Romans 16:21-24
The “A” Team
Rom 16:21 Timotheus my
workfellow, and Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen, salute you.
Rom 16:22 I Tertius, who
wrote this epistle, salute you in the
Lord.
Rom 16:23 Gaius mine host,
and of the whole church, saluteth you. Erastus the chamberlain of the city
saluteth you, and Quartus a brother.
Rom 16:24 The grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
Amen.
- Greetings from Paul’s Ministry
Team – vs. 21-23
- This
is Paul’s “A” team. They were truly the special forces of missions at the
time. This is not the weak-kneed, fragile, wash outs who have already disappeared.
They are the ones that endured endless traveling, much persecution and
ridicule and so much more.
i.
2
Timothy 2:3-4
- Paul’s
“A” team had incredible diversity and talent at its core, reflecting the
advice he had given the Roman church earlier in his epistle
i.
Romans
12:4-8
ii.
Timothy, Paul’s son in Christ. – Ministry
1.
Paul refers to Timothy as a fellow
worker. Timothy was already well on his way to becoming a faithful leader in
the church.
a.
Paul prayed for Timothy - 2 Timothy 1:3
b.
Paul ordained Timothy - 2 Timothy 1:6
c.
Paul taught Timothy sound doctrine -
2 Timothy 1:13
d.
Paul equipped Timothy to be able to
deal with controversy - 2 Timothy
2:25
e.
Paul had charged him to preach the
gospel - 2 Timothy 4:1-2
iii.
Lucious, possibly Luke the good
doctor. – Mercy
1.
Lucious could be Lucious of Cyrene who
would have been an elder of the church in Antioch.
2.
I think it much more likely this is
the faithful assistant of Paul known to us as Luke.
a.
It is easy to track the movements of
Luke through the book of Acts when he uses the word “we.”
i.
Acts
21:1
b.
It is hard to imagine Paul not mentioning
Luke if he was not there
i.
Luke was well loved - Colossians 4:14
ii.
Luke was faithful - 2 Timothy 4:11
iii.
Luke was tireless - Philemon 1:24
iv.
Jason a fellow Jew and an early
convert of Paul’s ministry. – Prophecy
1. Acts 17:5-9
v.
Socipater was also a fellow Jew and an
early convert from the city of Berea - Teaching
1. Acts 20:4
2.
The Bereans were more noble because
of their passion to study the word
a. Acts 17:11
vi.
Tertius, probably Paul’s transcriber
adding in a greeting of his own.
1.
Galatians is the only letter Paul
says he wrote in his own hand - Galatians 6:11
vii.
Gaius, an important member of the
early church. – Giving
1.
Gaius was with Paul at the riot in
Ephesus - Acts 19:29
2.
Gaius is also mentioned with Socipater
- Acts 20:4
3.
Gaius was likely, one of the few, that
were baptized by Paul - 1 Corinthians
1:14
viii.
Erastus, a government official. – Ruling
1.
Paul mentions that Erastus was a
Chamberlain of the City of Corinth, which would be a kind of secretary.
2.
There is an Erastus mentioned in the
archeology of the city, but he is described as an Aedile.
a.
While this may seem a contradiction,
it is not hard to imagine that Erastus was likely later promoted to a higher
political position. This could also be the reason that Paul describes him continuing
to live in Corinth at a much later date.
i.
2
Timothy 4:20
ix.
Quartus, a friend to Paul and fellow
servant of the Lord. – Exhortation
1.
Little is known about Quartus other
than he is a brother in the Lord. Sometimes the great ones in the church are
not those that hold an office but those that are faithful in caring for others.
a. Hebrews 3:13
- Paul’s Ministry Team’s Desire
for the Roman Church – vs. 24
- The
Grace of Christ be with you
i.
Ephesians 1:6-7
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