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The Faith
- the things we know and believe, also known as
Christianity or Messianic Judaism, was at its
best and purist in the middle of the First Century
when it was led by Messiah’s hand-picked Jewish
apostles. Let’s learn from this short letter to
Philemon, written by one of those very special
emissaries, a human being chosen by God to represent
the Lord - Rabbi Paul, along with his disciple
Timothy, about what the normal Christian life
was like in the First Century. That will challenge
us to be better Christians and Messianic Jews
today.
Here is
the background: It’s about 30 years since the
Messiah, the One who is correctly called Immanuel,
which means God With Us, died a terrible death
on a Roman cross, but then rose from death, and
ascended to Heaven to be at the right hand of
God the Father - where He is right now! By means
of the incarnation, and Messiah’s sinless life,
and His atoning death, and resurrection and ascension
and the giving of the Spirit to those who believe
in the Son of God, our greatest enemies, the very
real forces of Satan, sin and death were overcome!
Rabbi
Paul, one of the greatest men of God who ever
lived - scholar, apostle, emissary, representative
of Messiah to the Gentiles, passionate evangelist,
author of much of the New Testament, is getting
toward the end of his life. Paul is now an older
man. This was his first of two Roman imprisonments.
From a Roman prison or from house arrest, the
Rabbi from Tarsus and his disciple Timothy, who
was with him wrote this letter to Philemon, who
was a leader in the church in Colossae, a city
in ancient Asia Minor, which is now present day
Turkey. Even though he was in prison or under
some kind of house arrest, Paul was not alone
in Rome. He had a team who worked with him and
were with him, including Timothy, Luke and others.
The main
subject of this letter is the need to extend mercy
and grace. I like what Charles Ryrie wrote in
his introduction in the Ryrie Study Bible.
“Onesimus, one of the millions of slaves in the
Roman Empire, had stolen from his master, Philemon,
and had run away. Eventually, he made his way
to Rome, where he crossed the path of Paul, who
led him to faith in Messiah. Now Onesimus was
faced with his Christian duty toward his master
by returning to him. Since death would normally
have been his punishment, Paul wrote this wonderful
letter of intercession on Onesimus’s behalf”.
Let’s
start at the beginning of this letter and continue
where we left off two weeks ago: Paul, a prisoner
of Messiah Yeshua, and Timothy our brother, to
Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker, to
Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier
and to the church (congregation, community) that
meets in your home. After Paul and Timothy
identified themselves as the authors, and specified
those to whom they were writing, they prayed a
short but deeply meaningful prayer for these saints
in Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God
our Father and the Lord Yeshua the Messiah!
Grace
is unmerited, unearned, undeserved help. That
is a tremendous thing! Peace is wholeness, completeness
and everything-that-you-really-needness, and that
is a marvelous thing to ask God the Father and
the Lord Yeshua the Messiah, to bless the sons
and daughters of God with - that even though
they may be flawed, incomplete and unworthy, that
the Father and the Son give them all the help
they need to succeed; that all their needs in
every area will be supplied, so that in a fallen
and satanically controlled world they can live
a successful, God-honoring, God-pleasing life,
and be rewarded with eternal life in the World
To Come! We need to be praying for one another
to receive grace and peace.
At this
point in the letter, Paul takes over the writing
and addresses Philemon, the head of the community
that met in his home. I always thank my God
as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear
about your faith in the Lord Yeshua and your love
for all the saints. I pray that you may be active
in sharing your faith, so that you will have a
full understanding of every good thing we have
in Messiah. Your love has given me great joy and
encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed
the hearts of the saints.
Paul thanked
God for Philemon for several reasons: because
Philemon knew that Yeshua was the Lord and Savior,
and Philemon had transferred his loyalties to
the Messiah. It is a marvelous thing when a human
being becomes faithful to the Son of God. It is
something very special, something that honors
and pleases the Father, something to thank God
for. And Paul thanked God because Philemon loved
God’s saints, His holy, special people whom the
Lord had set apart to accomplish some very special
purposes. Philemon loved the children of God.
He tried to do what was best for them. He cared
for them. He served them. He went out of his way
for them. He tried to build them up spiritually
and physically. He may have opened his home to
traveling servants of God and gave them room and
board and hospitality. And, when a human being
cares for God’s set-apart people in real and tangible
ways, and helps them physically and spiritually,
that is wonderful and brings happiness and encouragement
to those who know the Lord. God loves his sons
and daughters, and Philemon’s love for God’s people
was something to thank God for.
Philemon
was a good spiritual leader in the First Century
Church. That’s why Paul prayed that the influence
of Philemon’s knowledge and faith and love for
God and man would extend further and further,
and encourage and bring joy to more and more people.
Paul and
Timothy complimented Philemon by addressing him
as a dear friend and fellow worker. Paul praised
his faith and love and thanked God for him and
prayed for him. Now the Rabbi gets to the purpose
of this letter, which is to ask Philemon to be
gracious and merciful to his run-away slave, Onesimus,
whose circumstances had dramatically changed since
his last interaction with Philemon. Therefore,
although in Messiah (which means because I
am joined to Messiah, and because of my position
as one of Messiah’s apostles, one of Messiah’s
representatives to people on Earth; because of
my spiritual authority that Messiah has given
me) I could be bold and order you to do what
you ought to do, yet I appeal to you on the basis
of love.
This is
an important principle in dealing with God’s people
- that if possible, it is better to deal with
them by appealing to their sense of right and
wrong; appealing to their conscience; appealing
to their sense of duty; appealing to virtues like
love. Relating to people on the basis of power,
force and authority is inferior. It is better
to appeal rather than to command, to have people
who are motivated from within rather than from
without. Slaves may need to be forced. Sons and
free men are to be appealed to. Paul had the spiritual
authority as one of Messiah’s representatives
to command obedience, but he knew it was better
to appeal.
Paul appeals
to Philemon to act in a gracious and merciful
way toward his run-away slave on the basis of
love. I could be bold and order you to do what
you ought to do, yet I appeal to you on the basis
of love - love - Paul’s love for Onesimus;
Philemon’s love for Paul, and Paul’s love for
Philemon; and their mutual love for the Three-in-One
God. Love is a powerful force and a very strong
motivator. Human beings will do things they may
not want to do, things that are not in their self-interest,
if they are motivated by love.
Next the
Rabbi lists some additional factors that should
motivate Philemon to respond positively to the
appeal for grace and mercy that Paul is making:
I then, as Paul - an old man and now also a
prisoner of Messiah Yeshua. Paul is an old
man and a good man, and old and good men are to
be respected and honored. Paul is also
a prisoner who has been unjustly imprisoned, and
prisoners who have been unjustly imprisoned should
be pitied and helped so that their lives are made
better. So, Paul adds the factors of old age and
unjust imprisonment to appeal for love, hoping
that these factors will help motivate Philemon
to do what Paul is about to ask him to do - to
forgive Onesimus and not punish him for stealing
from him and running away.
As Philemon
is receiving this appeal, Paul lets him know that
he needs to consider others important things.
I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became
my son while I was in chains. Formerly he was
useless to you, but now he has become useful both
to you and to me. Onesimus had become a Christian.
He had become close to Paul, like a son. And this
escaped slave had been undergoing a genuine transformation.
He was no longer a thief. He was no longer a useless
slave, but was now useful - useful to God, useful
to Paul, and he would be useful to Philemon, if
Philemon was gracious and forgiving to him. Onesimus
was beginning to fulfill name - which means useful.
Why would Philemon want to punish someone who
was a new Christian and finally becoming useful
- the way God intended him to be?
Paul lets
Philemon know that Onesimus had become very close
to him. I am sending him - who is my very heart
- back to you. Paul loved Onesimus. And, if
someone we love, loves someone, we try to do good
for the one that the one we love, loves.
Being
loyal to God means obeying God-ordained rules.
Now that Onesimus was a Christian, he needed to
follow the laws of God and the laws of man. The
laws of the Roman Empire required slaves to serve
their masters. It was Onesimus’s Christian duty
to return to Philemon. Paul lets Philemon know
that he would have preferred something else -
that Onesimus remain with him. I would have
liked to keep him with me so that he could take
your place in helping me while I am in chains
for the Good News. But I did not want to do anything
without your consent, so that any favor you do
will be spontaneous and not forced. We are
our brother’s keeper. If a Christian is arrested
because he has been declaring the Good News about
salvation from the forces of Satan, sin and death
that is possible by the coming of the Son of God
into this world, and by Messiah’s death, burial,
resurrection, ascension and giving of His Spirit,
then other Christians have a responsibility to
help that brother.
It was
Philemon’s duty to help Paul in his imprisonment.
Philemon was not there to help Paul, but his slave
Onesimus was, and he was an adequate substitute.
But, Paul was respectful of Roman law, even though
it embraced an evil like slavery; and, Paul was
respectful of the principle I mentioned before
- that it is better to deal with God’s people
by appealing to their sense of right and wrong,
appealing to their conscience and sense of duty;
appealing to virtues like love, and not dealing
with them on the basis of power, force and authority.
And so even though Paul wanted to keep Onesimus
with him in Rome, Paul decided that the right
thing to do was to send him back to his master
in Colossae. Then, Philemon might freely choose
to send Onesimus back to help Paul. Even though
this solution was inconvenient and difficult for
Paul, and for Onesimus, and for Philemon, it was
God-honoring thing to do.
Philemon
had a right to be angry with his slave who stole
from him and ran away. Philemon even had the right
to turn Onesimus over the authorities, who may
have put Onesimus to death. That was the law.
But, greater purposes were at work, and the Sage
from Tarsus wanted the leader of his Christian
community to consider what God was doing. Perhaps
the reason he was separated from you for a little
while was that you might have him back for good
- no longer as a slave, but better than a slave,
as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even
dearer to you, both as a man and as a brother
in the Lord. Lord is able to use bad things
to bring about a greater good - like Joseph being
unjustly sent to prison but then being promoted
to Prime Minister of the mighty Egyptian Empire
and then being in a position to save thousands
of people from famine; like Yeshua being unjustly
executed, but because of His innocence and His
death, then being able to provide Messianic salvation
to the entire world!
Paul sensed
that the living God was at work in these unusual
circumstances with Philemon, Onesimus and himself.
The Invisible God Who Works Behind The Scenes
to help and deliver had brought Philemon’s escaped
slave to Rome and to the influence of one of the
greatest evangelists who ever lived. The God Who
Alone Is Able To Save had used temporary separation
to create eternal unity; to turn a relationship
of master-slave into the superior relationship
of brother-brother! This was something wonderful,
something to be happy about. It would have been
wrong for Philemon to use the law and have Onesimus
punished. Grace and mercy and forgiveness were
needed, not law.
Paul continues
his appeal to Philemon to treat Onesimus well
based on shared values and interests. So if
you consider me a partner, welcome him as you
would welcome me. I am sure that Philemon
did consider Paul his partner. Their common loyalties
to the Kingdom of God; their shared beliefs; the
spiritual work they engaged in, serving the Lord
together; their mutual desire to bring the Good
News to a lost and dying world made them partners
- partners who wanted to treated each other well.
Because of his new loyalty to the Three-In-One
God, Onesimus had entered Paul and Philemon’s
fellowship. Because of his faith, this slave whom
Paul felt very close to had become another partner.
So, it only made sense that Philemon treat this
new partner well, just as he would treat his partner
Paul.
Truth
and wisdom and reason help to create peace and
understanding. So does money! Adding practical
things - like money for restitution, also helps
bring peace and understanding. If he has done
you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it
to me. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand.
I will pay it back.
God had
used Paul to do a very important thing for Philemon.
Not to mention that you owe me your very self.
I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit
from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Messiah.
Paul reminded Philemon that he owed him his
life. It could be that the Jewish Rabbi was the
one who first brought the eternal life-saving
message to Philemon. When someone saves your life,
you owe them a big debt. If Philemon owed Paul
his very life, and if Paul was calling in just
a small portion of that debt - asking him to be
gracious to Onesimus, Philemon owed it to Paul
be gracious to Onesimus.
Paul was
confident that the leader of this New Covenant
Community would respond positively to this well-reasoned
appeal: Confident of your obedience, I write
to you, knowing that you will do even more than
I ask.
Paul was
hopeful that his first Roman imprisonment was
about to end. And one thing more: Prepare a
guest room for me, because I hope to be restored
to you in answer to your prayers. When he
was released, the intention of this great servant
of God was to go east from Rome to Colossae, where
he expected to be received into the home of his
hospitable friend and partner and brother, Philemon.
I mentioned
before that Paul was not alone in Rome. Others
were there with him, either in prison like him,
or assisting him and working with him in evangelism
and building up the community in Rome. Epaphras,
my fellow prisoner in Messiah Yeshua, sends you
greetings. And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas
and Luke, my fellow workers.
This short
letter ends like it began - with a short, powerful
prayer for grace - God’s unmerited, unearned,
undeserved blessings - which is exactly what Onesimus
needed. The grace of the Lord Yeshua the Messiah
be with your spirit.
I conclude
by observing from this short letter some of the
things that characterized Christianity/Messianic
Judaism in the First Century. These are things
that more and more we should try to become:
- Their identity was rooted in God - not what
the world thought of them or did to them. Though
they were arrested and imprisoned, they knew
they belonged to God who loved them.
- They had a sense of victory, that no matter
what the world did to them, the world couldn’t
overcome them.
- They tried to see the Creator at work in
all of their circumstances, even if those circumstances
weren’t good - circumstances like prison, or
damage caused by an escaped slave.
- They had an expectation of rejection by the
world and a willingness to suffer.
- They had very close relationships and serious
commitments to each other. They had a strong
sense of partnership and teamwork. They were
a community characterized by love, fellowship
and hospitality.
- They had good servant-leadership. The leaders
were strong, godly, yet humble.
- They had shared spiritual and moral values.
- They knew the importance of grace, mercy,
forgiveness, redemption.
- They served the Lord together, working hard
in evangelism and building up the community.
- They prayed a lot. They prayed for one another.
- Because of all of these things, they had
a happiness that was not dependant on the world
or their circumstances.
May God make us more and more like the New Covenant
Community of this part of the First Century!
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