Romans 16 ~ Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well

Romans 16

1 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant (1 Or deaconess ) of the church at Cenchreae, 2 that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well.

3 Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 4 who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. 5 Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert (Greek firstfruit ) to Christ in Asia. 6 Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. 7 Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles, (messengers) and they were in Christ before me. 8 Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. 9 Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys. 10 Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus. 11 Greet my kinsman Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. 12 Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. 13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well. 14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers (Or brothers and sisters; also verse 17 ) who are with them. 15 Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. 16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

17 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. 18 For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, ( their own belly) and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. 19 For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. 20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

21 Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you; so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen.

22 I Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord.

23 Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus, greet you. (Footnotes, verse 24 - some manuscripts insert: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.)

25 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 26 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— 27 to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

(Footnotes are in parenthesis.)

Who Were Rufus and his mother?

Not Paul's biological family. Rufus is not a common name in New Testament times, (later this became a popular name and is one of my family names) but appears in Mark 15:21.

²¹A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross.

It is not certain it is the same Rufus, some Biblical scholars lean in that direction. Cyrene was on the north coast of Africa, north of Benghazi, Libya. I, personally, find it thrilling & a tear-jerker that Simon, the bystander, carrying Jesus' cross that day, would have children mentioned casually later. Who wouldn't have been changed by standing with Jesus in his time of great sacrifice.

Cyrene did not have a large number of Jews, but to read Romans 16 - in the first century A.D. - this letter would have been shocking to the Jews. And a shock to more conservative Christian churches today. Most of the names are Greek or Latin, 11 of the names are women. And some women have a position of some authority. Not as priests, but deaconess, or a servant. Paul sees them, not just as fellow workers, but his family & recognizes them 9 times with the words: beloved, kinsman, mother or messenger. Messenger isn't an unusual term here, he is talking about angels. Paul sees his family as people willing to risk their necks for his life.

This funny portion, at the end of Romans, called chapter 16, is actually quite important. People sitting at home, reading their bible, should realize we all see the great apostle Paul, who never built a cathedral, was not the nomadic waif only relying upon God. Paul was known to proclaim, when we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, we are the Temple of God. He was not saying become an island, he was a joyful member of Christian community. Something Father God sees as families living on earth and in heaven. Ephesians 3:15.

To the Christian church today, Paul is saying people are not separated by class, position, hierarchy of belief, but all are beloved family. The youth of today would say, "Peace Out", & pound their chest with a fist twice. And Paul would add, "Peace Out, My Beloved", with an enormous hug.

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