The Faith – the things we know and believe, also know as Christianity or Messianic Judaism was at its best and purist form in the middle of the first century when it was led by Messiah’s hand-picked Jewish apostles.
Let’s learn from this letter to Philemon, written by one of those emissaries, one who represented the Lord – Rabbi Paul, along with his disciple Timothy, about what the normal Christian life was like in the first century, and what it should be like for us today.
Here is the background: It is 61 AD, about 30 years since the Messiah, the Son of God, 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 His ascension and the giving of the Spirit to those who believe, 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 – tremendous 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 and ministry. Paul is now an older man. This was his first of two Roman imprisonments. From a Roman prison 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 in prison, 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 the letter is the need to show grace. I like what Charles Ryrie wrote in his introduction to this letter in the Ryrie Study Bible. He gives us a brief synopsis of this letter. “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 begin: 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:
Paul, a prisoner of Messiah Yeshua can be understand in two ways, and both are true – that Paul is a prisoner of Messiah Yeshua and that Paul is a prisoner because of Messiah Yeshua. First, Paul, a prisoner of Messiah means that even though Paul may be a prisoner of the mighty Roman empire, and an enemy of the state, there is a greater reality. Mighty Rome doesn’t control Paul and can’t decide his ultimate fate. Paul is under the authority of Another – the Emperor of a greater state than that of Rome, Messiah Yeshua, the Almighty Son of God! Not Caesar, but the Lord Yeshua will ultimately decide what will happen to Paul – both in this world and in the World To Come. Messiah will determine if he will be punished in this world, or released; whether he will live or he will die – in this world or in the World To Come. And, Paul knew that he was not facing punishment from Messiah, but rather a great reward! Therefore Paul was a prisoner of Messiah Yeshua.
Outwardly, Paul may have been a prisoner of Rome, but he knew that inwardly he was a free man, a man who belonged to and served Messiah Yeshua. Paul did not consider himself free to do whatever he wanted to do. Paul considered himself to be a slave of Messiah, a servant of Messiah, a prisoner of Messiah, limited by the Son of God as to what he could do and where he would go for instructions, for orders, for directions. And, if that meant spending a couple of years in a Roman prison, and serving the Lord in physical confinement, that was OK by Paul.
What a different perspective Paul had from that of world! The Rabbi from Tarsus did not allow himself to be defined by what the state thought of him, or did to him. Knowing that he belonged to Another, he had inner freedom and peace and happiness, even though he was in prison. That spiritual perspective is freeing, liberating, exhilarating! That’s the first way this can be understood – Paul, a prisoner who belongs to Messiah Yeshua.
The second way this can be understood is that Paul is a prisoner because of Messiah Yeshua. The reason why Paul is confined in a Roman prison is because this bold Jewish evangelist was proclaiming the truth throughout the Roman empire – that there was another kingdom, a better kingdom, an eternal kingdom, rules by a better King – God the Father, the High King, and the Son of the High King, the Lord Yeshua the Messiah, the King who ruled under the High King.
Paul had been courageously telling Jews and Gentiles in the Roman Empire that they were in rebellion against the true King, the High King of Heaven and His Son, and therefore were facing punishment for participating in rebellion. But the High King wanted to pardon them. And He made it possible for them to be reconciled to Himself by coming to Him on His terms – and becoming loyal to Him, and submitting to Him and His Son.
The people of the Roman Empire, from mighty Caesar to the millions of slaves who served the Romans, had to stop doing the things that displeased the King and start doing those things that pleased Him. This was a radical message that upset those who were part of the false religious systems of that day, and the political leaders who benefitted from the support of those false religions. As a result, Paul had been arrested and imprisoned by those corrupt authorities. Therefore, Paul was a prisoner of Messiah Yeshua, because of Messiah Yeshua.
But, the greater reality is that what Paul had been doing was not a crime and was nothing to be ashamed of. What the Sage from Tarsus had been doing was good, something wonderful, something brave and true and honorable! But, boldly telling the truth in a fallen world that is satanically controlled and is in rebellion against God and is under a curse will cause a reaction from ungodly forces. Opposition and persecution, even arrest and imprisonment, may take place. Those things may happen and must be endured, but they are nothing to be ashamed of.
This letter was not only written by Rabbi Paul, but was also written together with another. This short letter about grace, redemption and reconciliation had dual authorship. Timothy was a Messianic Jewish leader and one of Paul’s closest disciples. Timothy had accompanied Paul on his second missionary journey. Timothy was now in Rome with Paul, helping Paul, supporting and encouraging his mentor during his time of imprisonment, and he authored this letter along with Paul.
Paul, a prisoner of Messiah Yeshua, and Timothy our brother: Timothy was more than just a disciple, a student who learned from the teacher. Paul described Timothy as “our brother” – Paul’s spiritual brother, brother being one of the closest human relationships, a relationship based on love and loyalty, a relationship founded on common bonds and concerns, a relationship of mutual support and care. That is the way that Christians and Messianic Jews felt about each other in the First Century, and that is the way we are to understand and try and relate to all of our fellow believers -who because our common beliefs and loyalties are a large family of brothers and sisters. Therefore we try to love and support and care for and help and encourage one another.
Next Paul and Timothy address to whom they are writing this letter: 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. Philemon was a leader of the New Covenant Community in Colossae. Apphia may have been his wife, and Archippus may have been his son – but we don’t know for sure. We do know that there was a community of Messianic believers that met in Philemon’s home.
Notice the words used to describe these people – dear friend, fellow worker, sister, fellow soldier. These people were friends, close friends of Paul and Timothy. They were fellow workers – they had all worked together, working for the Lord by engaging in evangelism and building up the community in Colossae. They were brothers and sisters who loved and cared for one another. They were fellow soldiers. They were all fighting in a war, a great and ancient cosmic battle between the forces of good and evil, God and Satan, the good angels and the fallen angels.
How different an attitude this is from that of so many today, whose understanding of their connection to the New Covenant Community is one of “church-goer”, or who think they are fulfilling their duty to God by merely “going to services”; who only come and hear and then leave; who are not close to or connected to the leaders; who are otherwise not involved; who don’t act like brothers and sisters; who don’t see themselves as soldiers in a raging battle, and are not willing to be bold and courageous and get hurt, but flee like cowards from the battlefield.
Don’t be like that! Be a friend of the people who are part of this community! Be a fellow worker with the leaders here – me and Rabbi Glenn and Dave Goldstein, and the rest of the people who serve the Lord through Shema. Get involved! Do something to help, to work, to serve – by engaging in evangelism outside the community and building up the community from within. Consider yourself to be a soldier in the army of Adonai Tz’va-ot, the Lord of Armies. Don’t seek a life based on personal comfort. Don’t make an easy life, even a safe life your goal, but rather be willing to get into the battle. Do what a dedicated spiritual soldier needs to do! Courageously and boldly proclaim the truth about God and Messiah and mankind’s lostness and the possibility of salvation; inform the fallen sons and daughters of Adam and Eve about the realities of Heaven and Hell. Be willing to endure suffering and hardship, attack and persecution and opposition! That was SOP – Standard Operating Procedure in the middle of the First Century, and it should be Standard Operating Procedure for each one of us today!
If that is you – close friend of the people in God’s New Covenant Community; a fellow worker; a brother or sister; a fellow soldier – you will get all the help, all the support, all the grace and peace that you need from the All-Sufficient and All-Powerful Three-In-One God of Israel!
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Yeshua the Messiah! What a nice prayer! It’s short yet it asks the Father and the Son to do so much!
Understand that this Jewish Rabbi believed in one God, and yet he knew that this One God had Three Distinct Persons – Father, Son and Spirit, who share the same divine nature and will. Although the Spirit is not mentioned here, the Spirit is a divine Person – like the Father and the Son, with mind, emotion and will, yet the Spirit is a Person without a body. The Spirit is the invisible, all-present presence of God.
There is perfect unity and oneness among the Father, Son and Spirit regarding their nature, purpose and will, but there is a distinction of Persons and a hierarchy of authority. God the Father is highest in position and authority within the Trinity. The Lord Yeshua is the Son of the Father. Like the Father, the Son is fully divine, sharing the name and nature, deity and essence of the Father. The Son is one in will, one in nature with the Father, yet distinct to the Father as to His Person; and under the authority of the Father as to His position. The Father orders and commands the Son. The Son submits to and obeys and executes the orders of the Father. The Son plans with the Father, agrees with the Father, and then carries out the will and plans and directives of the Father.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Yeshua the Messiah is a request that God, who is the good Father of all of those special human beings who are His beloved sons and daughters; and the Lord Yeshua the Messiah, the Lord, the One who is in charge of those sons and daughters, the One who has the right to lead and direct those sons and daughters; Yeshua, whose name, whose nature, whose purpose for coming to Earth means help, deliverance, rescue, salvation for those sons and daughters; the Messiah, the long-awaited and ultimate Prophet, Priest, King and Savior; the ultimate revealer of God to man and the final spokesman for God; the supreme mediator between God and man, bringing us closer to God and God closer to us; the king who has the right to rule over Israel and the nations; the Savior from Satan, sin and death and anything else – it is a request that God our Father and the Lord Yeshua the Messiah give grace and peace to these sons and daughters in Colossae.
Grace is unmerited, unearned, undeserved help. Peace is shalom – wholeness and completeness and everything-that-you-really-needness. So, when the Spiritual Titan from Tarsus and Timothy ask God the Father and the Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who are all-powerful and have all the resources in the universe and more – to bless the believers in Colossae with grace and peace, they are requesting that the sons and daughters of God, even though they may be flawed, incomplete, unworthy, are given all the help they need to succeed; that all their needs (not wants, but needs) in every area will be supplied to them, so that in a fallen and satanically controlled world they can still do the will of God and live a successful, God-honoring, God-pleasing life, and be rewarded with eternal life in the world to come!
May God our Father and the Lord Yeshua the Messiah bless each one of us with grace and peace! And, may we learn from this divinely inspired Rabbi and representative of the Lord Yeshua the Messiah, and from his student Timothy, to pray for one another, that God would bless us with grace and peace.
Let’s pray: Avinu Malkaynu, our Father and our King, help us to be more like the First Century Church that is reflected in this short letter.
May we care less and less what the world thinks of us or the way the world treats us, but care more and more what You think of us.
Help us to have seriousness of purpose. May we not be mere church attenders or service goers, but much more! May we be fellow workers, working hard together and working to serve You!
Help us to be more and more like one big family, made up of brothers and sisters who are committed to each other and to You.
Raise up among us humble yet authoritative servant-leaders, godly leadership like Paul and Timothy. Help us to become Your soldiers, bold and courageous and fearless. Even though we may be a persecuted minority, may that not stop us from relentlessly fighting for You, knowing that we are on the winning side!