AM Bible Study Group; July 2, 2013
Colossians 4:10-11
Theme: Paul drew comfort from fellow workers who had dramatically different stories.
(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from
In our last study, we began to consider the “greetings” section of Paul’s letter to the Colossians—that is, Colossians 4:7-18. As we affirmed in that initial study, we should never pass too quickly through these lists of names. They were people who were dear to Paul and dear to the people who received his letter. Each one of them had stories to tell of the outworking of God’s grace in their lives; and with respect to they ways God put them to use in the advancement of His kingdom. The Holy Spirit preserved this list of names for our edification; and it rewards our careful and prayerful study.
Paul’s list of names in Colossians can be broken up into three divisions. Last week, in verses 7-9, we met two people that Paul sent to minister to the Colossians in his absence—Tychicus and Onesimus. They were two very different men whose character traits showed them worthy of his trust. In verses 10-14—the section we’ll be introducing in today’s study—Paul sends greetings from those who are ministering to the Colossians from far away. And finally, in verses 15-18, we find some of the Colossians themselves mentioned; and the ways that Paul encourages them to be of service to others.
To get the most out of this passage, we’ll divide the middle section even further. Of the people that ministered with Paul to the Colossians from afar, verses 10-11 tell us of his co-laborers who were his Jewish kinsmen; and in verses 12-14, we’re introduced to his co-workers from afar who were Gentiles. It may seem that we’re going at a snail’s pace; but when we look at the stories of these co-workers together in detail, we learn much about their backgrounds—and what an amazing work of God’s grace it was that they could all work together for the kingdom.
I. ARISTARCHUS—A FELLOW PRISONER (v. 10a).
A. Paul introduces these Jewish fellow workers by saying, “Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you . . . ” And can you imagine a greater commendation to have forever printed in the word of God than that? It was a designation that was as hard-earned as it was honorable.
1. Aristarchus (whose interesting name means “The Best Ruler”; think of our word “aristocrat”) might be characterized as Paul’s faithful traveling companion. He was a Jewish man from the regions of Macedonia. We first read of him in Acts 19. where Paul’s preaching in the city of Ephesus had caused a riot. Most preachers would be thrilled if they could just provoke a little interest among their listeners; but in Paul’s preaching set whole cities into an uproar! (But then, Paul was not like ‘most preachers’.) Acts 19:29 tells us, “So the whole city was filled with confusion, and rushed into the theater with one accord, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul’s travel companions.” It was only by a miracle that these two men—Gaius and Aristarchus—survived this extremely dangerous situation.
2. Now; for most people, an experience like that would be enough to make them leave the mission field! But Aristarchus didn’t leave Paul; and that’s one of the things that makes him so remarkable. From then on in the book of Acts, we read of Aristarchus as Paul’s traveling companion in his missionary journeys. He is associated with Paul in some of the most tumultuous experiences of his missionary ministry. Aristarchus appears to have been converted to Christ during Paul’s turbulent ministry to the Thessalonians as it’s described in Acts 17:1-9. Paul and his missionary team had to flee from that city; but “some of them were persuaded” (v. 4). Apparently, Aristarchus was one of those who had been persuaded by Paul’s preaching. We then find that Aristarchus was among those who traveled with Paul through Macedonia and on ahead to Troas (Acts 20:4-5)—after the uproar in Ephesus had ceased (v. 1)!. And then, when we read of the beginning of one of Paul’s most famous adventures—the harrowing shipwreck story near the close of the book of Acts—we once again read, “Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, was with us” (Acts 27:2).
B. Aristarchus stuck with Paul when, perhaps, fleshly common sense would have suggested that it wasn’t safe to do so. But I believe that’s what Paul meant by calling him “my fellow prisoner”; which, in the original language, really means, “my fellow prisoner of war”. You hang around Paul long enough, and fight the battles for the faith along side him, you just might end up also sharing a prison cell with him too—which is what apparently happened to Aristarchus. But Aristarchus stayed with Paul through thick and in thin; and that may be why Paul said that Aristarchus was one of those “fellow workers for the kingdom of God” who “have proved to be a comfort to me” (Colossians 4:11).
II. MARK—A MAN OF A SECOND CHANCE (v. 10b).
A. And then comes another fellow Jew who was also a comfort to Paul, and a minister with him from afar to the Colossians. But this man had a very different story to tell from that of Aristarchus! His name was Mark; and he was the cousin—or possibly the nephew—of another close associate of Paul’s named Barnabas. Mark’s story is that of a former failure in the work of the Lord—but who could also testify that the Lord turns failures into useful ‘fellow-workers’ and faithful ‘comforters’ in His kingdom’s cause!
1. Barnabas was a very important man to Paul. He and Paul were sent by the church together on the church’s very first missionary endeavor. And early on, they had agreed to take Mark (also called John) along as an assistant (Acts 13:5). And just as was true in the experiences of Aristarchus, the work became quite dangerous and challenging. In their ministry on the island of Cyprus, their work became viciously opposed by a sorcerer and false prophet named Elymas. Elymas constantly tried to sabotage Paul’s preaching of the gospel. Finally, Paul had enough; and said, “O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time” (Acts 13:10-11). As a result, Elymas went blind; and went around trying to find someone to lead him by the hand. This frightening display of the seriousness of spiritual warfare certainly proved the greatness of God’s power to defend His gospel! But it appears to have so frightened young Mark that—unlike faithful Aristarchus—he called it quits. He went back home before the work had barely begun (Acts 13:13).
2. Later on in their ministry, we read that “. . . after some days Paul said to Barnabas, ‘Let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing.’ Now Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark. But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work” (15:36-38). Barnabas—whose name means “Son of Encouragement” (Acts 4:32)—wanted to give Mark a second chance; but Paul felt that the work was far too important to risk taking someone along whose commitment couldn’t be trusted. The disagreement between them was so strong that they agreed to part company. Paul took Silas and went one way; and Barnabas took Mark and went another.
3. Who was right?—Paul or Barnabas? It would seem that they both were right. Paul was certainly correct that the work of spreading the gospel demands commitment and endurance; and Mark hadn’t demonstrated the kind of commitment and endurance that the work required. But as the years went by, we find that Mark proved more and more reliable; and Paul’s heart had greatly softened toward him. Near the end of his life, Paul wrote to Timothy and said, “Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry” (2 Timothy 4:11). And even the apostle Peter—who had been a pretty big failure once himself—was able to send greetings to his readers, adding this note: “. . . and so does Mark my son” (1 Peter 5:13). In fact, it’s been the tradition of the church throughout the centuries that Mark carefully wrote down the gospel story as Peter had preached it; and that his writing is found today in our Bibles as “The Gospel of Mark”. The man who once quit in the middle of a missionary journey ended up writing a Gospel account that has been proclaimed by missionaries ever since!
B. It was this same Mark that Paul conveyed the greetings of to the Colossian believers; writing, “about whom you received instructions: if he comes to you, welcome him” (Colossians 4:10b). Perhaps he had to add those words because folks were a little hesitant to put confidence in Mark. And perhaps there are times when we’ve blown so badly that people might be hesitant to put confidence in us. But God isn’t. He is able to make fabulous success stories out of people who blew it big—if they’ll just let Him. Perhaps he was a comfort to Paul in that he was a living demonstration to Paul of the greatness of the grace of God that is brought about by the gospel he preached.
III. JESUS WHO IS CALLED JUSTICE—A QUIET ENCOURAGEMENT (v 11).
A. It would be hard to find two men more distinct in their qualifications than the bold and faithful Aristarchus and the timid and formerly-unfaithful Mark. But God used them both. And perhaps somewhere in the middle, we find another man who ministered to the Colossians from afar. In sending greetings, Paul adds; “. . . and Jesus who is called Justus.” “Jesus” is a Greek form of the Jewish name “Joshua” (“Yahweh Saves”); and “Justus” was a common Roman surname that means “The Just One”. A few other people in the Bible had this Roman surname. There was “Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus”. He was proposed as a replacement for Judas among the twelve (Acts 1:23). And there was a believer named Titus Justus who lived next door to a synagogue, and who gave Paul a temporary place to stay (Acts 18:7).
B. We don’t know much about this particular man that Paul mentions—Jesus, who was called Justus (“Yahweh Saves, who is called the Just One”). We can surmise, however, that he was a Jew who apparently had a strong Roman influence. That possibly made him effective in proclaiming the gospel of the Messiah to the non-Jewish world of which Colossae was a part. He—along with Aristachus and Mark—stands out as receiving this good commendation from Paul: “These are my only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are of the circumcision [that is, of Jewish origin]; they have proved to be a comfort to me” (v. 11).
* * * * * * * * * *
Knowing the fuller picture of these three men, you can’t help but wonder if the reason they were a comfort to Paul was because they were all three there for him. Aristarchus was a courageous man of faith who stuck with Paul through thick and thin. Mark was a man whose faithfulness had to be proven in time, and for whom a great deal of forgiveness needed to be granted. And perhaps Jesus who is called Justus was used by God to bring those two dramatically different personalities in unity with one another for the very-present comfort of the apostle Paul and for the from-a-distance service of the Colossian believers.
We all come from different backgrounds and experiences. We all have stories of courage and faithfulness, but we also have sad moments of failure. Sometimes, we stand in the middle to bring unity to those of different characteristics in the body of Christ. May God help us to offer ourselves individually to Him—just as we are; so that He can form us into ambassadors of comfort together.