CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES
Colossians 4:11. A comfort to me.—The word for “comfort” is only found in this place in the New Testament. It is a medical term, and points to relief given in suffering—then, by way of ministering to a mind diseased or in trouble, is used of the speech which soothes and calms.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Colossians 4:7-11
Side-lights on Church-life in the Early Times.
A straw will indicate the direction of a current; a bit of glass will reveal a star; a kick of the foot may discover a treasure that will enrich successive generations; a word, a look, an involuntary movement will disclose the leading tendency of an individual character; so on the crowded stage of life it is not always the gigantic and public scenes that are most suggestive and instructive, but rather the trivial, undesigned incidents which are unnoticed by an ordinary observer. A reflective mind will pick up material for thought from the most unexpected and unpromising quarters. The apostle has finished the grand argument of the epistle, and shown the importance of certain duties which grow out of the reception of the truths enforced. In approaching the conclusion, he appears to be chiefly occupied with a mass of personal and miscellaneous matters. The few remaining verses contain little else but a series of names, with the briefest qualifying phrases attached. But here and there light is thrown on truths which, though familiar, are all the more strongly impressed on our minds because of their evident antiquity. In these verses there are sidelights thrown on Church-life in the early times with reference to Christian sympathy, commendations, courtesy, and co-operation. We learn:—
I. The value of Christian sympathy.—
1. As fostering mutual interest in tidings concerning the work of God. “All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, … whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose; … shall make known unto you all things which are done here” (Colossians 4:7-9). The apostle, though in prison and separated by a long distance from the Colossians, does not abate anything of his interest in their welfare. He had received tidings of their condition as a Church; of their steadfastness, successes, and perils; and he was sure that intelligence from him would be eagerly welcomed by them. He therefore despatched Tychicus and Onesimus, who could furnish more details concerning the apostle, the exemplary spirit in which he bore his sufferings, his profound anxiety on behalf of the Churches and the progress of the gospel in Rome, than were contained in the epistle they carried. A heart, touched with a genuine Christian sympathy, rejoices in the extension of the work of God, in whatever part of the world, and by whatever Christian agency. The mutual interchange of intelligence tends to excite the interest, promote the union, and stimulate the enterprise of the Churches.
2. As a source of encouragement and strength in the Christian life.—“That he might know your estate and comfort your heart” (Colossians 4:8). Instead of “that he might know your estate,” another reading of the original, adopted by Lightfoot and other eminent critics, has “that ye might know our affairs.” “But,” as Bishop Wordsworth remarks, “the very purpose for which Paul sent Tychicus to the Colossians was not, it would seem, in order that they might know how St. Paul was faring, but that he might know whether they were standing steadfast in the faith against the attempts of the false teachers.” Whichever reading is adopted, the practical lesson is the same; both express the reality, strength, and beauty of a mutual sympathy. The presence of Tychicus and Onesimus, the character of the tidings they brought, and the fervour of their exhortations, would encourage and reassure the Colossians amid the perplexities and doubts occasioned by the false teachers. Mutual expression of sympathy and intercommunity of intelligence will do much to comfort and edify the Churches.
II. The appropriateness of Christian commendation (Colossians 4:7).—The apostle speaks highly of his two messengers—not in terms of extravagant flattery, but in a way calculated to ensure their favourable reception by the Colossians and a respectful attention to their message. Tychicus was a native of proconsular Asia, perhaps of Ephesus. He was well known as an authorised delegate of St. Paul, and is mentioned in other places as being with the apostle (Acts 20:4; 2 Timothy 4:12; Titus 3:12). He is spoken of in this verse as “a beloved brother, a faithful minister, a fellow-servant in the Lord.” The great apostle, far from taking advantage of his exalted calling and inspiration, humbled himself before the least of his brethren, spoke in the highest terms of their faithful labours, and associated them with his own. Onesimus, a Colossian, is commended as “a faithful and beloved brother.” It was the more needful he should be thus commended, because if he was known to the Colossians at all it would be as a worthless, runaway slave. Some time before, Onesimus had forsaken his master Philemon, and fled to Rome—the common sink of all nations—probably as a convenient hiding-place where he might escape detection among its crowds, and make a livelihood as best he could. In the metropolis—perhaps accidentally, perhaps through the intervention of Epaphras—he fell in with the apostle, his master’s old friend. St. Paul becomes interested in his case, instructs him in the gospel, and is the instrument of his conversion; and now he is commended to the Colossians, no more as a good-for-nothing slave, but as a brother; no more dishonest and faithless, but trustworthy; no more an object of contempt, but love. The apostle sent him back to his master Philemon, and it is generally thought, having been set at liberty by his owner, he became a faithful and laborious minister of Christ. Such is the transforming power of divine grace in changing and renewing the heart, in obliterating all former distinctions and degradations, and in elevating a poor slave to the dignity of “a faithful and beloved brother” of the greatest of apostles. Christian commendations are valuable according to the character of the persons from whom they issue, and as they are borne out in the subsequent conduct of the persons commended. Every care should be taken that the testimonial of recommendation is strictly true. It is putting a man in a false position and doing him an injury to exaggerate his qualifications by excessive eulogy.
III. Suggestive examples of Christian courtesy.—“Aristarchus my fellow-prisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister’s son to Barnabas, (touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him;) and Jesus, which is called Justus, who are of the circumcision” (Colossians 4:10-11). Aristarchus was a Jew, though a native of Thessalonica. He was with Paul during the riot at Ephesus, and was hurried with Gaius into the theatre by Demetrius and his craftsmen. He accompanied the apostle from Greece to Jerusalem with the collection for the saints. When Paul was imprisoned in Judea, he abode with him; and when he went into Italy, he also went and remained with him there during his confinement, till at length he became, it may be, obnoxious to the magistrates, and was cast into prison; or perhaps he became a voluntary prisoner, that he might share the apostle’s captivity. What a glimpse have we Here of heroic devotion, and of the irresistible charm there must have been in the apostle in attaching men to himself! Marcus was the John Mark frequently referred to in the Acts of the Apostles. He had been the occasion of a contention between Paul and Barnabas, which led to their separating from each other and following different scenes of labour. Mark had, from cowardice or some other motive, “departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them out to the work”; and when Barnabas, probably influenced by his affection as near kinsman, wished to take him with them, Paul resolutely refused thus to distinguish a young and unstable disciple. But from the reference here it appears that Mark had repented of his timid and selfish behaviour and returned to a better spirit. Perhaps the displeasure of the apostle weighed upon his mind, and, with Barnabas’ prayers and example, had brought him to a right view of his misconduct. He was now restored to the apostle’s confidence, and it appears Paul had already given directions to the Colossians concerning Mark to welcome him heartily if he paid them a visit—“touching whom ye received commandments: if he come to you, receive him.” The third Hebrew convert who united in sending salutations was Jesus, which was also called Justus—a common name or surname of Jews and proselytes, denoting obedience and devotion to the law. Nothing definite is known of this person; but the apostle held him in such esteem as to join his salutation with the rest. These three friends and companions of Paul were Jews—they were of the circumcision; and yet they send their salutations to a Church composed chiefly of Gentiles. The Christian spirit triumphed over their deep-rooted prejudices, and their greeting would be all the more valued as an expression of their personal esteem, their brotherly affection, and their oneness in Christ. That courtesy is the most refined, graceful, gentle, and acceptable that springs from the Christian spirit.
IV. The solace of Christian co-operation.—“These only are my fellow-workers unto the kingdom of God, which have been a comfort unto me” (Colossians 4:11). The tendency of the Jewish convert was to lean to the Mosaic ritual, and insist on its necessity in realising the efficacy of the gospel. They thus favoured the false philosophy of the Jewish Platonists, and fell into the errors against which the apostle so faithfully warns in this epistle. The action of the Judaizing teachers and their sympathisers was often a grief and hindrance to him. Of all the Jewish converts in Rome only three were a comfort to him. They thoroughly embraced and advocated the free and unconditional admission of the Gentiles into the Church of Christ, and were devoted and zealous fellow-workers with him in extending the kingdom of God. It is an evidence of the unpopularity among the Jews of the gospel as intended equally for the Gentiles, and of the formidable prejudices and difficulties with which the apostle had to contend in that early time, that there were only three Hebrew converts who were a comfort to him. And yet how consoling is the sympathy and co-operation of the faithful few! Sometimes the noblest men are deserted by timid and time-serving professors, and left to toil on alone in peril and sadness. History records the triumphs of those who have successfully braved the solitary struggle in some great crisis; but it is silent about the vanquished who, with broken hearts and shattered intellects, have sunk into unchronicled oblivion.
Lessons.—
1. Christian experience is the same in all ages.
2. True courtesy costs little and accomplishes much. 3. Genuine sympathy is best shown by an active and self-denying co-operation.