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Today, we are continuing our journey along Route 66, and we are stopping off to visit Paul’s letter to Philemon…
AUTHOR
Philemon is one of the uncontested letters of the Apostle Paul.
DATE
Paul mentions more than once in this brief letter that he is a prisoner. Thus, we conclude that this letter must have been written during one of Paul’s imprisonments. The question is: which one? Many scholars think this letter was written during Paul’s final imprisonment in Rome, so about AD 62 or perhaps a little later. Some scholars think this letter was written during Paul’s imprisonment in Ephesus, and so earlier than 62. I tend to think this is one of Paul’s later letters, written from Rome.
Onesimus, the slave about whom this letter is written, appears in one other letter of Paul, the letter to the Colossians. In his final greetings, beginning in Colossians 4:7, Paul says…
Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts. He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here.
From this we get the idea that Philemon was a resident of Colossae. Tychicus was a traveling companion of Paul mentioned in Acts 20. He is also mentioned in Ephesians and 2 Timothy. As we saw during our study of 2 Timothy, that letter was almost certainly written during Paul’s final imprisonment in Rome.
THEMES
Paul wrote this letter to Philemon, a wealthy Christian living in Colossae and a slave-owner. One of Philemon’s slaves, Onesimus, had run away, and perhaps helped himself to some of Philemon’s money in the process. Such an act was punishable by death under Roman law.
However, somehow, Onesimus had met Paul and through Paul became a believer in Jesus Christ. Now Paul had a dilemma on his hands. He knew that Onesimus was a runaway slave. Paul also knew Onesimus’ master, Philemon. Paul concluded that he could not simply keep Onesimus with him as a helper and disguise this fact from Philemon. There was only one thing that Paul could, rightly, do, and that was to send Onesimus back to Philemon, but he would not send him alone. Paul chose to send Onesimus back to Philemon along with his trusted companion Tychicus and with a cover letter to Philemon. Paul uses his gentle art of persuasion to, hopefully, help Philemon see this situation with Onesimus in a new light.
STRUCTURE
Philemon has a very simple structure to it, like most first century letters…
- Greetings (1-3)
- Thanksgiving and Prayer (4-7)
- Plea for Onesimus (8-21)
- Final Request, Greetings and Benediction (22-25)
KEY CONCEPT: SLAVE TO BROTHER
Paul’s letter to Philemon is a short one, so let’s read all twenty-five verses. Listen for God’s word to you…
Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,
To Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker— also to Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier—and to the church that meets in your home:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people.
Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love. It is as none other than Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus— that 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.
I am sending him—who is my very heart—back to you. 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 gospel. But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do would not seem forced but would be voluntary. Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever—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 fellow man and as a brother in the Lord.
So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. 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—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 Christ. Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.
And one thing more: Prepare a guest room for me, because I hope to be restored to you in answer to your prayers.
Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
Let’s examine this brief but important letter, section by section…
The Greeting
It would be easy to skip over the Greeting in this letter thinking there is nothing important or essential here. But each part of this letter is carefully constructed to achieve an overall effect.
Notice first how Paul begins by identifying himself as a prisoner. In his other letters, Paul stresses his apostleship, but not here. Here he identifies with the lowliness of Onesimus the slave, right from the get-go. Paul is a prisoner in Rome with barely any more rights than Onesimus.
Secondly, notice that Paul is not writing alone. Timothy joins with him in sending this letter. So, right from the start, there is a sense of the larger church being involved in something that on the surface seems like any other personal letter in the first century sent from one friend to another.
Thirdly, notice how Paul identifies Philemon. He is Paul’s fellow worker. Paul puts Philemon on the same level, and he notes that they are involved in a work that is larger than either of them, namely, the work of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Fourthly, Paul mentions Apphia and Archippus. Because Paul’s greeting suggests that these two people live in the same house with Philemon, it is assumed that Apphia is Philemon’s wife and Archippus is their son, and that they are all Christians. Furthermore, there is a church, a gathering of believers in Jesus, that meets in their home. So, this letter is, indirectly, not just addressed to Philemon, but to the church in Colossae, and the whole church is being asked by Paul to judge in this matter the right course of action.
Thanksgiving
Now, let’s examine the thanksgiving. This prayer is obviously not simply addressed to God, but it is addressed to Philemon as well. Paul begins this letter by praising Philemon. Philemon has love for all God’s holy people. He has faith. He is Paul’s partner. There is that all-important word again. Furthermore, Philemon’s love has given Paul great joy and encouragement because Philemon has refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people.
We might be tempted to say that what Paul is doing here is “buttering up” Philemon. But really, Paul is just a skillful communicator. He understands human relationships and how they work. It is always better to begin by praising people when, perhaps, you also have a difficult word to say to them.
There is a lesson for us in this: it is important to look for the good in others. It is tempting for us to look at Philemon, from our twenty-first century perspective and say that he is an evil person because he is a slave-owner. But no one who still has breath in their lungs is purely evil. There is some good in everyone, and Paul knows this. It is also important for us to understand this letter from a first century perspective before we put on our twenty-first century glasses.
The Plea
Now let’s examine Paul’s plea for Onesimus. Paul begins by reminding Philemon that since Philemon is a Christian and Paul is an Apostle of Christ, he could command Philemon. He could simply tell Philemon what to do and expect him to obey. But Paul chooses not to do that. He chooses, rather, to appeal to Philemon based on love. Paul knows that decisions based upon love have a way of sticking much longer than decisions based upon sheer obedience. Being forced to do something is quite different from freely choosing to do something.
Paul is showing us here a model of Christ, and in a way, a model of God himself. I do not believe God forces us to do anything. Christ does not twist our arm. God has given us freedom of choice, and despite how painful that might be at times, God never withdraws that gift of freedom. Rather, he appeals to us, based upon love, to do the right thing.
Next, Paul re-iterates that he is a prisoner, and he adds that he is an old man. This is an interesting personal note. Scholars think that at most Paul was 60 years old when he wrote this letter. He may have been as young as 40. But we must remember that during the time of the Roman Empire, life expectancy at birth was a brief 25 years. So, from a first century perspective, Paul was indeed an old man when he wrote this letter.
Next, Paul finally reveals to Philemon why he is writing this letter. This letter is only 504 words long in English and Paul doesn’t even mention Onesimus until the 195th word. I think that is very clever. Paul is setting things up very carefully before he makes his pitch, his plea.
I wonder, if you or I were in Paul’s situation, and we were writing a letter to a friend who was a slave-owner, could we persuade that friend in 500 words to set his slave free? Granted, we don’t know for certain how Philemon responded to this letter. But it is, nonetheless, quite amazing what Paul achieves in this very brief missive.
Paul proceeds to tells us some very important facts about Onesimus. First, Paul says that Onesimus became his son while he was in chains. In other words, Onesimus has become a Christian through Paul’s witness.
Secondly, Paul has a delightful play on words in verse 11. He tells Philemon that Onesimus was formerly useless to him, but now he has become useful to both Philemon and Paul. Onesimus’ name means useful. So, this is quite a skillful play on words. Apparently, Onesimus was a very unproductive slave. But now, as a Christian, he will be useful to Philemon and to Paul in some way, presumably in their partnered work of the Gospel.
Thirdly, Paul tells Philemon how much he loves Onesimus. Paul has become so attached to Onesimus that to send him back to Colossae is like sending a part of himself, like ripping out his own heart and sending it to Philemon. Paul says he would have liked to keep Onesimus around to help him in his Gospel work, but he didn’t want to keep Onesimus without Philemon’s consent. And so, he is going to ask a favor of Philemon. What Paul is going to suggest Philemon should do is posited as a personal favor. Again, this is very skillful human relational negotiating.
After this very skillful set-up, Paul makes his pitch. He suggests to Philemon that perhaps this whole episode of Onesimus running away happened for a reason. The reason being that Onesimus would run into Paul, become a Christian, and thus be sent back to Philemon, no longer as a slave but as a brother in Christ. And that is precisely how Paul asks Philemon to receive Onesimus. Paul asks Philemon to welcome Onesimus just as he would welcome Paul.
Next, Paul makes it clear to Philemon that he will personally pay anything that Onesimus owes to Philemon. And in making this offer of restitution, Paul reminds Philemon that he owes Paul his very self. This seems to suggest that Paul saved Philemon’s life in some way, perhaps by introducing him to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Paul quite boldly asks Philemon for a return on his personal investment in him. And then Paul makes his final pitch… “Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.” I believe Paul is asking Philemon to set Onesimus free without explicitly asking him to do so. Again, the human communication displayed here shows the utmost skill and tact.
Closing
In the closing of this letter, Paul asks Philemon to prepare a guest room for him. It seems that Paul is expecting to be released from prison in response to Philemon’s prayers, and so he plans to visit Philemon.
Paul closes this letter as he does his other correspondence, by mentioning the other believers who are with him. Then his final word at the end is a repeat of the beginning of the letter. Paul begins and ends this letter with that key word “grace”. Grace is what Paul expects Philemon to show to Onesimus.
Now, I realize that many people today criticize Paul because he never comes right out and says that slavery is wrong. But think for a moment what would have happened if Paul did that. Tom Wright explains that, in the first century, slavery…
…was as natural as owning a car or a television is for people in the Western world today. Indeed, most people would wonder how you could get on without them. To us, of course, slavery is now abhorrent. To them… it was like electricity, gas, or cars. You couldn’t imagine society without it. Suggesting you should get rid of it altogether was about as realistic as suggesting today that we should abandon all electric appliances and petrol-fired transport, including cars and planes.[1]
So, if Paul had written to Philemon with a blanket statement against slavery, Philemon might never have listened to him. But going about it the way Paul did, probably led to a positive result. Fifty years after Paul’s letter to Philemon, the Christian martyr, Ignatius, wrote a letter to the Church at Ephesus in which he had much to say about their wonderful bishop. And that bishop’s name was Onesimus. Furthermore, Ignatius makes the same pun as Paul. He basically says that the Bishop of Ephesus is Onesimus by name and Onesimus by nature, “the profitable one”. So, it seems, that Philemon did release Onesimus from slavery and that this same Onesimus later became the Bishop of Ephesus.
There is one final thing we must note and that is Paul’s great statement in Galatians 3:28 where he says, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” That is Paul’s great statement on the equality of all people in Jesus Christ.
William Barclay says, “There are some things which cannot be suddenly achieved, and for which the world must wait, until the leaven works.” Paul put the leaven in the dough when he wrote his letter to Philemon and when he wrote Galatians 3:28. Granted, it took time for that leaven to cause the bread of justice to rise. But rise it did when the efforts of one Christian, William Wilberforce, led to the abolition of the slave trade in the British Empire in the early 19th century. If you don’t know Wilberforce’s story, watch the movie Amazing Grace.
Grace really is amazing, not just in the way it saves us for eternity, but in the way it changes our world here and now. I wonder, how is grace changing our lives and our world for the better today?
[1] Tom Wright, Paul for Everyone: The Prison Letters, Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2002, p. 199.
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