The Unsung Heroes

Now — before you start calling the Leadership Council to report your pastor — hear me out. I’m not talking about the hard parts. I’m not talking about Leviticus and the rules about mildew and goats. (Yes, that’s in there.) I’m talking about the parts that feel like the credits at the end of a movie. The fine print. Or — like we’re going to see today — the lists of names tucked at the ends of Paul’s letter.

You know the ones. You’ve read them. Or — let’s be honest — you’ve pretended to read them. It’s like the Bible’s version of terms and conditions. And nobody — nobody in the history of the internet — has actually read what’s above that button.

You just scroll. And scroll. And scroll. And then finally you click “I agree.” Done.

That’s how a lot of us read a New Testament letter. Greet so-and-so. Tychicus is coming. Say hi to Nympha. Scroll. I agree. Amen. Time for lunch.

That’s the sermon. You guys can go home now. Kidding!

But that is — honestly — how I’ve approached the Book of Colossians before. And that’s where we find ourselves this week.

SHOW “THE REAL THING” MAIN TITLE GRAPHIC HERE

We’re finishing our series in Colossians called “The Real Thing”. And through this series — we’ve learned about the supremacy of Christ — and the new self — and all the heavy stuff.

And today — we’re going to look at a list of names. But these names aren’t just part of Paul’s address book. They’re not the leftovers of the letter. They’re the reason the letter exists. Somebody carried it. Somebody prayed over it. Somebody opened up their own home so there’d be a church in Colossae to even receive it.

And if we’re not careful — we can be guilty of skipping over the people holding this whole thing together.

And here’s the thing — not one of these people was famous.

We

Here’s the problem. We don’t just skip names in the Bible. We’re sometimes guilty of skipping them in real life, too. Because we live in the age of “the main character”.

There’s even a phrase for it now — “main character energy”. It’s a whole thing. You’re supposed to move through your life like the camera is always on you. Like there’s a soundtrack playing. Like the world is the backdrop and you’re the star. Social media has trained us for it. Every photo is a headshot. Every meal is a photoshoot. Every thought is a post waiting to happen. And I’m guilty of it too!

I mean — think about it. When something good happens to you — what’s the first instinct? For a lot of us — it’s not to tell somebody. It’s to post it.

We’ve all got a highlight reel. And we’ve all learned to perform for it.

But here’s what the spotlight does to us. It teaches us a lie. And the lie is this: if you’re not seen, you don’t count. If you’re not up front — not noticed — not on a stage — then whatever you’re doing must not really matter.

So we start measuring our lives by the wrong scoreboard. We start to believe the people who count are the ones who perform. The followers. The title. The microphone.

But what we’re going to see today — is that

“REAL DISCIPLES DON’T NEED THE SPOTLIGHT” GRAPHIC

Real disciples don’t need the spotlight.

So here’s the question I want us to sit with this morning — the question our whole passage today is built to answer.

What if the people who never get the spotlight are the ones actually doing the work? What if the Kingdom of God doesn’t run on headliners at all — but on the faithful nobodies the rest of us scroll right past?

What if Jesus isn’t scanning the room for stars?

God

So this morning we’re going to open the part of the letter we always skip — and we’re gonna find out.

Turn with me in your Bibles this morning to Colossians Chapter 4.

While you’re turning there — we’re going to see that Paul is wrapping up this letter. And what comes out of his pen isn’t a summary or a tidy sign-off. It’s a roll call. Nine names in a row — and most of them are people you’ve never heard a single sermon about. So let’s meet them. Because every one of them preaches.

Exposition

v. 7-8

Starting in Verse 7:

Colossians 4:7 CSB

7 Tychicus, our dearly loved brother, faithful minister, and fellow servant in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me.

Tychicus — Paul calls him a dearly loved brother. And his job — is the mailman. He’s the man who physically carried this letter — the one we’re reading right now — two thousand years later — from a Roman prison cell all the way to Colossae. No printing press. No email. Just a man — and a scroll — and a long — dangerous road.

We are reading this very letter this very morning because Tychicus walked.

And look at the why — Verse 8:

Colossians 4:8 CSB

8 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know how we are and so that he may encourage your hearts.

That very encouragement — to a group of people figuring out the faith two thousand years ago — is providing us that same encouragement all these years later. All because one person knew that there was no glory in his job — but because he was a faithful disciple.

v. 9

But he’s not traveling alone. Look at Verse 9:

Colossians 4:9 CSB

9 He is coming with Onesimus (Oh-NESS-ih-mus), a faithful and dearly loved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you about everything here.

A faithful and dearly loved brother — who Paul says “is one of you.” Stop right there — because this is important. See — Onesimus was a slave. A runaway. He had fled his master in Colossae — and somewhere on the run he crossed paths with Paul — and with Jesus. And now the runaway is going home. Not as property — but as a brother.

A few weeks ago we talked about the wardrobe change — taking off the old self — and putting on the new. That’s exactly who Onesimus is. Same man. But brand-new identity. That’s not a costume. That’s the real thing.

v. 10

But there’s more — look at Verse 10:

Colossians 4:10 CSB

10 Aristarchus (ah-riz-TAHR-kus), my fellow prisoner, sends you greetings, as does Mark, Barnabas’s cousin (concerning whom you have received instructions: if he comes to you, welcome him),

Aristarchus is labeled as Paul’s fellow prisoner. Let that land. This man’s faithfulness cost him his freedom. He’s in chains — next to Paul — for the Gospel.

Then — same verse — he mentions Mark. Now this one should ring a bell. He wrote the Gospel of Mark — appropriately named — and years before this letter to the Colossians had been written — he actually bailed on Paul in the middle of a mission trip — and Paul was so done with it that he and Barnabas split up over it.

That’s right — the first church split in history was over a guy named Mark.

But now — Paul writes — “if he comes to you, welcome him.” The quitter’s back! Restored. Useful again. The spotlight had written Mark off — but grace put Him back to work. And it’s the same with us.

v. 11

Verse 11:

Colossians 4:11 CSB

11 and so does Jesus who is called Justus. These alone of the circumcised are my coworkers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me.

Now Paul here isn’t referring to Christ when he says “Jesus who is called Justus”. Jesus was a common Hebrew and Aramaic name during this time in history — and Justus was a common Roman last name.

We don’t know much about him — just this mention — but his impact was huge. Paul says he’s been a comfort to him. No spotlight — just comfort. And if you think that’s small — go ask the man in the prison cell if comfort is a small thing.

v. 12-13

Verse 12:

Colossians 4:12 CSB

12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. He is always wrestling for you in his prayers, so that you can stand mature and fully assured in everything God wills.

Epaphras. Now — some of you will remember this name. Because we started this whole series with him six weeks ago. Epaphras is the first one who carried the Gospel to Colossae. He’s the reason there’s a church there to even receive this letter.

And look at what Paul says he’s doing — “Always wrestling for you in his prayers.” Wrestling. Not whispering a quick blessing over dinner. But laboring. And agonizing. Sweating it out on his knees for people who will never once see him do it.

Here’s a question — when’s the last time you watched somebody pray? It doesn’t happen often, right? Nobody films the prayer closet. It’s the most unseen work in the Kingdom — and Paul says it’s the hardest work Epaphras does. No stage. And no spotlight. Just a guy on his knees — holding up a whole city.

Look at what else Paul says about him in Verse 13:

Colossians 4:13 CSB

13 For I testify about him that he works hard for you, for those in Laodicea, and for those in Hierapolis.

Friends — don’t ever discount the power of prayer — and the power that holds for the people you care about.

v. 14

Now look at Verse 14:

Colossians 4:14 CSB

14 Luke, the dearly loved physician, and Demas send you greetings.

Two names — side by side here — and they couldn’t end up more differently. Luke — the same guy who wrote the Gospel of Luke — Paul says he’s a dearly loved physician. He’s a doctor. And he’s the one who stayed. The one who — years later — when nearly everybody else had abandoned Paul — Luke was still there. Faithful to the end.

Don’t ever overlook the power of just staying present with somebody when everybody else has given up on them. That is the real thing.

And right next to him — Demas. That’s it. No adjective. No “beloved”. No “faithful”. Just the name. And maybe that’s the tell. See — years later — Paul writes one more line about Demas — and it’s one of the saddest lines in the Bible.

2 Timothy 4:10 says:

2 Timothy 4:10 CSB

10 Demas has deserted me, since he loved this present world, and has gone to Thessalonica.

A few weeks ago we said it: don’t settle for shadows. Demas did. He traded the real thing for something shinier. Same room as Luke. Same access to Paul. Same Gospel. One stayed faithful in the dark. And one chased the spotlight and walked away.

v. 15

Verse 15 of our passage:

Colossians 4:15 CSB

15 Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters in Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her home.

All we know about this woman — Nympha — is that the Colossian church met in her home. She had no title. No office. But there’s a church gathered in her living room.

Sit with that for a second. Before there were buildings — before there were sound systems — the church met in houses — and somebody had to open the door. Somebody moved the furniture. And made the food. And welcomed the strangers. Nympha did all that. An open home did what no platform ever could.

v. 16

Then Paul has some instructions in Verse 16:

Colossians 4:16 CSB

16 After this letter has been read at your gathering, have it read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea.

Paul says the mission doesn’t stop here. There’s more work to be done. These unsung heroes are to continue spreading the Gospel — and sharing their message with the next group of people. Just like we are.

v. 17

And then in Verse 17 — Paul gets specific:

Colossians 4:17 CSB

17 And tell Archippus, “Pay attention to the ministry you have received in the Lord, so that you can accomplish it.”

One message — aimed at one man. Finish the job. Somebody at Colossae had been handed an assignment — and was apparently in danger of leaving it half-done.

So Paul — from a prison cell — reaches across miles and says: “Finish what God gave you. Nobody’s watching, Archippus, but finish anyway.”

v. 18

And then finally — in Verse 18 — Paul takes the pen himself:

Colossians 4:18 CSB

18 I, Paul, am writing this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.

This whole letter was dictated to a scribe — but he grabs it at the very end to sign it in his own handwriting. And he says, “Remember my chains. And grace be with you.”

He says — don’t forget that I’m writing to you from prison. And then — the final blessing of the entire letter — grace. Hold on to that word — because we’ll come back to it.

Now — step all the way back and look at this whole list. Not one famous name. Not a celebrity in the bunch. A mailman. A runaway. A prisoner. And a quitter. A doctor. A man on his knees. And a woman with an open door.

And the God of the universe wrote every single one of them into His Word — by name. He didn’t lose track of the “nobodies”. He never does. Because real disciples don’t need the spotlight. The God they serve already sees them.

You

So let me get specific — because this is the part where it stops being about all these people — and starts being about us.

Here’s the truth this whole passage is driving at: you don’t need a spotlight to be a real disciple. You need faithfulness. And faithfulness almost always happens exactly where nobody’s looking.

So — which one are you?

Maybe you’re an Epaphras. The one on your knees. And this is where I have to bring up something we’ve been talking about all year long:

“WHO’S YOUR ONE?” GRAPHIC

Who’s Your One? This year — we’ve all been tasked with identifying that person who’s far from God — to pick a name that we’d commit to praying for — and pursuing — and pointing toward Jesus.

Here’s what Epaphras shows us: that is not the small assignment. He wrestled in prayer for an entire city that he loved. And we’ve been asked to wrestle for one.

And so we have to ask ourselves — are we wrestling for our one? Nobody’s gonna see us do it — but we’re called to do it anyway.

Maybe you’re a Nympha. You don’t have a platform — but you have a living room. And in the Kingdom of God — that living room is a weapon. Your one might not be ready to walk through these doors on a Sunday morning — but they’ll come to a cookout. They’ll sit at your kitchen table. So open the door. The most discipling thing you could do all year is set one more plate at the dinner table.

Maybe you’re an Archippus. You already know your assignment — and you’ve left it half-finished. There’s a ministry — or a conversation — or a calling that you started and then set back down. And God’s word for you this morning is the same one across all those miles: finish it. Nobody’s watching. Finish anyway.

And maybe — if we’re honest — we’re a little like Demas. Still in the room. Still got the access. But your eyes have drifted to something shinier than obedience. The spotlight. Or the next thing.

So hear me gently — the drift never announces itself. Demas didn’t slam the door on the way out. He just slowly fell in love with something else. So name it today — before it names you.

Here’s the thread that ties every one of these together — and it’s the thing we’ve chased all year. A disciple is just somebody who follows Jesus and helps somebody else follow Him too. That’s the whole job. You don’t need a title — or a stage for that. You just need a name — your one — and the willingness to be faithful — even if nobody’s watching.

We

So let me lift your eyes for a second. Not to a stage… but to the long view of your own life. Imagine — ten or twenty or forty years from now — a whole life of the thing we’ve been talking about this morning. Nobody filmed it. There was no highlight reel. But you prayed for your one. And then the next one — and the next one — for decades. You kept the door of your home open until your kitchen table had discipled more people than you could count.

You finished the assignments God handed you — the small ones nobody noticed — one after another after another. Maybe no spotlight ever found you — but you were faithful anyway.

Friends — that is not a wasted life. That is the most consequential life a human being can live. Because a faithful life reaches further than a famous one ever could — it just takes longer to see it.

That’s what this entire six weeks through the Book of Colossians has been about. The mission of God always runs through ordinary — faithful people.

And the way we find that — Paul tells us — is through grace. Because the One who actually deserved the spotlight — the One who holds the universe together — He had every right to the throne. Every right to be seen. Every right to be served for eternity.

And He stepped off the stage. He took the lowest place. He became a servant. He wore the chains that each of us earned. And He ultimately hung — and bled — and died — and then rose again — so that we wouldn’t be held down by the shackles and chains that we deserved.

This life in grace that we can live — is only possible through what He did. And through His sacrifice He showed us that real disciples don’t need the spotlight. We just need to follow a Savior who laid down His.

Friends — that is the real thing. Praise be to God.

Prayer

Communion

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