Chapter Sixteen

The commendation of the deaconess Phoebe (1–2). Greetings (3–16). A warning against ecclesiastical agitators (17–20). Greetings from the companions of the Apostle Paul (21–24).

Romans 16:1. I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deaconess of the church at Cenchreae. Romans 16:2. Welcome her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints and assist her in whatever matter she may need from you, for she has been a helper to many and to myself as well. The deaconess Phoebe was evidently the bearer of the epistle to the Romans. The office of deaconess (ἡ διάκονος) consisted in service to the poor, the sick, and strangers. Cenchreae is the eastern port of Corinth on the Saronic Gulf. She was a helper (προστάτις) to many Christians and to Paul, and probably had considerable financial resources. She may have received strangers in her home. The Apostle asks the readers to welcome her in the Lord, that is, in a fully Christian manner, with complete hospitality, as their spiritual sister (cf. Phil 2:20).

Romans 16:3. Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, Here 24 persons are named by name to whom the Apostle addresses his greeting, and then the Apostle greets the entire church in general.

Romans 16:4. [who risked their own necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but also all the churches of the Gentiles], and the church in their house. On Aquila and Priscilla — see Acts 18:2 (cf. 1 Cor 16:19). Priscilla — Aquila’s wife — is placed first, probably on account of her special services to the Church (cf. 2 Tim 4:19). — They “risked their neck” (more precisely: their neck) for my life (more precisely: to save me). When this occurred is unknown. Some see an explanation in the events that took place during the Apostle Paul’s stay in Ephesus (Acts 19:23 and following); others attribute this intercession by Aquila and Priscilla to the Apostle Paul’s stay in Corinth (Acts 18:6 and following). — House churches were worship gatherings of a particular family and persons friendly to that family, held in the home belonging to that family.

Romans 16:5. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia. “First convert” — that is, the first person converted to Christianity in Ephesus. — On the basis of the Synopsis of Dorotheus, Epaenetus, along with some others mentioned here, is numbered among the Seventy in the Lives compiled by the Apostle Demetrius of Rostov.

Romans 16:6. Greet Mary, who labored much for us. Romans 16:7. Greet Andronicus and Junias, my relatives and my fellow prisoners, who are outstanding among the apostles and who were in Christ before me. “Junias.” It is more accurate to see here a masculine name (Ιουνίας — Junias), since the remark that he “was outstanding among the apostles” does not suit a woman. “My relatives” — that is, my kinsmen. The word συγγενεῖς — relatives cannot be understood in the sense of “fellow countrymen,” since no others mentioned here (Aquila, Priscilla, Mary) are called by this term. — “Among the apostles.” This refers not to the 12 apostles, among whom Andronicus and Junias could not have been numbered, but to preachers of Christ in general, among whom the said Christians occupied a prominent position.

Romans 16:8. Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. Romans 16:9. Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and Stachys, my beloved. Romans 16:10. Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those of the household of Aristobulus who are faithful. “Of the household of Aristobulus.” The Apostle makes no direct mention of Aristobulus himself, probably because he too was a Christian. Perhaps this was a prince of the Herodian house who lived in Rome for some time and then departed for Jerusalem, leaving his household in Rome under the care of his servants.

Romans 16:11. Greet Herodion, my relative. Greet those of the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord. Romans 16:12. Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who labor in the Lord. Greet the beloved Persis, who labored much in the Lord. Romans 16:13. Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine. “Chosen in the Lord,” that is, distinguished for his Christian virtues.

Romans 16:14. Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, Hermes, and the brothers with them. Romans 16:15. Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints with them. Romans 16:16. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you. Upon reading the epistle, the readers are to greet one another as well with a holy kiss, which in antiquity in the East served as an expression of greeting at meeting and parting (1 Pet 5:14; Apostolic Constitutions XI,57, 12; VIII,5, 5). It is called holy as expressing the spirit of Christian unity. — “All the churches.” It is very possible that all the Eastern churches, which knew that the Apostle was writing an epistle to Rome and himself intended to go there, asked him to convey their greetings as well to the Church of Rome, the capital of the empire.

Romans 16:17. I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way contrary to the teaching you have learned, and to turn away from them; In warning his readers against agitators who wish to found separate church communities, the Apostle characterizes these agitators as self-seeking people who want to exploit trusting Christians for their own personal ends. The Apostle advises Christians to remain obedient to the faith they have long since received.

Romans 16:18. for such people do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ but their own belly, and by flattery and fine speech they deceive the hearts of the naive. The features in which the Apostle portrays these agitators are so general that it is difficult to determine the character and origin of these agitators. Probably these false teachers had not yet appeared in Rome, but were, according to rumors that had reached Paul, planning to go there.

Romans 16:19. For your obedience to the faith has become known to all; so I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil. The Apostle’s thought is as follows: “These agitators can after all only deceive simple-minded people — but you are not such.” — “Wise in what is good,” that is, able to discern where truth and goodness lie. — “Innocent in what is evil,” that is, not yielding to evil, remaining unstained by evil (cf. Phil 2:15; Matt 10:16).

Romans 16:20. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you! Amen. God is here called “the God of peace” in view of the appearance of those agitators who wish to introduce divisions into the Church (v. 17). These people appear to Paul as servants of Satan: if they do not serve Christ, then they serve the adversary of Christ — Satan. From this comes the figurative expression: “will crush Satan under your feet,” which is reminiscent of the judgment on the serpent of the devil (Gen 3:15).

Romans 16:21. Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you, and so do Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my relatives. Here the Apostle adds several more greetings from persons who were around him at the time of sending the epistle to Rome. “Timothy” is mentioned alongside the Apostle Paul at the very beginning of other epistles (2 Cor 1:1; Phil 1:1; Col 1:1 and others); here the greeting from him is placed at the end, probably because he stood at a remove from the Roman church. — The other persons mentioned here are figures unknown from history.

Romans 16:22. I, Tertius, who wrote this epistle, greet you in the Lord. “Tertius” was the scribe of the Apostle Paul at the time when Paul was writing the epistle to the Romans. He inserts a greeting to the Roman Christians of his own accord.

Romans 16:23. Gaius, host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, greets you, and so does our brother Quartus. “Gaius” — this is probably the resident of Corinth whom the Apostle mentions in 1 Cor 1:14. — “Brother Quartus” — Quartus is called this according to the custom of the time: the Apostle apparently found no other fitting epithet for this fellow worker of his and simply described him as a brother, that is, a Christian.

Romans 16:24. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. Note. Beginning in the 1880s, some commentators on the Epistle to the Romans began to advance the opinion that chapter XVI of the epistle to the Romans is a separate letter of the Apostle Paul to the Ephesians, accidentally attached to our epistle. In support of this opinion, certain passages of this chapter are cited, namely: a) verse 5, where Epaenetus is called the first Christian convert from the Gentiles in Asia — and Ephesus was the chief city of the province of Asia; b) verses 3–4, where Aquila and Priscilla are mentioned, who lived precisely in Ephesus (1 Cor 16:19 and 2 Tim 4:19). The main argument is that the Apostle Paul, it is said, could not have known so many persons from the Roman community so well and given favorable testimonials about them, since he had not yet been in Rome. — We hold that these considerations are by no means sufficient grounds on which to build a hypothesis about a separate letter to the Ephesians accidentally attached to the letter to the Romans. The most important counterargument in this regard is the following. In those times, Christians were constantly changing their places of residence for various reasons (to preach the Gospel, to escape persecution, and also for commercial purposes), and could say of themselves together with the Apostle Paul: “having here no permanent city” (Heb 13:14). As a result, many Christians known to the Apostle Paul through their work in the East could easily have found themselves in Rome. As for Aquila and Priscilla in particular, it is known that they first lived in Rome and then left because of the persecution directed against the Jews. When the persecution subsided, they could quietly return to Rome in order to prepare the ground for the work of the Apostle Paul. Moreover, what kind of epistle would that be which consisted almost entirely of greetings! * * * The term προστάτης in Greek legal language denoted an Athenian citizen who appeared before judges and officials on behalf of persons who did not possess the right of Athenian citizenship.