Philemon 1-25 [show]Philemon 1 Greeting [1:1]Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved fellow worker [2]and Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house: [3]Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Philemon's Love and Faith [4]I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, [5]because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, [6]and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.(1) [7]For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you. Paul's Plea for Onesimus [8]Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, [9]yet for love's sake I prefer to appeal to you--I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus-- [10]I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus,(2) whose father I became in my imprisonment. [11](Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.) [12]I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. [13]I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel, [14]but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord. [15]For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, [16]no longer as a slave(3) but more than a slave, as a beloved brother--especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. [17]So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me. [18]If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. [19]I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it--to say nothing of your owing me even your own self. [20]Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ. [21]Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. [22]At the same time, prepare a guest room for me, for I am hoping that through your prayers I will be graciously given to you. Final Greetings [23]Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, [24]and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers. [25]The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. (ESV) Footnotes 1. [1:6] Or 'for Christ's service' 2. [1:10] 'Onesimus' means 'useful' (see verse 11) or 'beneficial' (see verse 20) 3. [1:16] Greek 'bondservant'; twice in this verse

Monologue:

On a spring night, after a day so beautiful it seemed to sing, I lay on my pallet and heard the darkening horizons whispering my name. “Onesimus,” they called. Suddenly the dam inside of me broke, and I was gone. Just outside of town I stopped and looked back. Colossae was barely visible in the moonlight. I said goodbye to my bondage.

In my world people can own other people like pieces of property. A slave can be bought and sold. You may remember how Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers for twenty shekels of silver. (Gen 37:28 [show]Genesis 37:28 [28]Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels(1) of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt. (ESV) Footnotes 1. [37:28] A 'shekel' was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
) Wealthy Israelites can buy foreign slaves as they might buy a camel. (Lev 25:44 [show]Leviticus 25:44 [44]As for your male and female slaves whom you may have: you may buy male and female slaves from among the nations that are around you. (ESV)
) You can become a slave simply by being unable to pay your debts.” (Ex 21:2-6 [show]Exodus 21:2-6 [2]When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing. [3]If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. [4]If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out alone. [5]But if the slave plainly says, 'I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,' [6]then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever. (ESV)
; Neh 5:1-5 [show]Nehemiah 5:1-5 Nehemiah Stops Oppression of the Poor [5:1]Now there arose a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers. [2]For there were those who said, "With our sons and our daughters, we are many. So let us get grain, that we may eat and keep alive." [3]There were also those who said, "We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses to get grain because of the famine." [4]And there were those who said, "We have borrowed money for the king's tax on our fields and our vineyards. [5]Now our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers, our children are as their children. Yet we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but it is not in our power to help it, for other men have our fields and our vineyards." (ESV)
)  You can become a slave if you are caught stealing and cannot make restitution. (Ex 22:1, 3 [show]Exodus 22:1 [22:1](1) "If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills it or sells it, he shall repay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. (ESV) Exodus 22:3 [3]but if the sun has risen on him, there shall be bloodguilt for him. He shall surely pay. If he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. (ESV) Footnotes 1. [22:1] Ch 21:37 in Hebrew
)  In conditions of extreme poverty, you can sell yourself or your children into slavery. (Ex 21:2, 7 [show]Exodus 21:2 [2]When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing. (ESV) Exodus 21:7 [7]"When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. (ESV)
; Lev 25:39, 47 [show]Leviticus 25:39 [39]"If your brother becomes poor beside you and sells himself to you, you shall not make him serve as a slave: (ESV) Leviticus 25:47 Redeeming a Poor Man [47]"If a stranger or sojourner with you becomes rich, and your brother beside him becomes poor and sells himself to the stranger or sojourner with you or to a member of the stranger's clan, (ESV)
)  You can be born into slavery, a “house-born slave” of slave parents. (Gen 15:3 [show]Genesis 15:3 [3]And Abram said, "Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir." (ESV)
; Gen 17:12-13 [show]Genesis 17:12-13 [12]He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, [13]both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. (ESV)
)  There are a few ways out of slavery. If you are working off a debt, you can be released when it is paid, or at the end of six years. The only hope for some slaves, however, is the Year of Jubilee, which occurs every fifty years. It is the Sabbath of years, seven years times seven is forty-nine years, so the fiftieth year is the Jubilee year, when all land is returned to its ancestral owners and all Israelite slaves are set free. Fifty years is a long time. Slaves can purchase their own freedom. But with what? Someone else can purchase your freedom, but what is the chance of that? Freedom sounds wonderful until you ask yourself where a freed slave goes and what a freed slave does.

I decided to run. I was still young and strong, and wouldn’t be caught by someone pursuing me on foot. I could probably make it to one of the major cities, Ephesus, perhaps, and maybe someday to Rome. One thing that keeps slaves from running away is that they have no money. I took some from my master’s house. I knew where everything was. I flew through the night, as much in exhilaration as in fear. It was three weeks before anyone even asked my name. My name, by the way, is significant. Onesimus means “useful.” It is a popular name for a slave! I came to despise my name, such a demeaning name. Onesimus. I cannot accept a world where only the privileged have value and all others have value only in being useful to the privileged.

Much time has passed, and I am once more only short distance from Colossae. This time, however, I am being escorted back to Philemon, my master. When Colossae was at my back, I never wanted to see it again. Now I am retracing the steps of my flight to freedom. I do not know what will happen when I see Philemon. A runaway slave, who is also a thief, must be prepared for the worst possible penalty from his master. Philemon would be well within his legal rights if he had me killed.

But let me tell you briefly what happened.

I made it to the city of Ephesus, but I found no work and was finally arrested as a runaway slave. In prison, surely by the grace of God, I met another slave and prisoner. His was a chosen slavery and his master was Jesus the Christ. His name was Paul, and he was a revolutionary, traveling the world teaching and preaching the new reality he had found in Jesus. He had been a Jewish rabbi and a prominent Pharisee. From this other prisoner, this other slave, I learned the meaning of life. You know this good news. I am sure you rejoice that it has set you free. I rejoice that it has given me a mission worthy of my life. I found in Jesus Christ, not a God who is an authoritarian master, ruling the world by coercion, but a God who touched my heart, a God whose suffering love is redeeming the world.

Paul helped me see that being put right with God involves being put right with other people. A cross-shaped life has both a vertical beam and a horizontal beam – - a vertical bridge to God, and a horizontal bridge to other people. Eventually I came to see that the road of my true usefulness to God runs back through Colossae. Coincidentally, or miraculously, Philemon is now a Christian, too. And he knows Paul. In fact, Paul has written a letter to Philemon that my friend Tychicus and I are carrying with us. It is probably my only hope. May I read it to you?

“Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our dear friend and co-worker, to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house:  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

“When I remember you in my prayers, I always thank my God because I hear of your love for all the saints and your faith toward the Lord Jesus. I pray that by their participation in your loyal faith they may have a sense of how much good we can attain for Christ. I have had great joy and encouragement over your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.

“Although in Christ I would feel quite free to order you to do your duty, I prefer to appeal to you on the ground of love. Well then, as Paul the old man, who nowadays is a prisoner for Christ Jesus, I appeal to you on behalf of my son, Onesimus, whose father I have become during my imprisonment. Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is useful both to you and to me. I am sending him back to you, and parting with my very heart. I would have liked to keep him beside me, that he might be of service to me in your place during my imprisonment for the gospel; but I preferred to do nothing without your consent, so that your goodness to me might come of your own free will, without appearance of constraint. Perhaps this is why you and he were parted for a while, that you might get him back for good, no longer a mere slave but something more than a slave – - a beloved brother; especially dear to me but how much more to you as a man and as a Christian! So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. If he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge that to my account. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand: I will repay it. I say nothing about your owing me even your own soul. Come, brother, let me have this benefit from you in the Lord! Refresh my heart in Christ. I send you this letter, relying on your obedience. I know you will do even more than I ask.

“One thing more, get a guest room ready for me. I am hoping through your prayers to be restored to you. Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.”

The question, of course, is: What will Philemon do? I do not know. I do not know Philemon the Christian. What will he do? What would you do?

Postscript:

We don’t know what happened to Onesimus. The New Testament contains only the little letter from Paul to Philemon I read a moment ago. Yet, the fact that we have the letter is probably significant. How would we have gotten it if Philemon had Onesimus killed? Also, in the second century, Ignatius of Antioch wrote a letter to the church at Ephesus in which he praised their bishop (or pastor) in extravagant words. The bishop’s name? Onesimus. It may have been another former slave, but it isn’t difficult for me to think I know who it was.

The story leaves us with a question, the Onesimus question. Will we do for each other, for all whom we encounter – - will we do for another what God in Christ has done for us? If we will, who knows what might become of that?

Prayer:  God of gracious acceptance and love, make us instruments of your peace. Amen.

C. David Matthews  /  Royal Lane Baptist Church, Dallas, Texas  /  9.5.10