©Kris Gerbrandt
Chapter 16:21-27 (ESV) - 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.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.
Question to consider: What do you consider to be the most important thing you’ve learned from this letter?
The group that was traveling from Corinth to Jerusalem to deliver the material blessing to the church consisted of the men mentioned in today’s passage. This journey was described by Luke in Acts 20:1-16 where they had just come from Macedonia and were traveling through Greece. Paul considered Timothy to be his spiritual son and would carry on after he was executed. Lucious may have been another name for Luke since he traveled with Paul and wrote his own account of Christ’s ministry and the early church. Lucious was from Cyrene and may have either been a friend or close relative of Simon who carried Jesus’ cross. Sosipater was probably the one Luke called ‘Sopater the Berean’ and Gaius the one Luke called ‘Gaius of Derbe’. Gaius may have been the one whom Paul mentioned that he baptized in 1 Corinthians 1.
When Tertius said that he “wrote this letter”, he did not mean that he authored it but actually penned Paul’s words (an amanuensis). It was thought that Paul’s eyesight had diminished to the point where he wasn’t able to write it himself.
The benediction which is in italics is not found in some of the early manuscripts, but it certainly summed up Paul’s desire for the church. Paul ended his letter with a doxology that summarized the heart of his message— the very gospel for which he was not ashamed, the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. The mystery of the ages was revealed through Christ that God was reconciling people from all nations to Himself. All of this was done so that God would be glorified forevermore through Jesus Christ.
Dear heavenly Father, thank You for providing us with this letter which has helped us to understand the mercy You have given us through Christ. May we also be not ashamed to admit our own failure to obtain righteousness by the Law and therefore cling to Christ. Amen.