Reasons for Thanksgiving

In the Greek city of Corinth, where Paul has been for several months, Paul is winding down his long letter written to the Church in Rome.

This is city with an active Christian community that he had a big part in starting, with his mission team, on his second mission trip. A few years earlier, Paul had come to Corinth straight from Athens, where he muffed his mission when he had tried to explain the Gospel in the philosophical forum called the Areopagus. Paul left there and went on south to Corinth.

To make a step of faith to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who died for our sins and was raised again on the third day to guarantee our salvation needs a different understanding of who we are in where we stand.

You need to believe in one Creator God. You need to believe that God is Holy and wants the best for us because he loves us. Since God loves us, he gives us some important rules to follow, as any good parent does. The problem we get into is one of selfish sinfulness, because we don’t want anyone telling us what to do, not even if it is God our Creator.

God who loves us wants us to be in eternity with him; but we have to do something about the sin in our lives. The Gospel message tells us that only the Son of God, the perfect sacrifice to atone for our sins, can offer us the forgiveness and cleansing we need. Jesus died for our sins, and was raised again for our life. That’s what we need to believe in order to be saved, and we need to surrender our hearts to God’s will by believing in his Son Jesus, receiving his forgiveness because of the Cross, and be justified before God and welcomed into eternity with God.

>>>All of that is in the theology of Romans we have looked at over the last months, and lately we have been looking at what Paul tells us a Christian’s life should be like because of the Holy Spirit living in us.

Now, Paul wraps up his letter to Rome with some personal notes and thanksgiving. And Paul finds lots of people to be thankful for.

But first Paul has a request of the church in Rome, so he can be...

In God’s Hands Through Many Prayers

>>>Paul has made several appeals throughout this letter, but he is about to make a very personal appeal as . . .

Paul Asks the Church for Prayer

In Corinth, planning a journey back to Jerusalem via Antioch in Syria, Paul is thinking ahead about some things he knows he will face, and humbles himself before the Roman church:

Romans 15:30 CSB

30 Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, through our Lord Jesus Christ and through the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in prayers to God on my behalf.

Invoking the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit who pours love in our hearts, he asks for earnest prayers against the enemies he faces. “Strive together with me in prayers” means this is not just about reciting the Lords’ prayer or Psalm 23 and saying it is done. There is a spiritual battle going on, and as Paul wrote in Ephesians 6, this is not about flesh and blood but about what is going on in the spiritual realms.

There is a need to be fit for battle, to put on the right armor, and to go forth in the strength that God provides. This would not be an easy time, nor should the act of praying be taken lightly. This a prayer that involves the power of the Godhead against the enemies of the Gospel.

>>>Satan’s purpose is to frustrate God’s plans to save humanity, and that spiritual battle must be fought so that the physical barriers to the Good News can be over come. So Paul asks prayer...

For Challenges in Jerusalem

Paul has been dogged by people like he used to be: in this case, right wing Pharisees that saw the transforming power of Jesus Christ as a threat to their very existence. Paul had preached Christ in every synagogue he visited since his own conversion, and had developed Jewish enemies who could not believe that Jesus is the Son of God in every place. So Paul asked the Roman church to . . .

Romans 15:31 CSB

31 Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea, that my ministry to Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints,

Paul needed rescue, even though he was walking right into the lion’s mouth with this journey to Jerusalem. Paul had taken a Nazirite vow in preparation for this trip. He wanted the Jews to know he had not forsaken his Jewishness because he believed in Jesus as the Messiah.

A Nazirite vow is to “separate himself to Yahweh God” according to Numbers 6:1-21 and starts with complete abstinence from wine or strong drink, in fact not even balsamic vinegar, nor fresh grapes nor dried grapes. Not a drop of suspicion of any alcohol should be on their tongue.

During the period of the vow, no haircuts or shaving. A razor is not to touch the head. Like the command to Samson’s parents a hundred years later than the laws of Moses, the Nazarite’s hair and beard would grow long as a sign to other Jews of his vow of holiness to the Lord.

He had to stay away from any dead body, even if it was father or mother, brother or sister. He had to plan to bring significant sacrifices to the temple for sin, guilt, burnt, peace, grain, oil and drink offerings to the Temple in Jerusalem to complete his vow, along with the hair shaved from his head.

Paul was doing everything he could to uphold his Jewish heritage, to honor the Temple in Jerusalem, the same one in which Jesus taught, and in personal thanks to the God of his Salvation, through Jesus Christ.

By God’s grace, he may be rescued from his Jewish haters, and be free to bring the offering for the poor to the Jewish Believers in Jerusalem. He wanted to show the leaders of the church in Jerusalem that the Gentile believers around the Mediterranean wanted to thank and bless the Jews from whom the Messiah came to the world.

>>>And then Paul adds another personal request of prayer, as he looks past this journey to Jerusalem and on toward Rome. He asks that prayers be also. . . .

For a Joyful Journey to Rome

Because after all the stress of planning this journey, it would be so nice to have a simple, safe, joyful journey when he left Judea. . .

Romans 15:32–33 ESV

32 so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company. 33 May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

Seeking God’s will, at the same time asking his plans come to completion. This is a pattern for how we should pray: Not without plans, but with our plans submitted to God for His will to be made known to us. Paul wants the trip ti be made with joy, having successfully brought the offering to Jerusalem, perhaps silencing or appeasing some of his enemies, and so glad God made use of him.

Then, landing in Rome, that his soul and body would be refreshed. Sounds like he was really looking forward to that as he prepared to be on his way into his next mission field.

He offers a benediction blessing to them, that the God of Peace be with them.

>>>Paul, next, shares a list of people he is truly thankful for. Paul was never really on his own, even if he was a stubborn, very driven missionary. So he gives. . .

Thanks for People God Has Used

In this next section, Paul is celebrating those whom he knew or worked with in the Roman Church. There is a list of 29 people here, and they aren’t all male. In fact, 10 of them are women who have proved worthy of mention and are important to Paul. Clearly, although Paul himself had not yet visited Rome, he knew by commerce and letter and their travel who they were. Many he had dealings with in the city Corinth, from where he wrote this letter. Christians sought out one another in other cities as they traveled, looking for the sign of the fish on a doorpost to discover who was part of the church.

Phoebe, Saint, Servant, Benefactor

Phoebe happens to be the only single person in this list who gets more than a sentence; in fact, in the next 2 verses, we have 3 sentences. They describe a Mother and minister of the Church, who is unselfish and dedicated.

Romans 16:1–2 CSB

1 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church in Cenchreae. 2 So you should welcome her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints and assist her in whatever matter she may require your help. For indeed she has been a benefactor of many—and of me also.

Paul begins with a commendation, or recommendation, to this sister in Christ. Since there is a fairly long comment about her, she could have been the one that would have actually carried this letter of Paul to the Roman church. In Paul’s day there was no postal service, but you needed to find someone willing to hand-carry the letter to its recipient.

Letters were read backwards from what we are used to. At the beginning of the letter the writer describes himself, as Paul did in Romans 1:1, and at the end the commendations are given. So as Phoebe handed them this fairly thick and large booklet, and they asked “who are you?”, she would have told them to look to the last page or two. Paul’s commendation gives her a proper standing not just as a mail-carrier, but as a fellow believer and minister of the church.

Phoibē, a little closer to what her name may have sounded like in Greek, is described on equal terms with other believers, using the word “sister”; for in Christ, there is Neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, no male nor female (Galatians 3:28).

Phoebe is described as a “servant of the church” at the seaport village of Cenchrea, on the eastern side of the isthmus of Corinth, about 9 miles from the city. Here Paul had shaved his head to fulfil a step in his Nazarite vow and carry his own hair to be a burnt offering in Jerusalem.

His plans, as he wrote to the Romans from Corinth, was to go to Cenchrea, where would board a ship bound for Jerusalem with the love offering from the Macedonian churches for the impoverished Christians in Jerusalem.

Phoebe served in leadership in Cenchrea. The word translated servant is actually the word for Deacon or Minister. The Church in Rome is told to “welcome her in the Lord”, which we might think is superfluous, but said to make sure this Greek woman was given her appropriate place. “In a manner worthy of the saints” means to give her honor, recognize her role as a minister, and in fact give her opportunity to minister to them. But not only that; the Roman church is asked for its hospitality, and even to support her in what she needs to return home safely.

The final note about Phoebe is that she has been a “benefactor to many”. Not only a minister in the church, but someone with extra money to give.

This is a woman with a heart of generosity. Where there is a need, she tries to fill it. She may have been a merchant herself or in a merchants’ household. In ancient Greece, the women often held title to the real estate, whether or not they produced income. This helped to balance out that first of democratic societies. By the time of Paul much had changed, but also much had remained the same in the cultures of the Mediterranean nations.

Just as Jesus had female benefactors, so had Paul, from Phoebe as well as others. Honor the servant, and make glad the generous.

Prisca and Aquila, On the Front Lines for Jesus

The next whom Paul greets are the husband and wife Prisca (also known as Priscilla) and Aquila, Jews from Pontus who may have became Christians sometime before Paul first met them in Corinth six years earlier. Paul met them because they were tentmakers, as was he. So Paul stayed and worked with them while he was in Corinth.

Romans 16:3–4 CSB

3 Give my greetings to Prisca and Aquila, my coworkers in Christ Jesus, 4 who risked their own necks for my life. Not only do I thank them, but so do all the Gentile churches.

Prisca (Πρίσκα, Priska)and Aquila (Ἀκύλας, Akylas) were from Pontus, a province along the southern Black Sea, on the north shore of modern Turkey. Paul himself was from the southeast shore of Turkey, Tarsus in the province of Cilicia. In Acts 18, they are first introduced with Aquila’s name first; They had to leave Rome for a while and went to Corinth. As tentmakers, they would have made awnings and side-curtains, shop covers and tents.

When Paul first left Corinth for Syria from Cenchrea, Prisca and Aquila went with him straight East to Ephesus, where the couple stayed on as Paul went on toward Antioch. There in Ephesus, Prisca and Aquila heard Apollos from Alexandria preach about Jesus in the synagogue. But he only knew John’s baptism, the baptism of repentance.

It was Prisca who took Apollos aside and helped explain the Gospel more completely, with the support of Aquila. She was a true Gospel rock star.

This couple was back in Rome now, so Paul sends his greetings, with two testimonies of their value to him personally: They have been coworkers in Christ Jesus, and they risked their own necks for Paul’s life. We have no record of exactly how Prisca and Aquila saved Paul’s life, but it was clear to Paul, who mentions that it brought thanksgiving not only from him but from all the Gentile churches who benefited because Paul’s ministry continued.

We find out in the start of the next verse that there was a church in their home; this was the way of the churches in the Roman Empire until the time of Constantine nearly 200 years later. Groups of maybe 12-20, or up to 50-80, if the home was large, would be scattered throughout Rome or other cities of the empire.

Others In Rome Who Have Made a Difference

Romans 16:5–6 CSB

5 Greet also the church that meets in their home. Greet my dear friend Epaenetus, who is the first convert to Christ from Asia. 6 Greet Mary, who has worked very hard for you.

In Rome, one of the house churches is in the home of Prisca and Aquila. Their importance to the spread of the Gospel was certian.

Epaenetus (Ἐπαίνετος, Epainetos) is a Roman Gentile that Paul counts as his first convert in Asia, perhaps even while in his home town of Tarsus after his conversion. If you care about your friends, you tell them about Christ. We really don’t know much about him.

We also don’t know anything else about Mary. Hers is one of only two Jewish names in this list, along with Herodion, which says a lot about the leadership of the Roman Church. No matter what we know about Mary, it is a good thing to be counted worthy of mention in the New Testament because you have worked hard for the church.

A List of Friends, Coworkers, Contacts

Paul continues to make a list of those he knows and cares about in Rome. There are mostly Gentiles in the list, but also Jews, a few of whom are Paul’s relatives.

The Gentile names are of slaves and freedmen, reminding us that the Gospel had attracted many from the lower levels of society. Paul knew many who were Jews and Christians expelled from Rome by Emperor Claudius because of riots in AD 49, and they didn’t return until after the death of Claudius in AD 54. The church survived in Rome even with this disruption.

I don’t want to wear you out with the list of names, so to condense my commentary, I put them in the categories Paul uses; 7 of the names I put in more than one category. Most of these we don’t have any other information about. In the whole list,

3 are church leaders, 5 are Paul’s coworkers, 5 others work hard in the Lord. 2 families host house churches, 5 are fellow Jews, 6 are Paul’s friends, 3 are Paul’s family, and 7 have gained special favor or recognition from Paul.

10 are simply mentioned, along with others, unnamed, in their sphere of influence.

It’s a pretty impressive list, and these names have endured with the New Testament for 2000 years!

Romans 16:7 CSB

7 Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews and fellow prisoners. They are noteworthy in the eyes of the apostles, and they were also in Christ before me.

Again, we don’t know any more about these two than what is here in the scripture. As Jewish Christians, they have suffered prison along with Paul, and apparently known by the other apostles of Jesus from Jerusalem. Paul’s own conversion on the road to Damascus was some time after Andronicus and Junia boldly stood for Jesus as the Son of God and longed-for Messiah.

Romans 16:8–10 CSB

8 Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord. 9 Greet Urbanus, our coworker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys. 10 Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus.

Romans 16:11–12 CSB

11 Greet Herodion, my fellow Jew. Greet those who belong to the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord. 12 Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who have worked hard in the Lord. Greet my dear friend Persis, who has worked very hard in the Lord.

Romans 16:13 CSB

13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother—and mine.

In verse 13, Rufus is mentioned; this is possibly the son of the man who carried the Cross for Jesus, maybe 25 years before, according to

Mark 15:21 CSB

21 They forced a man coming in from the country, who was passing by, to carry Jesus’s cross. He was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus.

We can’t know for certain, but it seems a fair assumption to make here. What we do know is that his mother was very dear to Paul himself, a mother of the church.

Ten more names show up to end the list:

Romans 16:14–15 CSB

14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers and sisters who are with them. 15 Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them.

Clearly the people Paul mentions have made a difference in his life. Clearly they have made a difference for the church. Clearly they are all reasons for thanksgiving.

Paul has two more things to say to these people he has mentioned, since he can’t be there with them:

Romans 16:16 CSB

16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send you greetings.

In these days of such dangerous levels of COVID-19 infection, we can take this idea from Paul in verse 16: when you talk to those you can’t be with for this Thanksgiving, tell them to give each other a kiss or a hug for you. That’s kind of a down-payment on when you get to see them face to face again.

Don’t forget to try to pass on the greetings from whomever it is that told you to say hi when you call them. I know that part is a tall order for our limited attention spans, but it does encourage people.

>>>As a little housecleaning at the end of this letter to Rome, Paul want to remind the Roman Christians to...

Protect the Church from Division

Romans 16:17 CSB

17 Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles contrary to the teaching that you learned. Avoid them,

Paul is thankful for the church, but he is also wary of those who try to turn the loyalties of the church for their own advantage. Now, Paul had not been to Rome yet; his investment in the church is in this letter he is sending and as a friend to the church.

But Paul knows how, in the churches in Galatia, people came from outside with the idea of trying to make the Gentile Christians into Jews before they dared have the benefits of the knowing Jesus Christ, the Jewish Messiah.

Paul also knows how traveling preachers came to various churches to take advantage of them, and how they would seed some bad theology about who Jesus is, the nature of salvation, and our future hope in Christ. So he says, “Avoid them...

Romans 16:18 CSB

18 because such people do not serve our Lord Christ but their own appetites. They deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting with smooth talk and flattering words.

That reasoning is not about politics outside the church, but it sure could be! No, it is about basic human greed and self-promotion that sometimes sneaks into the church.

Paul wants the leaders to be aware, and he wants all who hear or read this letter to be on guard for any who would be destructive.

>>>The actions are common: deceiving the heart of those who don’t expect it. There are a lot a silver-tongued people who have learned to manipulate others for their own gains. It’s dangerous whenever and wherever it happens, but specially damaging to the souls of believers who become disillusioned because of the conflicts.

So Paul reminds them that...

Christians Must Stay Alert to Evil

Romans 16:19 CSB

19 The report of your obedience has reached everyone. Therefore I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise about what is good, and yet innocent about what is evil.

Their obedience was the obedience to the message of the Gospel. Paul is SO GLAD FOR THEM, really thankful. He had to tell them about divisive people, and not be naive. If you are too trusting of any who come to your door, you could be talked into all sorts of things. It is important that our experience is wisdom about what is good and avoid evil so much so that we really haven’t experienced what it is all about. Not easy in the kind of world we live in today, but still an important reminder.

>>>The best news about this is that when the miscreants show up, ...

God Will Be Your Help

Romans 16:20 CSB

20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

Peace, or shalom, is really the goal of God. He wants us to be well and settled in our lives. God wants us open hearted to him and and wants to protect us from evil, while still allowing humanity to cross him with selfish, sinful behavior. So be sure you know that God will have victory over any evil we face, even in the head devil Satan.

>>>In these last verses with names, we read...

Greetings From Those With Paul

Romans 16:21–23 CSB

21 Timothy, my coworker, and Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my fellow countrymen, greet you. 22 I, Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord. 23 Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus greet you.

I won’t take time to discuss these friends and coworkers. It is interesting the Tertius, Paul’s secretary, pops in his own name; and we also find out that the City Treasurer of Corinth is part of the church.

The Final Thanks Goes to God

Romans 16:25 CSB

25 Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation about Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept silent for long ages

Romans 16:26 CSB

26 but now revealed and made known through the prophetic Scriptures, according to the command of the eternal God to advance the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles—

Romans 16:27 CSB

27 to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ—to him be the glory forever! Amen.