Overview

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The final section of this letter is not just casual greetings formally presented.

In it we understand who accompanied Paul at Rome and supported him in his first imprisonment.  Some of these servants of God had travelled many weary miles and borne hardships in spreading the gospel with Paul.

Have we gone the extra mile with the word of life, and have we borne any hardships for the Lord Jesus?

Paul’s care for the assemblies is also evident in the mention of Laodicea and Hierapolis along with Colosse.  Evidently he desired the same truth contained in the Colossian letter to be accepted and practised by the other assemblies as well.

It is a reminder to us that what is truth in one assembly is without doubt truth in every assembly!  We cannot pick and choose what to accept and what to refuse.

Colossians chapter 4.10-18

Comforters

In verses 10-11, three of Paul’s companions in Rome, who are Jewish men, send greetings: Aristarchus, Marcus and Jesus Justus.  There was great antagonism against Paul among the Jews, but here were three men who stood with him, soothing and consoling him, and prepared to be prisoners for Christ.  Aristarchus is with Paul in Acts 19, and is mentioned again in Acts 20 as a man of Thessalonica, and he evidently travelled to Rome with Paul, as Acts 27.2 confirms.  Marcus is identified as the relative of Barnabas, whom Paul and Barnabas disagreed about in Acts 15.37 – 38. However, any questions or doubts Paul may have had regarding Mark are no longer valid, and he confirms Mark has to be received by the Colossians.  Later, in 2 Timothy 4.11, Paul requests Timothy to bring Mark with him as “he is profitable to me for the ministry.”  Mark, of course, is also the disciple who wrote the Servant Gospel, which bears his name.

Do we embrace all the believers in our greetings?

Of the next three men, we can highlight the fervent prayers of Epaphras, the faithful presence of doctor Luke and the faltering position of Demas. The intimacy of Epaphras with the Colossians is seen in that he is one of them.  Then we have underlined for us his dignity as a servant of Christ, and his consistency as a man of prayer, always energetically interceding that they may be consolidated and complete according to God’s will for them.  The constant presence of Luke in ministering to the needs of Paul was undoubtedly a tower of strength to the Apostle and draws out the affectionate term “the beloved physician.”  In 2 Timothy 4, Paul writes “Only Luke is with me.”  Demas is mentioned, but only in sending greetings, and we are left to wonder if Paul already had some sense of the defection that he would later record in 2 Timothy 4.10, where we read: “Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica.”  The third Jew is Jesus Justus, of whom we know nothing else but that he was a co-worker with the others in presenting the claims of God’s kingdom through the gospel.

Three final names are recorded: Nymphas, Archippus and Paul himself. There is some textual uncertainty as to whether we should read “Nympha” – in the feminine – and “the church which is in her house.”  If that be the case, here is a sister noted in scripture who provided accommodation in her home for the assembly at Laodicea to gather together.  As such, she joins others like Priscilla and Aquila (1 Corinthians 16.19) and Philemon, who also made room in their homes for the assembly to gather.  Paul refers here to another letter from Laodicea which is to be read at Colosse, and some think this may in fact have been the Epistle to the Ephesians, which was intended to be circulated to the other assemblies in that region.

In verse 17, Archippus – who is also mentioned in the epistle to Philemon – is exhorted to make sure of the accomplishment of the work of God which he has received from the Lord.  It is sad when the service of God is littered with unfulfilled tasks, and the challenge here ought to be felt by all of us!

The last verse gives authentication to the whole epistle.  Paul writes the final greeting in his own handwriting.  Forged letters were used to undermine the faith of the believers, as referred to by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2, for example.  It was necessary then to complete the dictated epistle by signing it off in his own hand.

Thus he concludes with an appeal to remember his bonds, and an assurance in his final benediction of the accompaniment of grace, ever present with them.