A family of friends

I was going to skip over the long list of names in 16:3-16 but the more I looked at them along with the descriptive phrases, I became increasingly interested in how Paul could know so many people in a city he had not yet visited. Let’s review the names and, pretending we are there, let’s try to envision them as real people in a city that is ancient, yet at the same time, contemporary. Your imagination will help.

Priscilla and Aquila were coworkers with Paul who had risked their very lives for him. A church met in  their house.
Epenetus was a dear friend and the first convert in Asia.
Mary was a dear woman who worked really hard for the church in Rome.
Andronicus and Junia were Jews and fellow prisoners who had become Christians before Paul. They      were highly esteemed by the apostles.
Ampliatus was a dear Christian friend.
Urbanus was a co-worker.
Stachys was another dear friend.
Apelles had stood the test when it came to fidelity to Christ.
Aristobulus, his family and others in the house were worthy of a warm greeting from the apostle.
Herodion was a fellow Jew.
Narcissus and his household were widely known as solid Christians.
Tryphena and Tryphosa – now there are two hard working believers.
Persis was another woman who worked hard for the Lord.
Rufus was special because the Lord had picked him out. His mother was like a mother to Paul.
 Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and all the other believers who meet with them shouldn’t be overlooked.
Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, Olympus and the rest of the assembly need to know I am thinking of them.
 
         Paul tells them all to “greet one another with a holy kiss” (v. 16) . . . Some gathering! Then in verses 21-23 Paul sends to the church in Rome the fond greetings of Timothy, his coworker, three fellow Jews - Lucius, Jason and Sosipater, and of course Tertius, who transcribed the letter, then the hospitable Gaius, and don’t forget Erastus, the city director of public works, and finally, Quartus, their mutual friend.
         Think about it. Do you know anybody as busy as Paul who knew, and was known, by so many people in a city that was miles away? What it points out to me is the exceptionally strong sense of brotherhood that existed in the early church. There were difficulties, yes, but the bond of Christian love was remarkable in the church in Rome.