MEETING SOME MINOR FIGURES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

Depiction of Paul in prison, writing his epistle to the Ephesians.

 Let’s start with Paul’s letter to the Romans. A unique aspect of this letter is that it was written to the Church in Rome, a place he had never visited, so he did not know the various individuals he mentions in his farewell. I am very impressed with Paul’s concern to mention these specific persons who might be in Rome. To begin, Paul commends Phoebe (16:1), a church officer in Cenchreae, a significant port city near Corinth in the New Testament times, perhaps because she might be of help to other believers—and vice versa—on their travels. Next, Paul mentions Prisca and Aquila, whom he met in Ephesus during one of his journeys, and who “risked their necks” for him. They were now living in Rome and were hosting a young church there. Paul also mentions Epaenetus, “the first convert to Christ in Asia,” whom Paul likely met in Ephesus on one of his journeys. Then, we hear of another Mary, “who toiled hard” for the Church at Rome, and two other friends—perhaps Greek Gentiles—who seem to have been in prison with Paul at some point: Andronicus and Junias, who were Christians before Paul. The letter also mentions several others whose names appear nowhere else in the New Testament.

    It seems that the individuals mentioned in the rest of Paul’s farewell greetings do not appear elsewhere in his writings. Most of the names appear to be Roman rather than Hebrew or Greek. Notably, Paul knew and remembered the names of many people in Rome. One mention is especially interesting: Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who might be twins. Paul also offers greetings from among his traveling and working partners to the Christians in the Church at Rome. He mentions explicitly Timothy, Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, a “fellow-countryman.” Even the “secretary,” who calls himself “Tertius,” adds his own greeting. Gaius, a man from Paul’s homeland around Tarsus and his host in the city from which this letter was written, is also mentioned, along with one brother, Quartus. 

What I find most interesting and impressive is the care Paul took, in almost all his writings, to mention and praise those who worked at the “ground level” in helping to start the Christian churches. He came to know, remember, and recognize such co-workers along the way. As much as one might criticize Paul for his occasional “braggadocio” style, it remains true that he got to know and praise the people upon whom his work depended. It always makes a big difference, and people need to know that they are appreciated. 

      At the same time, I must note that in his letter to the Romans, we observe a subtle shift in Paul’s primary focus toward appealing more to his Gentile audience than to his Jewish audience. It is highly likely that with his judicial “appeal to Rome,” Paul began to focus on courting Roman Gentiles rather than his Jewish compatriots. He may have started to target a broader audience, specifically the entire Roman Gentile world instead of the Hebrew one: Christianity conquering the world, while perhaps ultimately being conquered by it.  

In the last chapter (16) of his First Letter to the Church in Corinth, Paul mentions several vital individuals. In verse 17, he names three men—Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus—who most likely delivered the Corinthian church’s reply to Paul’s earlier letter. He notes that: “Such men deserve recognition.” It seems there may have been more exchanges of letters between Paul and the Corinthians than have survived. He also mentions greetings from Prisca and Aquila, Paul’s long-time friends from Ephesus, who hosted the members of the first church there. This couple clearly played a vital role in the early spread of Christianity throughout Europe, as Paul’s letter to the Christians in Rome also shows. In the final verses of his last chapter, Paul mentions and praises Timothy, his coworker in spreading the Gospel across the Mediterranean world. Interestingly, Paul concludes by noting that some of these final greetings, or perhaps just his signature, he has personally written, “autographed,” as it were. There are signs in his letters that Paul may have been suffering from decreasing eyesight.

In his Second Letter to the Corinthians, Paul faces a series of personal and/or political setbacks. He once again mentions his helper Timothy, along with Titus, who likely has not yet started his ministry in Crete. Paul also praises Timothy and Silas, another helper in his ministry. An additional unnamed co-worker is also noted as an essential member of this missionary effort alongside Paul. Most of this letter focuses on correcting misunderstandings and wrong practices among the Corinthian Christians. It is important to remember that Corinth was by far the least religious, most diverse, and most cosmopolitan city Paul visited. He spent two years there preaching the Gospel, working as a tentmaker, and regularly witnessing at the Jewish temple.

     In his letters to the churches in Colossae, Ephesus, Thessalonica, and Philippi, Paul continued to share the Good News about Jesus and encourage the local believers. Timothy and Tychicus are once again mentioned and praised as faithful brothers in Christ. The closing lines of these letters often name Paul’s entire faithful team: Timothy, Tychicus, Silvanus (Silas), and Titus, who served in Crete. Paul concludes this letter by mentioning several other coworkers who were serving with Titus on Crete or traveling through the area. Paul urges Timothy to show hospitality to all. He mentions one Artemas, who should be directed to join Paul in Nicopolis for the winter. He also asks Timothy to help Zenas “the lawyer” and Apollos on their journeys. The latter seems to have been a man of some reputation, a native of Alexandria, and a highly gifted witness for Christ’s messiahship. When he came to Ephesus, he was baptized (Acts 19). 

As one can see, Paul had many allies and friends throughout the Mediterranean world, and he made an effort to stay in contact with them as much as possible. Furthermore, he took the time to mention them in his letters to the young churches being established across the Middle Eastern region. His ministry was greatly strengthened by the dedication and efforts of people like those mentioned. 

 

 

The Qumran Library of The Essenes

 I just finished reading this book by Hartmut Stegemann and found it fascinating, even if somewhat overwhelming in its detail. The Essenes were a highly religious Jewish group that established the Qumran Community near the Dead Sea, about 10 miles west of Jerusalem, roughly 150 years before Jesus’ time. They were destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. It’s a captivating, if overly detailed, account of this group, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and how it all connects to Christianity. 

     In addition to providing a complete account of the history, beliefs, and lifestyle of this group, the author makes it clear that they had nothing to do with Jesus’ life and teachings, nor with the life and work of John the Baptist. When they learned of their impending destruction at the hands of the Romans, they hid about 1000 of their manuscripts in the caves directly above their community. Believe it or not, these scrolls were not discovered until 1900 years later in the 1950s, and they are now famous as the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Their primary purpose was to distribute copies of the Hebrew Old Testament throughout the then Hebrew world so that Jewish people would be prepared when the New Testament era arrived. They copied and spread hundreds of copies of the Hebrew Scriptures all around Palestine before the Romans destroyed them. According to the highly regarded author, this group had absolutely nothing to do with either John the Baptist’s or Jesus’ ministry. In fact, most of what they believed was in harmony with traditional Jewish thought and life. They were just another sectarian Jewish group operating in Palestine during the time of Jesus, among others, with a specific agenda. 

Stegemann clearly explains the differences among all these issues and groups. As he states: “Essene is simply an anglicization of the Old Greek translation of the Aramaic essen, which means ‘the pious ones’. It was more like a religious fraternity with a specific goal to make and spread copies of the scripture before the ‘end time’. Their buildings and practices were designed explicitly for this purpose and did not constitute a special religious order. Many of them lived in caves where the scrolls were discovered almost two thousand years later. There is no reason to believe that either John the Baptist or Jesus had anything to do with them. Detailed but fascinating stuff.