ROMANS 16

The first issue to deal with is the authenticity of this chapter. It has been placed in doubt for several reasons:

(1) The oldest existing manuscript of Romans (Chester Beatty Codex, 3^rd cent.) ends with Chapter 15.

(2) It is doubted that Paul would have known so many people at the church in Rome if he had never been there.

(3) He greets Prisca and Aquila, who lived in Ephesus at the time. Because of this fact it has been hypothesized that ch. 16 is a fragment of a letter by Paul to the Ephesians.

Each one of these objections can be countered:

(1) Other very old manuscripts have this chapter, and it was not unusual for the start or end of a scroll to get detached and lost.

(2) There was a great deal of travel in the Roman Empire at this time period, especially to Rome, the capital of the empire. So it is not unlikely that Paul would have known believers there, especially since Christians were a close-knit community.

(3) We will deal with Prisca and Aquila toward the end of the lesson and show some archeological evidence supporting the authenticity of Chapter 16.

First see what structural analysis has to say about authenticity of Chapter 16.

Partial Structure of Romans

I. Greetings (1:1-7)

II. Gospel as the Power of God (1:8-17)

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II'. Gospel Preached by the Power of the Holy Spirit (15:14-33)

I'. Greetings (ch. 16)

Sections II and II'

A. One of the more obvious parallels between these two sections is Paul's expressed wish to visit Rome and impart a spiritual blessing to the church there.

B. “Gospel,” “power” and “Christ” are associated in this letter only in these two sections (at 1:16 and 15:19).

C. Other parallel language: “God's will,” “debtor,” “spiritual,” and “prayer.”

Sections I and I'

A. Both are greetings.

B. Common language: “Jesus Christ, “gospel,” “apostle,” “scriptures,” a reference to prophetic writings, “all nations” and “the obedience of faith.”

Several writers state that the theological importance of these paired sections is “to bracket the book within a christological context from which to interpret Paul's missionary activity to the Romans.”

Despite those who doubt the authenticity of the closing chapter, Mullins puts the matter bluntly: “We can not, for example, simply lop off the last chapter or two and say that they are not part of the letter. The opening and closing are too obviously supplementary for such a solution to hold.”

Even if this chapter is authentic (as I believe), what in the world can we get out of a list of greetings that makes it important enough to study? Like genealogy lists,even these are filled with interesting facts and possible applications. I thought I would have trouble coming up with enough material to teach from but got so much from my sources that I didn't even consult the four largest commentaries on Romans in my library.

First, these lists remind us that these epistles are real letters to real people just like ourselves, not just “Holy Scriptures.”

Second, it is interesting that Paul concludes the greatest theological tract ever written with remembrance of specific people's names. I had a pastor who remembered the names of all the children in our congregation. It has been said that just as Hebrews 11 has been called the picture gallery of OT saints, we may call Romans 16 the picture gallery of NT believers.

Here are some interesting statistics:

1) All but three of the names are Gentile, not Jewish.

(2) Also half of the names are the same as those found on inscriptions associated with the Emperor's household.

(3) And 1/3 of the names given in this chapter are women. “Paul was a pioneer in the recognition of the function of women in Christian service and his attitude has been much misunderstood in this sphere.” So this will be a somewhat feminist lesson today.

Romans 16:1-2

We begin right off the bat with a controversial subject.

Phoebe was a deaconess (NIV prefers “servant”). Verse 2 also calls her a helper (i.e., patron or protector, probably wealthy). But was she a deaconess? Here are four lines of reasoning:

1. In 111 AD a Roman governor reported that he had tortured two deaconesses of the church to see if they would reveal any secrets about the Christian's religious rites (cannibalism was suspected).

2. The phrase “of the church” denotes a more or less official position.

3. Luke 8:1-3 may provide early evidence for such a role for women.

4. I Timothy 3 outlines qualifications for elders and deacons. The literary structure of I Timothy 2-3 (see below) starts out talking about all the men and then narrows the discussion down to a particular class of men in the church. Similarly, instructions for all the women are given in 2:9-15 and then to a narrower class (“deaconesses”) in 3:11.

The only other reasonable possibility in v. 11 seems to be that deacons' wives are being described, but if so then “wives” rather than “women” would have been used, such as in the very next verse. Early Church Fathers took 1 Timothy 3:11 as qualifications for deaconesses. But the fact that little detail is given to those qualifications leads some to feel that the office is not as important as that of a deacon, but more like that of a deacon's assistant.

The Structure of I Timothy 2-3

A. Men – all (2:1-8)

B. Women – all (2:9-15)

A'. Men – bishops and deacons (3:1-10)

B'. Women (3:11)

A''.Men – deacons (3:12-13)

Since this is a letter of introduction, it is assumed that Phoebe was the one who actually carried the Letter to the Romans to them from Paul – without a woman we wouldn't have this letter to study. Warren Wiersbe: “Never did a messenger carry a more important letter.” N. T. Wright stated that since she was the letter carrier, and it would have been her job to read the letter to the congregation and answer any questions about its contents. Other scholars doubt the first part of Wright's contention but not the second one.

Cenchreae is the port of Corinth.

v. 2. Barclay: “There should be no strangers in the family of Christ.”

Romans 16:3-4

v. 3. Four out of the six times this couple is mentioned in the NT, Prisca (Priscilla) is listed first, highly unusual for those times. It has been assumed that she was the more prominent Christian of the two. The first we hear of them they were in Rome but were evicted due to the edict of Claudius. They moved first to Corinth where Paul stayed with them while they all engaged in tentmaking / leather working. They then followed Paul to Ephesus where they corrected the doctrines that the scholar Apollos was teaching. When Paul wrote I Corinthians, Priscilla and Aquilla were still with him in Ephesus. Since that is where we hear of them last before this letter was written, some scholars feel the letter to the Romans was really a letter to the Ephesians. It is just as likely that since Claudius had died, they were free to return to their home city of Rome. However, by the time of writing of 2 Timothy 4:19, they were back in Ephesus.

v. 4. Apparently they had saved Paul's life in or near Ephesus; we have no further details but it may have been associated with the events of Acts 19:23ff when Demetrius the silversmith started a riot over Paul's teaching.

Romans 16:5-10a

v. 5a. The early church had no official buildings. The names that follow are those who attended this particular home church.

v. 5b. What a wonderful way to be remembered throughout the centuries as the first in a whole continent to accept Christ.

v. 7. Andronicus and Junias are kinsmen (NIV says “relatives,” i.e., Jewish-Christians). However, their non-Jewish names, their status as “apostles,” and their early belief suggest that they might have been Hellenistic Christians in the Jerusalem church among those mentioned in Acts v. 6. Most interestingly, Junias is not a name found anywhere else in early documents and is probably in fact Junia, a woman (an apostle!).

v. 8. Ampliatus is a slave name. Archeologists may have located his grave in an early Christian catacomb in Rome. The elaborately carved tomb indicates he was a person of some prominence in the Christian community. However, there was only his one name on the tomb inscription, not the three names that all free citizens had, indicating that he was a slave. One's status in the eyes of the church is totally different from status in the world's eyes.

v. 9. Urbanus is another slave name.

v. 10a. “Approved” = well-tried. See 2 Corinthians 10:18.

Romans 16:10b-11a

v. 10b. This begins the second list of names. Aristobulus was the grandson of Herod the Great and was known to have lived a private life in Rome. His family would have included slaves and officials.

v. 11a. Herodion is another “kinsman” of Paul.

Romans 16:11b-13

v. 11b. Narcissus was probably the infamous counselor to Emperor Claudius who became rich by taking bribes and who committed suicide after Nero came into power shortly before this letter was written. At that time his household of slaves would have passed to the emperor. Read Philippians 4:22. They possibly became “the saints of Caesar's household.” It shows how Christian influence could have spread even to Caesar's own house. It is also interesting that only those in this household who “are in the Lord” are greeted. That indicates that not all were saved.

v. 12. Tryphaena and Tryphosa were probably twin sisters. There may be a subtle play on words here by Paul since he calls them “workers,” in contrast to their names, which derive from tryphao (“to live a life of ease or luxury”). A total of four women are said to have “worked hard” (toiled).

Persis appears in a Roman inscription as a freed slave woman.

v. 13. Rufus may be the one also mentioned in Mark 15:21 as the son of Simon of Cyrene, who carried Jesus' cross. This is likely since the Gospel of Mark was probably written to the church at Rome and they would know of Rufus and Alexander. It is not known when Rufus' mother may have taken care of Paul.

Romans 16:14-16

v. 14. By early church tradition, Hermes was the the author of apocryphal NT book called The Shepherd of Hermes (or Hermas) written about 90 AD probably from Rome. It contained moral teachings, an allegory somewhat like Dante's Inferno, and a vision or revelation. This book was included in the NT canon by some early Christian churches.

These five men may have been leaders of a church because of the phrase “and the brethren who are with them.”

v. 15. Philologus = lover of wisdom, Julia is probably his wife.

Nereus: According to early church tradition he was the slave overseer of the household of Flavius Clemens (a consul of Rome) and his wife Domatilla. (niece of Emperor Domitian). Domitian exiled them all in 95 AD after they were convicted of being Christians. There is speculation that this slave may have converted them to Christianity.

Again, these may have been leaders of their house church due to the phrase “and the saints who are with them.”

v. 16. “Holy kiss” is also mentioned by Paul in I-II Corinthians and I Thessalonians. It is probably what Peter refers to in I Peter 5:14. A kiss was the normal greeting at that time; it could be on the lips, forehead, hand, or even a blown kiss. Our equivalent is shaking hands in greeting one another at the start of our church service. One document from mid-2nd century AD states that the kiss took place after opening prayers and before communion.

“All the churches of Christ” Usually Paul uses the phrase “all the saints” of a particular church. The exceptions are here and once in I Corinthians. He probably avoids the usual plural “churches” in order to stress that there is only one Church.

Romans 16:17-20

There is a surprising admonition here. Some assume that word about disturbing events in Rome may have reached Paul at this point of his writing, which prompted him to give this warning. Because of the great number of words used here that appear nowhere else in Paul's writing, others feel it is a later addition to the letter. Sometimes structural analysis can answer such a question, but not in this case. The symmetry shown below for the literary structure of Chapter 16 works just as well with or without these verses.

The Structure of Romans 16

A. Phoebe commended for her helpfulness

B. Greetings to Roman Church

C. Warning

B'. Greetings from Paul's Companions

A'. God commended for his ability to strengthen

v. 17. “Take note” here means to use such behavior as an example of what not to do, just as the same phrase was used in Philippians 3:17 as a call to follow a good example. Sometimes a bad example is almost as useful as a good one to guide your behavior (as I found in my workplace experience).

v. 18. Two possible interpretations of this verse:

a. They follow their appetites (or lusts) for food, sex, power, etc. For a similar teaching, see Philippians 3:19. Larry Crabb: The same word for appetite appears in John 7:38 where “it refers to that deep part within us that only Christ can fill. Those who don't know what it means to depend on Christ to satisfy their inmost being will experience an ache in their souls that relentlessly drives them toward immediate relief.”

b. Others feel that it may mean an obsession with clean and unclean foods (i.e., Judiazers).

v. 18b. “fair words” = plausibility (The Greek definition of word was to speak well and act ill.)

v. 19. This may be an interpretation of Matthew 10:16. The only other place in the NT where “guileless, innocent” appears is Philippians 2:14-15. The word is usually applied to undiluted wine or unalloyed (pure) metal.

v. 20. “God of peace” is appropriate term for such a situation; it was used earlier in Romans 15:33. It is interesting that the God of peace is a God of action in this sentence. Barclay: “The Christian must ever remember that the peace of God is not the peace which has submitted to the world, but the peace which has overcome the world.” There is a reference to Genesis 3:25. Also see 2 Corinthians 11:13-15, which is especially interesting since that chapter starts out (v. 3) with a reference to the serpent deceiving Eve. Paul infers that these trouble-makers are working for Satan.

I was once sorely tempted to characterize those who were vocal in a church business meeting as certainly meeting this definition of “creating dissensions.” And then I found out that an e-mail was widely circulated among the church members stating that the committee I was on was serving the cause of darkness. We all need to get back to the ideal of peace and stop pointing our fingers at others.

Romans 16:21-23

v. 21. Of the three Jewish compatriots with him in Corinth, Timothy is of course well known. Possible identification of the next three:

Lucius of Cyrene – (a) Early on some felt this was in fact St. Luke, even though Paul elsewhere calls him Lucas, not Lucius or (b) it was a prophet and teacher from Antioch (Acts 13:1).

Jason may have been Paul's host at Thessalonica during events described in Acts 17 when some visiting Jews started a riot and Jason's house was attacked. Being a Christian is not always a popular thing to be.

Sosipater is probably a longer form of Sopater of Beroea (Acts 20:4), who went with Paul from Corinth to Asia.

v. 22. The amanuensis (secretary) gives his own name, Tertius (the third) just as Quartus (the fourth) is in next verse. Some commentators say these must be slave names, while others state that they were never used for slaves.

v. 23. At this point, Paul himself may have written the postscript, as he does elsewhere.

Gaius, his host in Corinth, is probably the one mentioned in I Corinthians 1:14 as someone that Paul had personally baptized. He is “almost certainly” the man known as Titius Justus (whose full name would be Gaius Titius Justus) in Acts 18:7 and possibly is the same Gaius that 3 John is addressed to. The whole church at Corinth appears to meet in his house.

The pavement outside the theater in Corinth (dated to 1st cent AD) was excavated in 1929. The inscription reads “Erastus, in return for his aedileship (aedile = curator of public buildings or commissioner of public works), laid this pavement at his own expense.” This was about the highest ranking civil service job in the city. One usually had to work their way up from lesser jobs, like treasurer.

Erastus was a rare name – the only official known by that name.

1. It confirms the tradition that Paul wrote Romans from Corinth.

2. It confirms the authenticity of Chapter 16.

3. The end of 2 Timothy states that Paul left Erastus in Corinth (not stated elsewhere in Paul's letters). That indicates that 2 Timothy is an authentic letter of Paul, despite many opinions to the contrary.

Barclay: “Gaius is a host, Quartus is a brother. What one word will people remember you by when you are gone?”

Romans 16:24

Does anyone have this verse in their Bible? “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” This is identical to Romans 16:20b but is not found in the earliest manuscripts. In various manuscripts, this phrase occurs in either of those two positions, or even after verse 27.

Romans 16:25-27

v. 25. Some think that “my Gospel” is a reference to the Gospel of Luke which Luke wrote under Paul's direction. Doubtful. Paul uses this phrase elsewhere. Here it is more likely that he is talking about the spiritual message in this letter itself.

“Mystery” – Christianity is not a “mystery religion” with secrets only for the initiated. The only times “mystery” is used in the NT, it is immediately followed by a revealing of the mystery. In this case, Paul is referring to the inclusion of Gentiles in God's people (see Ephesians 3).

vv. 25-26. Summary: the Gospel strengthens us, has its origin in Christ, is transmitted (preached) by men, is attested by God in Old Testament prophecies, is the consummation of all history, is for all mankind, and results in obedience, faith and trust.

 v. 27. NIV/RSV give misleading translations in the word order. In the Greek, it literally reads “to the only wise God through Jesus Christ be glory forever.” That may indicate that the wisdom of God is revealed to us through Jesus Christ. (Colossians 2:2-3 – Paul prays that they might have “the knowledge of God's mystery, of Christ, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”)