“Give my greetings to Prisca and Aquila, my coworkers in Christ Jesus, who risked their own necks for my life. Not only do I thank them, but so do all the Gentile churches. Greet also the church that meets in their home. Greet my dear friend Epaenetus, who is the first convert to Christ from Asia. Greet Mary, who has worked very hard for you. Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews and fellow prisoners. They are noteworthy in the eyes of the apostles, and they were also in Christ before me. Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord. Greet Urbanus, our coworker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys. Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus. Greet Herodion, my fellow Jew. Greet those who belong to the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord. Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who have worked hard in the Lord. Greet my dear friend Persis, who has worked very hard in the Lord. Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother—and mine. Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers and sisters who are with them. Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send you greetings.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Every year I attend the annual meeting of my State Baptist Convention. Once there, I attend various meetings and breakout sessions. There are times of worship and lots of preaching. Sometimes, if I’m feeling especially brave, I’ll make a tour through the actual convention hall. I’m sufficiently introverted I only do that once. Introverted or not, though, over the years I’ve met various other pastors and ministry leaders, several of whom I have kept up with. Some of them have played a role in my ministry and vice versa. Ministry isn’t something that happens in isolation. Paul’s long list of greetings here at the end of the letter is a good reminder of that. Let’s explore who some of his ministry partners are.

There are no successful Lone Rangers in ministry. There are only people who intentionally and healthily nurture strong communities that help to strengthen and support them for the task that God has set before them and over the long haul of walking the path of Christ’s righteousness with the abiding presence and help of the Holy Spirit, and those who falsely think they can go it alone only to discover that they can’t and wind up instead as a failure in one capacity or another.

Paul rightly understood this and nurtured a whole host of ministry partners, companions, and supporters. He had small communities of support everywhere he went such that he was never without help when the need arose. He was quick to lean on these when he could (not merely had to), but he also continually poured into them so they were equipped to be his help when he needed them. He also gave them the gifts of gratitude and recognition and plenty of prayer support.

What we see here is an incredibly diverse group of people who blessed and were blessed by Paul. And these are all in addition to Phoebe, who was inviolable significant enough to Paul that she was mentioned first and got her own little section.

Paul starts with a couple we know from Luke’s history of the early church in Acts, Prisca (whose name is lengthened to its full Priscilla by Luke), and her husband, Aquila. This husband and wife team were perhaps the power couple in ministry in the ancient world. They discipled Apollos, who was another major Gospel figure throughout Asia. They supported Paul in critical times even at risk of their own safety as he indicates here. It should not be lost on us that Priscilla’s name is mentioned first instead of her husband’s which would have been more traditional. That suggests perhaps that she might have been the more prominent of the two in terms of her leadership.

By this time they had affinity gotten to Rome where they were hosting one of the church gatherings in their home. As a matter of fact, it appears that several of the groups of names Paul mentions together in this section were house churches as part of the broader church in the city. How interesting that all of the churches in the city were consider a single church. This was the case in Rome and many of the other ancient cities where a church was present. I can’t help but wonder what the impact would be today if all of the churches in a particular city considered themselves to be one large church and worked together accordingly to proclaim and advance the Gospel in that place.

Paul goes on to mention Epaenetus, who he identifies as “the first convert to Christ from Asia.” It’s not clear whether this was someone in whose conversion Paul himself had a hand, but that seems likely. That Paul not only saw this man converted but obviously discipled him to the point that he was traveling to minister to others and other places should not be lost on us. Are we as committed to walking with the people in whose conversions we play a role in a discipling relationship?

Next is a woman named Mary who is one of many on this list about whom we know precious little. Her service and hard work for the church is honored by Paul.

Mary is followed by Andronicus and Junia. This may be another husband and wife duo, although we are not as sure about that as with the first pair. What is notable here is that Paul referred to these two as “noteworthy in the eyes of the apostles.” Another possible translation is that they “are outstanding among the apostles.” This opens wide the question of whether or not these two—both man and woman—were considered among the apostles, that is were apostles.

The prospect that both of these individuals—the man and the woman—were considered apostles has generated no small amount of debate among interpreters over the years. Several modern translations actually render the female, Junia’s name as Junias, a man’s name, to avoid the implication that a woman could have been considered an apostle, a position traditionally thought of as reserved for only men. This also plays into translation choices like the CSB and others make to render Paul’s phrase as “noteworthy in the eyes of the apostles.” This would indicate simply that this couple were well known to the apostles rather than that they were potentially apostles themselves.

Ultimately there is not enough evidence to make a firm conclusion on the exact nature of the role these two played in the early church. What is at least clear is that they both played some sort of a significant role. The theme that is starting to develop here is that both men and women played important roles—important leadership roles—in the early church. There may have been some roles that were limited to men, but not many. The church was far more egalitarian than the broader culture was. It gave women opportunities for prominence and leadership in a way the rest of the world didn’t even begin to come close. As a result, the church attracted many of the best and brightest women. This is a model we should be seeking to follow carefully today.

The next few names—Ampliatus, Urbanus, Stachys, and Apelles—are again unknown to us. But the next in the sequence, Aristobulus, was the name of one of the grandchildren of King Herod. It doesn’t seem likely that one of Herod’s grandchildren was someone of prominence in the church in Rome, but that’s not necessarily who Paul is referring to when he calls them to greet those who merely belong to the household of Aristobulus. Oftentimes a household would be referred to by the name of its most prominent member. This doesn’t mean that Herod’s grandson was a follower of Jesus, but it does seem to indicate perhaps that the Gospel had penetrated Herod’s household and that there were followers of Jesus among the imperial elite of Rome. The mention of Aristobulus’ name along with Herodion and Narcissus, another name suggesting a possibly elite status, means there were followers of Jesus from among every class in Rome.

Of the final fifteen names here, six are women. Some were Jewish names. Most were Greek. One suggests a potentially Persian background. One was a common slave name. There are two groupings of five names each which suggest more house church groups. In other words and again, this was a really diverse group of people to whom Paul was offering greetings here. The church attracted and thrived in diversity. But this was not diversity simply for the sake of diversity. This was a diversity that was undergirded by a strong unity that was itself rooted in Christ.

The church allows for people of all different racial backgrounds and social or economic statuses or of any other distinction to come together as a single group united by the love of Christ and the goal of proclaiming and advancing His kingdom. No other similar community exists anywhere else in the world. This is the movement Paul helped to ignite across the world and which you and I are still apart of today. And if you aren’t yet part of the church, know well that you are missing out. You may not even realize it, but your life won’t be the same until you have it. I hope you’ll consider it.