Under Roman law, a slave that ran away
from his master could face the death penalty. In spite of this possibility,
Paul sent Onesimus, a runaway slave and a recent convert to Christianity, back
to his owner Philemon to make restitution. The Epistle to Philemon is Paul's
plea that Onesimus no longer be viewed as a runaway salve, but as a
"beloved brother" (16, 17; Colossians 4:9). Obedience to these
requests would require forgiveness and restoration, actions which no other
slave owner would have to contemplate in the ancient world. But Christians were
called to a higher calling, one that contradicted the expectations of the culture at large.
While the world pursued power and glory, Christians were to pursue the way of
the Cross - the way of forgiveness, servant hood, suffering, and love.
Author and Date: Three times in this
book (1, 9, 19) Paul identifies himself as the author. The vocabulary and style
are clearly his, for many of the phrases in this letter are found in Paul's
other letters (compare v4 with Philippians 1:3-4). Also many of those who sent
their greetings with this letter were the same ones who did so in the letter to
the Colossians. This fact indicates the close relationship between the two letters
(Colossians 4:12-15).
Paul was a prisoner when he wrote this
epistle, but his location is uncertain. Three possibilities have been
suggested: Ephesus, Caesarea (Acts 24-26), and Rome (Acts 28).But most hold
that Paul wrote this letter during the first Roman imprisonment around 65 A.D.,
along with the other Prison Epistles, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians.
Occasion and Purpose: The greeting and
content of the letter indicate that Philemon is the intended recipient.
Philemon was a slave owner whose home served as the meeting place for a local
church. Philemon probably lived in Colosse, a city in the Roman province of Asia Minor. He was a convert to Christianity as a
result of Paul's ministry, possibly during the apostle's stay in Ephesus (Acts 19:26). Apphia was probably his wife, and
Archippus may have been his son, possibly serving at this time as the pastor of
the church that met in Philemon's house (Colossians 4:7).
Philemon owned a slave name Onesimus,
a common name for slaves in that period. Onesimus ran away and apparently had
stolen something from his master. Having fled to Rome, the escaped slave providentially came in
contact with Paul, became a Christian, and remained with the apostle for some
time, serving him in prison. However, restoration and restitution needed to be
made. It was agreed that Onesimus would return to Philemon, even though this
could result in Onesimus' death. Paul wrote a letter to his friend Philemon,
pleading the cause of Onesimus. At the same time he wrote a letter to the
church at Colosse and sent it with Tychicus (Colossians 4:7-9). The New
Testament does not reveal what finally happened to Onesimus. Some have taken
him to be the Onesimus who eventually became the bishop of Ephesus, mentioned my Ignatius in the early
second century.
Slavery in the Ancient World: To
recognize the significance of this letter, it is essential to understand
slavery as it existed in the first century. At that time the salve-master
relationship was as common as the employee-employer relationship is today.
Onesimus was a runaway Roman salve. But Paul, although he was a Roman citizen
himself, brought to the nature of slavery a unique Christian understanding that
was grounded in Hebraic ethics.
During this period, the Jews practiced
slavery according to the provisions of the Law of Mosses. A Jewish slave
belonged to the family of the owner and had certain religious and social
rights. If the slave was a Hebrew, the term of salve was limited to six years.
Jeremiah had warned that permanent slavery would bring about divine disfavor
(Jeremiah 34:8-22). But even if the salve was a Gentile, the owner's power was
limited to Jewish law. If a master punished and injured a slave in his possession,
the slave was set to be free. If the punishment resulted in the slave's death,
then the master was to be punished. The salve was viewed as a person and was to
be treated fairly, which differed from the Roman system of slavery.
Among the Jews, slaves were only a
small portion of the population. But in Rome, salves out numbered Roman citizens. Some
of the wealthy Roman landowners may have had ten to twenty thousand slaves
working on their estates. To the Romans, a slave was not a person and basically
was thought of as property. Many slaves were treated humanely and sometimes
were better off economically than many free persons, but there was still the
fact that they were considered a possession. They were vulnerable to cruel
treatment and could even be killed with impunity. With slaves far out numbering
citizens, controlling the salve population was imperative to the Romans. To loose
control of the slaves was to forfeit the social and economic basis of the Roman Empire.
In his letters the Apostle Paul did
not approve of slavery, but he also did not condemn it. He exhorted slaves to
demonstrate Christian obedience and humility even to their masters. (Ephesians
6:5-8; Colossians 3:22-25). In turn, Christian masters were to treat their
slaves fairly (Ephesians 5:9, Colossians 4:1). Yet at the same time, Paul declared
the equality of both slaves and free persons before Christ, a principle that
would eventually undermine the institution of slavery (1 Corinthians 7:22; Galatians 3:28; Ephesians 6:8; Colossians 3:11).
Theology: The Epistle of Philemon was
not written to refute theological error or to teach doctrine. However into this
short letter Paul skillfully weaves the concepts of salvation (10, 16),
substitution (17) imputation (18), and redemption (19), Although here these
ideas speak of Paul's relationship with Onesimus, they remind us of Christ's
relationship with us (Galatians 4:1-7). We were once slaves to sin, but Christ
redeemed us from our awful fate, death.
The letter is basically an earnest
plea for a Christian love that would confront the cruelty and hatred embodied
in the cultural institutions of that day. Paul commends Philemon for already
expressing that type of love (5, 7). But to ensure that this love would be
shown to Onesimus, Paul offers to pay Onesimus' debt (19). Paul's love for
Onesimus, went beyond mere words, he was willing to give out of his own poverty
to guarantee this slave's well-being.