Romans 16
McGeeCHAPTER 16THEME: Commendation of Phebe; Christians in Rome greeted; conduct toward other Christians; Christians with Paul send greetings; benedictionIn this final chapter of Romans the gospel walks in shoe leather in the first century of the Roman Empire. It thrills my heart to know that in the pagan Roman Empire there were Christians, witnesses for Christ, walking down the streets of those cities with the joy of the Lord in their hearts. I consider this one of the most revealing chapters that we have in the Epistle to the Romans. Paul has left the mountain peaks of doctrine to come down to the pavements of Rome. Here we see Christianity in action. The great doctrines which Paul proclaimed are not missiles for outer space.
They are vehicles which actually operated on Roman roads. The gospel was translated into life and reality. This remarkable chapter should not be omitted or neglected in any study of Romans. William R. Newell has well said, “The sixteenth chapter is neglected by many to their own loss” (Romans Verse by Verse, p. 548). There are thirty-five persons mentioned by name in this chapter. All were either believers living in Rome or they were believers who were with the apostle Paulhe was probably in Corinth when he wrote this epistle. There is expressed a mutual love and tender affection which was a contradiction of Roman philosophy and practice. (Also, it is rather unlike some churches today!) These Christians were different. Little wonder that Rome marveled at these folk and exclaimed, “My, how these Christians love each other!”
Romans 16:1
COMMENDATION OF PHEBEThe chapter begins with a commendation of Phebe, the woman who brought this epistle to Rome. Phebe is the first believer mentioned in this, another catalog of the heroes of the faith. She was a Gentile, as her name indicates. As I have already stated, there were many Gentiles in the church at Rome. She was named for the Greek goddess, Artemis or Diana, who in Greek mythology was the goddess of the moon, as her brother, Apollo, was the god of the sun. Many believers adopted new names at baptism, but Phebe kept her heathen name for some reason. Phebe was the bearer of the Epistle to the Romans. Apparently she was a very prominent woman in the church, which means she was a woman of ability. She is called a “servant of the church which is at Cenchrea.” Cenchrea is the eastern seaport of Corinth. When I stood at the ruins of ancient Corinth, I looked down and saw in the distance Cenchrea. On that clear day, it looked much closer than the eight or nine miles it is said to be. Apparently Paul wrote the Epistle to the Romans while he was at Corinth, and Phebe, who may have been a woman of means or engaged in business, took it with her to Rome.
She is called a servant of the church, which means she was a deaconess. The Greek word diakonos is the same word used for deacon. It reveals the fact that women occupied a very prominent place in the early church. It is my feeling that we would not be seeing women today occupying the position of pastors in the church (which is forbidden by Scripture) if they had been given their rightful position in the church. I think they should be deaconesses in the church and that they should sit on an equality with any other board of the church. The church needs some of the insights and sensibilities that women possess. God has made a woman finer than a man, just as a watch is finer than an automobile. She has been given a sense that man doesn’t have. For instance, she can watch a woman who is a complete stranger to her, and in five minutes she knows a great deal about her simply by observing her dress and her manner.
Those of us who belong to the male side of the human race appear stupid at a time like that. We can see if she is good looking or not, but that is the extent of our observation. The church needs the insight that a woman has. Paul apparently put into Phebe’s hand this Epistle to the Romans rather than trusting it to public transportation. Rome did have mail service, but it was slow. Paul, you see, is going back to Jerusalem, and Phebe brings his epistle with her to Rome. “I commend unto you Phebe our sister"Paul commends her to the believers there at Rome. She is the first woman mentioned in this final chapter.
Romans 16:3
CHRISTIANS IN ROME GREETEDNow Paul sends his greetings to quite a list of Christian folk. At this time there were gentile churches, you see, and I believe the church at Rome was largely gentile, made up of many races. It was integrated for sure. “Priscilla and Aquila” were a Jewish couple. How had Paul met them, and in what way were they his helpers? Well, there had been a wave of anti-Semitism that had swept over the city of Rome, and Priscilla and Aquila had had to leave. They came to the city of Corinth while Paul was there and set up shop. Corinth was a good commercial center, and Paul was also plying his trade there. Since they were all tentmakers, this drew them together (see Act_18:1-3), and Paul led them to the Lord.
Then they were with Paul at Ephesus. Perhaps they had gone over there to open up a branch store. In Act_18:26, we find that they were able to be helpful to Apollos: “And he [Apollos] began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.” Notice that when we first meet them it is “Aquila and Priscilla.” Now here in Romans it is Priscilla and Aquila. Why are the names reversed? Well, I think here is a case when the woman became dominant in spiritual matters. Spiritually she became the leader, although they were both outstanding workers for Christ.
Romans 16:5
The local church met in private homes at the very beginning. (See Act_12:12; 1Co_16:19; Col_4:15; Phm_1:2.) Sanday writes, “There is no decisive evidence until the third century of the existence of special buildings used for churches.” It is the belief of many folk today, and I have found this belief for years, that the church which began in the home will return to meeting in the home. Many of these great big buildings we call churches, with great steeples on them, are nothing more than a pile of brick, stone, and mortar. They are mausoleums, not living churches that contain a real, living body of believers. The church was never intended to be spoken of as a building. For the first three centuries the church was the body of believers and met in homes like that of Aquila and Priscilla. Epaenetus is a Greek name meaning “praised.” Evidently he was Paul’s first convert in the Roman province of Achaia.
Romans 16:6
Mary is a Jewish name, the same as Miriam, meaning “rebelliousness.” She “bestowed much labour on us” means that she labored to the point of exhaustion. What a change had taken place in her life! Before becoming a believer, she was in rebellion, but now she “knocks herself out” for the sake of other believers, because she is now obedient to Christ.
Romans 16:7
Andronicus is a Greek name, and the name has been identified with a slave. Junia is a Roman name and can be either masculine or feminine. Paul calls them “my fellow countrymen,” which may mean that they belonged to the tribe of Benjamin as did Paul. It does not necessarily mean close blood relationship. Paul says, they were “my fellow prisoners.” Evidently Paul had met them in one of the numerous prisons of the Roman Empire. These two were well-known to the apostles and were held in high regard by them. Paul had not led them to Christ, as is the natural assumption, for they were in Christ before he was. The church in Rome was founded by Paul under most unusual circumstances. He had met Aquila and Priscilla in the Corinthian agora, the marketplace, and then he met these two men in jail. These had then gone to Rome and formed the church there.
Romans 16:8
Amplias is a common slave name and occurs in the tombs of the early Christians in the catacombs, always in a place of honor. He evidently was one of Paul’s converts and dear to his heart. Urbane means “city bred.” In other words, his name actually means “city-slicker.” This was also a common slave name, and it may mean that he was brought up in the city rather than in the country. He is identified as a real worker among believers. Stachys has been found listed in the royal household. It is a masculine name. He was beloved not only to Paul but to the church.
Romans 16:10
Apelles is the approved one. His is either a Greek or a Jewish namethe name was a common one among the Jews. He had stood some outstanding test. Tradition identifies him as bishop either of Smyrna or Heracleia. Aristobulus has been identified by Bishop Lightfoot as the grandson of Herod the Great. Or possibly he was a slave who took the name of his masterwe can’t be sure of this.
Romans 16:11
Herodian was evidently a Jew, as Paul calls him a fellow countryman. The name suggests the Herod family. He may have been a slave who adopted the name of the family to which he belonged. Narcissus is the name of a well-known freedman put to death by Agrippina. The one whose name appears here was probably a slave who formerly belonged to him and had taken his name.
Romans 16:12
Tryphena andTryphosa are euphonious names that mean “delicate” and “dainty.” I imagine these two little ladies were old maid sisters who came to know Christ. They may have been women of means, and they had supported the apostle Paul. Paul says that they labored “in the Lord"they were real workers in the church at Rome. “The beloved Persis” is another woman who “laboured much in the Lord.” Persis is the name of a freedwoman, and her position may have enabled her to do more than the preceding two sisters.
Romans 16:13
Although this man seems to stand in the shadows in this chapter, actually we can know a great deal about himeven to the color of his hair! His name means “red.” Red was the name by which he was called. However, there were many red-haired folk; it was not his hair that made him unusual. The thing that marks him out is the phrase that follows, “chosen in the Lord.” I love that. “But,” you may say, “were not the others in this chapter chosen in the Lord also?” Yes, they were all wonderful saints, but this man was outstanding. Perhaps a better translation would be “distinguished in the Lord.” He was a great saint of God. That Rufus was prominent in the church is inferred in the reference to his father. When John Mark wrote his Gospel, he wrote it primarily for the Romans. In it he mentions the incident of a man by the name of Simon carrying the cross of Christ. “And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross” (Mar_15:21). The Roman soldiers that day saw Jesus falling under the cross. Looking over the crowd they shouted, “Here!” to a big double-fisted fellow, Simon of Cyrene. “You come here and carry it.” And carry it he didan act that has made him immortal. John Mark, writing to Rome, identifies Simon for them by adding, “the father of Alexander and Rufus"all the saints at Rome would know Rufus because he was outstanding in the church. Will you notice further that Paul’s greeting includes the mother of Rufus. “Salute Rufus …and his mother and mine.” While we know nothing of the mother of Paul the apostle and nothing of his father, we learn here of a godly woman in the city of Jerusalem, the wife of Simon the Cyrenian, who was like a mother to the apostle Paul. You may recall that the first time Paul came to Jerusalem following his conversion, the Christians feared him. They were unconvinced that this powerful Pharisee was genuine; they suspected trickery. Yet the mother of Rufus took Paul in, “You just come in and stay with Rufus in his room.” Looking back to that time, Paul writes concerning her, “She is Rufus’ mother, but she is mine also.” What a lovely tribute to this warmhearted Christian mother!
Romans 16:14
These are all just names to us, but Paul knew them. Probably he had led them to Christ.
Romans 16:15
Here is another group of believers who were in the church there in Rome.
Romans 16:16
CONDUCT TOWARD OTHER CHRISTIANSThis was the formal greeting in Paul’s timeI don’t recommend it for today!
Romans 16:17
Paul puts in this word of warning. We would do well to heed this warning also, my beloved.
Romans 16:19
You see, their faith came abroad also, but the faith is manifested in obedience. “Wise unto that which is good” means they must be instructed in the Word of God. “Simple concerning evil” means without a mixture of evil. To the Corinthians Paul said, “Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men” (1Co_14:20).
Romans 16:20
It is “the god of peace” who will put down Satan shortly. In the meantime we are to resist the Devil, be sober and vigilant.
Romans 16:21
CHRISTIANS WITH PAUL SEND GREETINGSNow Paul sends greetings from those who were with him as he was writing this Epistle to the Romans. All of these were companions of Paul. They send greetings to their fellow believers in Rome.
Romans 16:22
Paul, you see, had an amanuensis, a secretary, to write his letters. (The Epistle to the Galatians is the exception.)
Romans 16:23
Paul was staying in the home of Gaius, and Gaius wanted to send his salutations also.
Romans 16:25
BENEDICTION"The mystery” means that it had not been revealed in the Old Testament. It refers to the present age when God is taking both Jew and Gentile and fashioning them into one body, the church.
Romans 16:26
Here we see the obedience of faith. When you trust Christ, you will obey Him, my friend. The Lord Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (Joh_10:27). Obedience is the work and fruit of faith. My favorite hymn is “Trust and Obey” by John H. Sammis: When we walk with the Lord In the Light of His Word, What a glory He sheds on our way! While we do His good will, He abides with us still, And with all who will trust and obey. Then in fellowship sweet We will sit at His feet, Or we’ll walk by His side in the way; What He says we will do, Where He sends we will go Never fear, only trust and obey. Trust and obey, for there’s no other way To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.