For several months I have been pulling myself out of my warm, toasty bed at the crazy time of 5:20 a.m. to meet a group of -oh-so-worth-it ladies at 6:00 a.m. Being so-not a morning person, I hesitated to begin a group at this time, but this was the best time for all of the other moms. We have journey through several studies and today, we completed our study on Colossians. This is the end of Colossians 4. Many of us thought this wasn't necessary to study, but KNOWING God's word is living and breathing and useful for all training, I knew there had to be more than meets the eye. ...and is there!
Final Greetings
7 Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. 8 I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts. 9 He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here.
10 My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.) 11 Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews among my co-workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me. 12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. 13 I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis. 14 Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings. 15 Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house.
16 After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea.
17 Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.”
18 I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.
I researched to find out why Paul spoke of these people - Tychicus (vv. 7-8),
Onesimus (v. 9), Aristarchus (v. 10), Justus (v. 11), Epaphras (vv. 12-13),
Luke (v. 14), Archippus (v. 17), and one lady named Nympha (v. 15) in his closing remarks.
Tychicus is also found in Ephesians 6:21, as he is called a "dear brother and faithful
servant in the Lord", while in Colossians, he says he is "a dear
brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord." In both
Ephesians and Colossians, Tychicus is sent to
the Christians in order to encourage them. Paul
seems to have a special love towards Tychicus as he calls him a ‘beloved’
brother and faithful minister. When Tychicus is mentioned five (5) times in the New Testament (Acts 20:4; Eph 6:21; Col 4:7; 2 Tim 4:12; Tit 3:12). He was an Asiatic Christian
and a close friend and companion of the apostle Paul. He was the primary letter
bearer of Colossians, Philemon and Ephesians.
Onesimus
(from oninemi which was a common slave name that means to be of use, to profit) is the escaped slave of the
Epistle to Philemon. Onesimus
, the man with the sinful past, is the runaway slave whose return to his
master was the occasion for the book of Philemon. Philemon was one of the
leaders of the Colossian church, and it is likely that the church met in his
home. Onesimus had been a slave in
Philemon’s household until he ran away and made his way to Rome. There he met
the apostle Paul, who led him to Christ. Now he was returning to Colossae and
his master. Paul wrote to urge Philemon to forgive Onesimus for running away
and defrauding him and to welcome Onesimus as a brother in Christ. Onesimus
was a living testimony to the power of the gospel
to transform a life. Paul tells the Colossians that the man who left Colossae
as a runaway slave now returns as "one of your number".
Clearly he was to be treated as a member of the church, because in Christ ..There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man,
there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Gal 3:28). Paul in
fact shows his high regard for Onesimus
by having him, along with Tychicus, inform the Colossians about Paul’s
situation in Rome.
Aristarchus whose name means "best ruler" was a Jewish
believer. (Acts 20:4; 27:2) who traveled with the Paul on his
third missionary journey through Asia Minor (Acts 19:29; 20:4; 27:2). Aristarchus is one of Paul's
travel companions (Acts 19:29; 20:4; 27:2; Philemon 24). He is currently in
Rome in prison as is Paul. It is clear that Paul is able to communicate with
him regularly. They may even be staying together, guarded by the same guard. Aristarchus first
appeared during Paul’s three year ministry at Ephesus. He was seized by the
rioting mob, who recognized him as one of Paul’s companions (Acts 19:29) and later preceded Paul to
Troas (Acts 20:4-6). A faithful
companion and friend, he accompanied Paul on his return trip to Jerusalem (Acts 20:4), and on his voyage to Rome (Acts 27:4) where he attended Paul while he
was in prison. . Aristarchus is called a Fellow prisoner.
(sunaichmalotos from sun
= with, together with + aichmalotos = literally taken captive by sword,
a prisoner of war). In a sense Paul is a prisoner in Rome as the result of
"spiritual war".
Barnabas is a character we know fairly well....as he has earned the nickname "Son of Encouragement". .Acts 4:36 and 11:23 bear witness (cf. Acts 9:27) to this. Barnabas was the kind of man whom everyone
would want as a best friend. No matter how bad things were, no matter how terrible you might feel, no matter how badly you may have failed or think you have failed, Barnabas is the one to speak words that you needed to hear or serve you in a way that would lift your spirits. Barnabas doesn't leave when you complain to much or you are just too much work. You can
always count on him being there. He wouldn't ignore your sin,, but you would know that he would rebuke you. However, the rebuke wouldn't be as painful, because you know that he loves you. The bible described Barnabas as generous in Acts 4:36-37. . He was a “good” man (Acts
11:24; He was “filled with the Spirit” and “full of
faith” (Acts 11:24; i.e., rock solid and spiritually steady, no matter the
circumstance, always looking confidently to the trustworthiness and sufficiency
of Jesus). In summary, he could be counted on, (see Acts
11:29-30; 12:25). May we all strive to be more like Barnabas.
Mark (AKA Barnabas' cousin, AKA John Mark) John
Mark is also with Paul in Rome at this time. But this is where our Christian Conflict comes in. “And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord” (Acts 15:39-40). The “clash” was precipitated by something recorded for us
in Acts 13:13-14 during Paul’s second missionary journey. “Paul
and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And
John [Mark] left them and returned to Jerusalem, but they went on from Perga
and came to Antioch in Pisidia.” Luke doesn’t tell us at this point why John
Mark “left them”, nor does he suggest at this stage that his decision was wrong
or sinful.
When Paul
reached the cities of south Galatia he was quite ill (see Galatians 4:13-15).
He may have contracted malarial fever which could be reduced by leaving the
climate of the low-lying coastal plain and going to the coolness of the Taurus
plateau some 3,500 ft. above sea level. A few have argued that perhaps Mark
thought Paul was foolish in making the decision to go north over the mountains
and decided it was unwise to accompany him. There is also
the possibility that as a loyal member of the church in Jerusalem he disagreed
with Paul’s policy of evangelizing Gentiles and granting them equal status in
the church. Some suggest it was Mark who provoked the Judaizers in Jerusalem
into opposing Paul (cf. Acts 15:1ff; but we just don't know for certain). Other reasons for Mark's refusal to go along are his fear of bandits, thieves, and muggers who infested the
Taurus mountains into which Paul insisted they go (cf. 2 Corinthians 11:26). Even yet, perhaps his fear of persecution (cf. Acts 14:19) kept Mark for going along. Whatever the
reason for Mark’s refusal to continue with Paul and Barnabas, whatever excuse
he used to make a hasty retreat to Jerusalem and the comforts of home, Paul
took it as a sign of weakness, immaturity and unreliability.
Following the
Jerusalem Council (Acts 15), Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit
the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see
how they are” (Acts 15:36). Barnabas wanted Mark to come along, “but Paul
thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia
and had not gone with them to the work” (Acts 15:37-38). : “And there arose a
sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark
with him and sailed away to Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and departed, having
been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord” (Acts 15:39-40). Barnabas would
not have disputed the fact that Mark blew it badly when he deserted them in
Cyprus. Sin is sin. He no doubt agreed with Paul that Mark failed miserably on
his first outing, but Barnabas also believed Mark had sincerely repented and should
be welcomed back and given a second chance.
Who was right, Paul or Barnabas or both? Paul believed that Mark needed to prove his reliability before being entrusted with such an awesome responsibility. But Barnabas believed he also needed encouragement, love, and acceptance. We need to not judge too quickly or draw decisive conclusions about the goodness of people from a singular incident. What can we learn from Barnabas? We learn that even those who fail are not to be abandoned .. . They are to be lovingly rebuked, corrected and then encouraged until conviction grips their hearts and they repent. We learn that failure such as this is not grounds for permanent exclusion from ministry.
Remember, Mark had gone on Paul's first
missionary journey with Barnabas, but had left early. As he planned his second
trip, Paul wasn't eager to include him, causing Mark and his cousin Barnabas to
set out on their own missionary trip to Cyprus (Acts 12:12, 25; 15:37-39; 2 Timothy
4:11; Philemon 24). But later...time passes, hurt feelings are healed, argument are set aside. We see in Colossians 4 that the rift has healed and Paul has left instructions to
the churches to receive Mark openly.
Another awesome thing to remember is God redeems all things! God providentially brought good out of
this fuss. With Paul and Barnabas splitting up and going their
separate ways, two missionary teams instead of one are unleashed on the
unbelieving world. Paul took Silas with him, while Barnabas took Mark. We must
never justify our failures or sins by saying, "it is no big deal..God will make it all good"...., but it is reassuring to know that God can redeem for His glory.
Humility helps heal. It
would appear that although Mark abandoned them, he has returned on his own
initiative. This was a courageous and humbling act on his part, demonstrative
of the reality of his repentance. Note also that Mark was not only received back by Paul,
but was restored to ministry as well! Paul too had to show humility (recognition that he too is only who he is because of God's grace) for this reconciliation to occur. I found this on a bible Study website on humility : The Christian ought to emulate Christ's example ( Matt 11:28-30 ; 2 Col 10:1 ) of meekness and humility. Humility is the foremost test of a truly great person or leader ( Luke 22:24-27 ). Paul's teachings and life ( Acts 20:18-21 ) emphasize and elucidate Christian humility. Recognizing he was the chief sinner ( 1 Tim 1:15 ) and the least saint and apostle ( 1 Cor 15:9 ; Eph 3:8 ) he gloried in the grace of God ( 1 Cor 15:10 ; cf. 2 Cor 12:9-10 ) and in the cross of Christ ( Gal 6:14; cf. 1 Cor 1:18-2:5 ) rather than self-righteousness ( Php 3:3-9 ). http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/humility/
It boils down to this...we know who God is, we know HE is the good in us. We know that we can do no good thing without His Holy Spirit. Humility is living out Phillipans 2.
Therefore, Paul calls on the church in Colossians 4:10 to fully restore Mark and adds this comment: “concerning whom you have received
instructions – if he comes to you, welcome him.” Evidently Mark’s restoration
had not been fully acknowledged by all.
So how did Mark get over himself and his own hurt feelings in this "sharp disagreement'? We have to guess and hypothesize, but this is what I was able to find. Barnabas and the constant encouragement that he gave Mark certainly helped. Also Peter was Mark’s spiritual
father (1 Peter 5:13)....and we all know that Peter knew a bit about failure himself! (You will deny me three times before the rooster crows). Peter knew the joy
of restoration as well. No doubt Peter's advice and prayers and support proved
invaluable to Mark on his journey back. Finally, Paul’s principles, his rebuke,
and the discipline on which he insisted on being needed must also have played a role (“Better
is open rebuke than hidden love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse
are the kisses of an enemy,” Proverbs 27:5-6.
Now, Paul is at the end of his life. His ministry
is nearly over. Of all the people he could have asked to come and support and
encourage him, guess whom he mentions? “Get
Mark(!) and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry” (2
Timothy 4:11b).
Mark? Useful? For ministry? Indeed! Isn’t God’s grace amazing?
(part 2 soon).
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