up in a Believing family, and like Aristobulus’ children, some of us did not.

In each of our cases, we all have a testimony, a story that displays the glory of God in our lives. And when I think of heaven, one of the things that I am looking forward to is listening to all of the stories of everyone’s lives. We will have all the time that we need to simply listen.

Heed the Warning

The next application that we can see in this passage is the warning that Paul gave to the congregation which still applies to this day. We all need to pay attention and be aware of anyone (starting with ourselves) who might be sowing division in the congregation. Now as a pastor, I am constantly on the lookout for those who might try to lead people astray, and sometimes I am better at that than others. But I can not patrol your homes or works, and nor do I want to for that matter. You Fathers are called to be the priests of your homes and to lead your family toward God and away from evil. And you Mothers make the house a home, and create an atmosphere that is filled with the Shalom of God. It is a joint effort of mutual submission to one another, and together you need to be aware and watch out for your children. Paul warns us and Yeshua warns us all to pay attention and watch out because false prophets, false teachers and ultimately Satan are actively attempting to trap, ensnare and steal from you both in a physical sense as well as in a spiritual sense.

Final, Final Blessing

Finally I thought that it would be good for us all to stand, and we will close by all saying the blessing that Paul gives at the end of Romans 16:25–27

Romans 16:25–27 TLV

Now to the One who is able to strengthen you according to my Good News and the proclamation of Yeshua the Messiah, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages but now is revealed and through the Writings of the Prophets has been made known to all the nations, according to the commandment of the eternal God to bring about obedience of faith— to the only wise God, through Yeshua the Messiah, to Him be the glory forever. Amen.