The Word Made Fresh
1Masters, treat your servants honestly and fairly. Remember that you also have a Master in heaven.
2Be thankful and watchful in prayer, and pray often. 3Please pray that God might open a door for us to preach the word, to tell about the mystery of Christ for which I am in prison, 4and to speak clearly whenever we speak.
5Be wise around outsiders, but make the most of the time with them. 6Always season what you have to say with a little salt and let your words be gracious; that is how you should answer everyone.
7Tychicus will inform you about my situation. He is a beloved brother and faithful teacher and fellow servant of the Lord. 8I send him to you to let you know how we are so that your hearts will be encouraged. 9And Onesimus will be with him, a faithful and beloved brother who is one of you. 10They will bring you up to date on what is happening here.
11My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greeting. Also Mark, Barnabas’ cousin. You have been told about him. Welcome him if he comes. 12And Jesus, called Justus. These are my only fellow workers from among those who are circumcised, and they have been a big help to me. 12Epaphras, a servant of Christ who is one of you, sends his greetings. He always prays that you will be steadfast and sure in all of God’s will. 13I can tell you that he has worked hard for you as well as for those who are in Laodicea and Hierapolis. 14Luke, the beloved physician, greets you, along with Demas. 15Greet my brothers at Laodicea, and remember me to Nympha and the congregation that meets in her house. 16When you have read this letter, have it read also in the church at Laodicea. And you should also read the letter that comes from there. 17Tell Archippus to make sure he fulfils the ministry he has received in the Lord.
18I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my shackles. Grace be with you.
Commentary
1-4: Typically, Paul ends with some general instructions and encouragement and asks for prayers for himself and his companions.
5-6: There is also concern for how outsiders view Christians and the church, so he cautions the Colossians in their behavior towards others. Verse 6 does not refer to what we today term “salty speech” of course, but rather to the kind of discourse that has been preserved through faithfulness. In other words, don’t let anyone lead you astray from the gospel you have been taught.
7-9: He is sending Tychicus and Onesimus to them. This is possibly that same Onesimus who is the subject of Paul’s letter to Philemon, but no further identification is given.
10-14: He sends greetings from Mark, Jesus Justus, Epaphras, Luke and Demas. Mark and Justus are the only circumcised Jewish Christians with him, he says; the others are uncircumcised Gentile Christians. Mark, whom he identifies here as a cousin of Barnabas, may be that John Mark with whom Paul and Barnabas had a falling out (see Acts 15:37-39), and who is mentioned several times as one of Paul’s closest companions. He is included in the letter to Philemon, along with Demas, Epaphras and Luke. That lends credence to the idea that Onesimus, mentioned in verse 9 above, is indeed the servant of Philemon. Jesus Justus is not mentioned anywhere else. Epaphras was named earlier (1:7) and is here identified as one of them, that is, a Colossian. Luke is thought to have been the author of the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts. Paul had some kind of falling-out with Demas (see 2 Timothy 4:10), but, whatever the cause of the rift between them, it was apparently healed because Demas is named again in Philemon (1:24) as a loyal companion. All these connections demonstrate how dynamic and connected the church had become throughout the northern Mediterranean world during the lifetime of Paul.
15-17: Final greetings and instructions: We do not know whether Paul ever visited the church in Laodecia: it is only mentioned in Colossians and Revelation (1:11 and 3:14), but was within a dozen miles of Colossae and so communication between the two congregations would have been expected. Nympha is named only here; I think it is logical to assume that she was the hostess of the little congregation that had been started in Hieropolis, which was only just across the valley from Laodicea. There is a hint in verse 16 that there was also a letter from Paul to the Laodiceans; if so, it has been lost. The mention of Archippus is the best evidence we have that Philemon was indeed part of the congregation in Colossae, because Archippus is greeted also in the letter to Philemon (1:2). The charge to him in verse 17 may indicate that he was the one Paul expected to support his request to Philemon that Onesimus not be punished.
18: Several of Paul’s letters contain this epilogue (1 Corinthians 16:21, 2 Thessalonians 3:17, Philemon 1:19).
Takeaway
Every Christian should be part of a church. We can’t be followers of Jesus all by ourselves. The connection we have to a congregation is the platform of our faith.