Romans 16 Commentary
Romans 16 Commentary
vv.1-16 “It’s interesting that Romans, a profound book of doctrine, ends with so many personal greetings. This illustrates the fact that true doctrine leads to loving fellowship among people. It also shows that no matter how admired and significant Paul was as an apostle, he saw himself as one of the believers – a fellow worker and friend of those in Christ.” [1]
“[W]hat is not typical about this section is the number of greetings. He asks the Romans to greet twenty-six individuals, two families, and three house churches. This number is all the more surprising when we remember that Paul had never visited Rome.”
vv.1-2 “Letters of commendation were important in the ancient world. People who traveled in an age with few public facilities (such as hotels or restaurants) depended on the assistance of people they had sometimes never met for their needs. Phoebe is apparently going to be traveling to Rome, and so Paul commends to the church this ‘sister’ (adelphe, rare in the New Testament as a description of believer [1 Cor 7:15; 9:5; Philem 2; Jas 2:15]).
“But Phoebe is more than a sister; she is also a ‘servant [diakonos] of the church in Cenchrea.’ Diakonos can be applied to any Christian, called to ‘serve’ God and his people. This may be its sense here. But the addition ‘of the church in Cenchrea’ makes it more likely that Phoebe holds an official position in the church there. Phoebe is probably a ‘deacon,’ serving the church by ministering to the financial and material needs of the believers (see esp. 1 Tim 3:8–12; cf. also Phil 1:1).” [2]
v.3 “Priscilla and Aquila were a married couple who had become Paul’s close friends. They, along with all the other Jews, had been expelled from Rome by the emperor (Acts 18:2,3) and had moved to Corinth. There they met Paul and invited him to live with them. They were Christians before they met Paul, and probably told him much about the Roman church. Like Paul, Priscilla and Aquila were missionaries. They helped believers in Ephesus (Acts 18:18-28), in Rome when they were allowed to return, and again at Ephesus (2 Tim 4:19).” [3]
v.7 “The fact that Andronicus and Junias were ‘outstanding among the apostles’ could mean they had distinguished themselves as apostles. They may have been a husband and wife team. Paul’s references to them as relatives (see also 16:21) could mean that they were from the same tribe as Paul.” [4]
v.13 “It is not certain that this is the same Rufus as is mentioned in Mark 15:21, but it is possible that he is the son of Simon of Cyrene. Apparently Rufus’ mother ministered significantly to Paul.” [5]
v.22 “Tertius functioned as Paul’s scribe or secretary for the letter. It was common for those writing letters in the first century to dictate to a secretary, but the content of the letter is clearly Paul’s.” [6]
[1] Quest Study Bible, study notes (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994) 1570.
[2] Douglas J. Moo, Romans, Life Application Bible Commentary CD (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 2000).
[3] Life Application Study Bible, study notes (co-published by Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan; Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1991) 2056.
[4] Life Application Study Bible, study notes (co-published by Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan; Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1991) 2057.
[5] English Standard Version Study Bible, study notes (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008) 2184.
[6] English Standard Version Study Bible, study notes (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008) 2185.