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COLOSSIANS - Christ in you, the hope of glory!
Studies in the Letter of Paul to the Colossians
Part 5 - A Summary of the Letter and Words of Personal Greeting (Colossians 4:2-18)
26. Greetings of Paul´s Fellow Workers (Colossians 4:10-18)
Colossians 4:10-11
10 Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, greets you, and Mark, the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you received commandments, “if he comes to you, receive him”), 11 and Jesus who is called Justus. These are my only fellow workers for the Kingdom of God who are of the circumcision, men who have been a comfort to me.
Aristarchus was a Greek-Jew from Thessalonica in Macedonia, who had probably become a believer in the “Messiah Jesus” during the second missionary journey of Paul. Later, in the course of Paul´s third missionary journey, he accompanied him when they entered the capitol city of Ephesus for a great missions outreach (Acts 19:29; 20:4). It was there, where the revolt of the silver smiths took place, that he was, as a result of this massive upheaval, dragged into the theatre and charged. The governor of the district, however, was a prudent man, and held out the prospect of a legal investigation, which served to dissolve the mass protest. Aristarchus was later, as the representative for the churches in Macedonia, commissioned to accompany Paul to Jerusalem in taking the significant sum of money collected to help the Jewish Christian victims of hunger. They were to be a very fundamental witness to these Jewish Christians, showing that from among the Gentile nations ripe Christians were springing up through the power of the Holy Spirit.
A special feature of Aristarchus was that he was also one to accompany Paul when he was being transported by sea as a prisoner from Caesarea to Rome (Acts 27:2). Together with the apostle, he had to prayerfully endure the mighty storms that buffeted their sailing ship. He also suffered the shipwreck at Malta and then saw the poisonous snake that bit Paul, which he then took and through in the fire. He was with Paul when the apostle finally arrived in Rome. Paul called him his fellow prisoner, which more or less indicates that he was not penned up under house arrest, as was Paul, but served as the apostle´s helper over a period of several years. This accounted for the reason Paul designated him as his fellow prisoner and co-sufferer.
The next name “Markus” (in Latin) and Johannes (in Hebrew) can set readers of the Acts of the Apostles in amazement. This young man had accompanied his uncle, Barnabus, and Paul on their first missionary journey (Acts 13:5). He had, however, become frustrated with the hardship of travel. Therefore, he had turned around and travelled back to Jerusalem alone (Acts 13:13). That enraged Paul, so that he could not agree with Barnabus in taking Mark with them on the second missionary journey, which led to a considerable argument between Barnabus and Paul (Acts 15:37-40).
John Mark was the son of a woman named Mary, in whose house the original church had met for prayer in Jerusalem. Peter had gone there following his miraculous liberation from prison, before he withdrew to the Roman occupied coastal plain (Acts 12:12). Peter later took the time to care for this young man so that he could refer to him as “my” (spiritual) son”, who served him faithfully in Rome (1 Peter 5:13). It was there that Mark presumably got the details from Peter concerning the deeds of Jesus, which he proclaimed among the house churches of Rome. Later, non-Jews asked Mark to write down this “gospel according to Peter”. Therein he referred to himself as the certain young man who, at the arrest of Jesus, had only been clad in a linen cloth. When he, too, was nearly arrested, he had fled from them naked into the night (Mark 14:51-52).
Perhaps Mark had gone looking for Paul, who was under house arrest in Rome, following the execution of Peter, where it came to reconciliation between the two. The apostle sent the young narrator of the deeds of Jesus, along with his death on the cross and His resurrection, to the churches in Colosse and Laodicea, so that they might hear of the realities about Jesus. The first verse of his book represents the theme of his message: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mark 1:1).
The third person in this group of Jewish Christians, Jesus Justus, is only named in this one place. Nothing further is known about his life. He visited Paul during his arrest pending trial, however, and provided him company. He and the two others from the tribe of Jacob faithfully held to the apostle to the nations and did not disavow him. Most of all they prayed with and for him. Paul called them a comfort to him, for through their existence it became apparent that not only Gentiles were following Christ, but also some from the chosen people, in spite of opposition. Even before the destruction of Jerusalem (70 A.D.), they were confessing, within the Roman Empire, their faith in the Messiah Jesus, the King of the spiritual empire of God. Jesus Justus consciously bore the name of Jesus, which means: The Lord (Yahwe) helps, acts, forgives and is victorious! (Matt. 1:21)
Colossians 4:12-14
12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, salutes you, always striving for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. 13 For I testify about him, that he has great zeal for you, and for those in Laodicea, and for those in Hierapolis. 14 Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas greet you.
In this list of those sending greetings, the name of Epaphras once again appears. He was also mentioned at the beginning of the letter as a co-founder of the church in Colosse (Col. 1:7-8). He wrestled over the spiritual growth of every single member as well as for the entire church. In so doing, he prayed for wisdom and strength of faith in the face of deceivers. He prayed for their completeness in love and truth and for their filling with the entire fullness of deity in Christ Jesus (Col. 2:10). The knowledge of the will of God meant no dry, intellectual doctrine for him, but the contrary – it was the challenge to practical obedience. Paul called him a “servant of Jesus Christ”, just as he said of himself (Rom. 1:1; Phil. 1:1; Titus 1:1), who unconditionally stood in the service of his Lord. At the same time, through his prayers he warded off the deceivers, who were exhorting an incomplete and insufficient righteousness of the law. Epaphras did not limit himself to just a spiritual concern for Colosse, but also wrestled in prayer for the neighboring churches in Laodicea and Hierapolis. Such frequent prayers made the guarded house of Paul into a power center of the first degree. From there streams of the Spirit of Christ were flowing to the assailed, young churches of Anatolia.
There suddenly appears in this letter the name of Luke, the Greek medical doctor whom Paul respectfully described as beloved. On the third missionary journey he had accompanied the apostle to the nations from Troas to Jerusalem. He had probably collected, during the time of Paul´s arrest in Caesarea, his doctor-specific information about the birth of Jesus by the Virgin Mary, the miraculous healings of Christ, some of the parables He taught as well as the three important sentences He spoke from the cross. In addition he learned of the consoling appearances of the Lord following His resurrection, as well as His ascension to heaven. Without the report of Doctor Luke, we would know little about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit or the sufferings and experiences of the original church assembly in Jerusalem. Neither would we know much of the entire acts and deeds of the apostles. We can thank the Lord for the faithfulness of this man, who did not know Hebrew as his mother tongue. Along with Aristarchus, he accompanied Paul from Thessalonica to Rome, which included the disastrous shipwreck. Wherever we encounter the “we-style” in the Acts of the Apostles, we know that Luke was personally present. Together with Paul, he had discussed the details of his “Acts of the Apostles”, so that we there find many of the thoughts and principles of Paul entering in.
In considering these names, we see that Paul did not serve his Lord in Rome alone, but had with him Mark and Luke, two specialists regarding the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, as well as the two district representatives, Tychicus, from the then province of Asia, and Aristarchus, from Macedonia. Paul was thus able to work not only skilfully and proficiently, but also spiritually in the newly established churches. Even as a prisoner he was able to be a part of the building up of the spiritual kingdom of God – until the day he was beheaded.
There then appears the name of Demas alongside the names of the fellow workers present with Paul. He originally belonged to the circle of those who had helped the apostle. Unfortunately he did not hold out under the highly-charged atmosphere surrounding the guarded Paul. He had smelled the coming danger and withdrew to Thessalonica, having, in the words of Paul, “loved this present world” (2 Tim. 4:10).
Prayer: Father in heaven, we thank You that You put alongside Paul in prison brothers and fellow-workers, so that in the midst of his being assailed he was not alone. Rather, in faith, prayer and letters he was able to strengthen the young churches in Anatolia and Greece. Strengthen us, too, when we fall into distress and temptation, so that our service in the churches will not cease and that all can remain spiritually embodied in Your Son Jesus Christ. Amen.
Question 53: What is the significance of the names of those giving greetings at the end of the letter to the Colossians?