“Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you; so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen. I Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord. Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus, greet you.” -Romans 16:21–23
By including the greetings of the fellow laborers with him, Paul is fostering unity amongst the believers throughout the world, ratifying his epistle by showing others had consented to its content, and lifting up models of faithful Christians to whose character and service the Roman Christians can also aspire.
Among those present with Paul is Timothy, the younger pastor to whom Paul wrote two epistles that were recorded in canon. Paul’s commendations of Timothy throughout Scripture, testify to his remarkable character. In his second letter to him, Paul refers to him as his “beloved child” (2 Timothy 1:2). In his letter to the Philippians, he writes,
“I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know Timothy’s proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel” (Philippians 2:19–22).
Some have speculated the Lucius was Luke the physician (Colossians 4:14) who traveled with Paul to document his missionary journeys and wrote the Gospel of Luke and The Acts of the Apostles. However, this is probably not the case, as Paul says of Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, that they are his kinsman, fellow Jews in Christ. Luke (Loukas) is Greek.
Jason and Sosipater are likely Paul’s fellow Jews mentioned in Acts 17:5–9 and Acts 20:4, respectfully.
Paul often used a scribe to write his letters, perhaps because of his poor eyesight (Galatians 4:15 cf. 6:11), though it was not uncommon to do so; he did occasionally write letters or portions of letters with his own hands, however (Cf Galatians 6:11; 2 Thessalonians 3:17; 1 Cor. 16:21; Col. 4:1). Here Tertius is serving as Paul’s scribe.
There is much speculation about the identities of Gaius, Erastus, and Quartus but it is nearly impossible to conclusively do so. What is most important to know is that they were hospitable and committed to Paul’s ministry and Paul’s gospel.
In sum, let us be encouraged by the numerous individuals who, at a time when it was dangerous to do, were following Jesus by following Paul (1 Corinthians 11:1). Christianity was born and blossomed in a particular region of the world at a particular time in history and there were particular individuals who lived, preached, served, suffered, and died for Christ.
These fellow-workers, like Paul, were not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it was and is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16-17).
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