Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Romans 16:6
Greet Mary, who bestowed much labor on us.
6. Mary ] Mariam or Maria. Both forms represent the Heb. Miriam. In the Gospels, the Holy Mother is always, or nearly always, called Mariam in the Greek text; the other Maries, Maria. This is the only Hebrew name in this chapter.
bestowed much labour ] Lit. toiled; the strongest word for pains and efforts.
on us ] The better reading is, on you. We do not know the occasion or occasions of these “labours.” The verb is aorist, and refers to a definite past period or crisis.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Who bestowed much labour on us – Who labored much for us. Nothing more is known of her but this honorable mention of her name. It is probable that these persons were formerly residents in Greece, and that the apostle had there become acquainted with them, but that they had now removed to Rome.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Rom 16:6-7
Greet Mary, who bestowed much labour on us.
Marys service
1. Well directed.
2. Diligently performed.
3. Rightly dictated.
4. Abundantly rewarded. (J. Lyth, D.D.)
The Marys of the New Testament
I. Two were related to Christ–Mary the mother of Jesus, and Mary her sister.
II. Two ministered to Christ–Mary of Bethany and Mary Magdalene.
III. Two showed kindness to Christs servants–Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark, and Mary of Rome. (J. Lyth, D. D.)
A working woman
Have you the slightest desire to be loved, would you have your presence a welcome one in palace and cottage alike, would you be admired, respected, revered, would you feel all sweet human sympathies clustering around you while you live, and know that the tears of a multitude of friends would be shed upon your grave when you die, you must be a working woman–living and working for others, denying yourself for others, and building up for yourself a character, strong, symmetrical, beautiful. If I were you I would rather be that impalpable and quietly gliding shadow which the wounded soldier kissed as the noble Florence Nightingale passed down between the hospital beds, than the golden calf of luxury who has no thought above her personal ease and nourishment. (Great Thoughts.)
Salute Andronicus and Junia.
Andronicus and Junia
Probably husband and wife, or brother and sister. Grace adorns, sanctifies, and sweetens every relation of life. Natural relationships not absorbed by union with Christ. The distinction of these persons was that they were–
I. Kinsmen of paul, either in the wider or more restricted sense. Pauls nephew at Jerusalem warmly attached to his uncle. Grace recognises the ties of kindred. These ties drawn still closer by a common faith.
II. Pauls fellow prisoners. When and where unknown. Valuable undesigned coincidence with 2Co 6:5; 2Co 11:23. Paul had been often in prison, but the history speaks only of one imprisonment (Act 16:23) before the date of this letter. Others mentioned afterwards as his fellow prisoners (Col 4:10; Php 2:2-3). Chains for Christ greater honour than chains of office.
III. Of note among the apostles. They were not, of course, apostles in the strictest sense, viz., of the company appointed by Christ Himself (Mat 10:2), but in the wider sense, viz., messengers (2Co 8:23). Amongst these Andronicus and Junia were highly distinguished. There are different ranks among believers, as there were among Davids worthies who were honoured according to bravery and zeal. Not only sincerity, but eminence in grace to be desired. Grace distinguishes more than gifts, but the best gifts are to be coveted. Pauls relations apparently lived in Jerusalem (Act 23:16). Andronicus and Junia therefore in circumstances to be well known to apostles. Possibly the gospel was brought by them to Rome.
IV. In Christ before Paul. The distinguishing characteristic of a true Christian is to be in Christ. The believer is in three positions–in Adam by nature, in Christ by faith, in the Church by baptism. To be in Christ is to be one with Him as a member of His body. Note Pauls humility. He readily accords pre-eminence. These kinsmen may have been among the converts at Pentecost. Priority of union with Christ to be regarded as an honour. Age in Christ makes venerable. Paul delights to refer to his conversion. The time of our union with Christ never to be forgotten. (T. Robinson, D.D.)
Andronicus and Junia
I. Their relation to Christ. This includes three things.
1. An impressive knowledge and belief of His character and work.
2. An interest in the blessings possessed by Christ.
3. A likeness to Christ.
II. A distinguishing circumstance of their subjection to Christ. Pauls friends were Christians before himself. Note the importance of an early relation to Christ.
1. How many evils are avoided.
(1) An awfully deluded mind.
(2) Inveterate habits in sin.
(3) Much of poignant regret.
(4) The awful danger of being taken away in a state of enmity against God.
2. How many positive advantages are gained.
(1) The pleasures of religion are enjoyed through life.
(2) There is the present satisfaction of being under the promised care and blessing of the Divine Redeemer.
(3) There is the elevating hope that death will be gain. (Essex Congregational Remembrancer.)
A fourfold fellows-ship
1. Of family.
2. Of suffering.
3. Of service.
4. Of grace. Who also were in Christ before me.—
In Christ
I. What is it to be in christ?
1. We are in Christ–
(1) By virtue of the Divine plan and purpose (Eph 1:4; 2Ti 1:9).
(2) When our sins are forgiven (Col 2:11-14).
(3) By regeneration (2Co 5:17). And in connection with this Christ is said to be our life.
(4) When we are justified (Rom 8:1).
(5) When we make profession of faith in Christs name.
(6) By holy walking (Col 2:6).
(7) At His coming.
2. This union is–
(1) Deep and indestructible.
(2) A union which is the source of reciprocal delight.
II. We may be in christ, as far as the development and evidence of it is concerned, at different periods. Andronicus and Junia were in Christ before Paul.
1. When we are young, as soon as the truth of Jesus can be received into the understanding and the heart, the child may be in Christ. We have instances in Holy Scripture of early piety: Joseph, Moses, David, Josiah, Daniel and the three Hebrews, John the Baptist, and Timothy. When we enter upon the serious businesses and occupations of life: Christ says, Take My yoke upon you; and if you receive Christs yoke and hear His burden, you are in Christ.
2. When we are married. We read that marriage is to be only in the Lord. Are you going to be heirs together of the grace of life?
3. Are you forty, and not in Christ? Your peril is extreme. It is a rare thing for a person to be converted after forty.
4. I come to age. We deny not that a man may be brought unto Christ, just when he is about to expire, as the thief upon the cross was; but I beg of you that you leave not a question of such profound importance to such a conjuncture as that. Augustine said, touchingly–I was too late in knowing Christ. Twill save us from a thousand snares to mind religion young.
III. It is a great privilege to be in Christ. The apostle speaks of that which was of first advantage, and it is compared with other advantages. In Php 3:1-21. Paul gives an account of all his Hebrew advantages, and counts all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ. But let me advert to other privileges.
1. National privileges. It was a privilege to be a Roman, and the apostle valued that privilege. It is a privilege to be an Englishman, and there are peculiar privileges belonging to some positions in our country, but all of them put together, in comparison with the advantage of being in Christ, are as nothing.
2. What a privilege is the sight of the eye, and the brightness of the sun! Is there no privilege in the spiritual vision and the glory of the Sun of Righteousness?
3. What a value in life! What is the spiritual life worth?
4. And especially viewed in the light of eternity. If not in Christ when you die, you will die in your sins. In Christ, or no resurrection of glory at the last day, but a resurrection of judgment and condemnation. (J. Stratten.)
The common bond
This passage furnishes an interesting illustration of the Christian love of those early days, and how the gospel knit mens hearts together across the earth at a time of the worlds history when the intercourse of man with man was small, and travelling dangerous, laborious, and slow. Yet the number of names mentioned shows how largely, even then, the tenderness of Christian love could draw heart to heart, and unite even personal strangers in a true brotherhood.
I. The phrase in Christ implies the attainment of safety in Christ. The language is founded on the idea of a refuge, as if a man surrounded with foes and in danger of his life should fly to some stronghold, and be in safety. It may be that the devil attacks you with some strong temptation; it may be that God has visited you with solemn convictions, and you know not where to find peace. It may be that life is slipping swiftly by; health failing you, death drawing near, whither shall you look for help? There is but one refuge; one, where the power of sin will be broken; one, where the tormenting sense of guilt will be removed by the atoning blood of Christ; one, where declining life will cease to alarm you, where death itself will lose its fears.
II. The words in Christ imply union with Christ. Here the living idea which naturally occurs is that of a vine branch, living by union with the root arid partaking of its life, just as our Lord said, Abide in Me. He that abideth in Me, the same bringeth forth much fruit. Here we take a step farther than mere safety. It is not from the punishment of sin alone we need to be saved, but from the stain of its pollutions. Why, what is religion but life? and life is joy. There is joy in the state into which we enter when we become children of God, and look up to the great Being who made the heavens and the earth and all things therein, and call Him with happy confidence, Our Father, which art in heaven. It is not all over with us when we die; the best is to come in the cloudless heaven prepared for those who love God.
III. To be in Christ implies the rest of the soul when it has found Him, and the satisfaction with which it dwells content in Him. Here we have the idea of search. Like the merchantman in search of goodly pearls, we look for the object of our desire in every direction, and pursue eagerly our search till, in some happy moment, we find the precious thing for Which we are seeking, and then we rest. It would be as easy to satisfy a man with the playthings of a child, as to satisfy with things perishing a soul that will live for ever. We search and are disappointed. How often in common life we use the phrase of a person or of a thing that has disappointed us, I did not find what I expected in him or in it? But we may find all in Christ. (Canon Garbett.)
In Christ
These words were very familiar and very precious to the early Christians. So much so, that they inscribed them on the tombs of their departed friends, as the catacombs in Rome and other ancient burial places still show you. And it was thought enough to wipe away a mourners tears to see on his friends grave the inscription, In Christ. The preposition in, as found in our New Testament, has a variety of significations in accordance with the various meanings of the word which it translates. It is hero employed to represent presence, or inclosure; as, when we say, in a kingdom, in a family, in a house, in the body. Not as when we say in a valley, meaning upon the surface; thus, you say, a house in a valley, meaning upon the surface of the ground constituting a valley; but, as when you say, in a mountain, or in a river, representing the idea that the thing of which you speak is contained or inclosed. In Christ, is used in our New Testament not unfrequently with this signification; as, when we read of faith in Christ, hope in Christ, truth in Christ. And persons are said elsewhere to be in Christ–thus, babes in Christ–fallen asleep in Christ. There you see the word can have no other idea connected with it than that of inclusion–that of being contained; it cannot be by Christ, or after Christ, or before Christ; If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. You will observe that this is distinct from, and something in advance of, faith in Christ, and truth in Christ. Although the two things in reality are connected, yet you will see that there is a distinction between saying that a mans faith rests in Christ, and that the man himself is in Christ. The two things we know are in reality connected, but you will observe that the ideas are distinct. The words, In Christ, represent some personal relation and connection; for you will observe the phrase is not hope in Christ, or, as elsewhere, faith in Christ. The idea is not that of any particular faculty or susceptibility having Christ for its object. The idea is that of the individual, in all his life, being intimately connected with Christ. Notice that this connection is begun in time. There was a time when, according to Pauls own idea, he was not in Christ. Now, very close union is indicated by Christ Himself, as existing between Himself and His disciples. He that eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in him. At that day ye shall know that I am in the Father, and ye, mark, ye in Me. Elsewhere, by His apostle, Christ teaches, He that is joined unto the Lord, is one spirit, for, he adds, we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones. There are certain analogies which will here assist us. You know that Christ is called the last man; the last Adam; the second Adam. Adam was a representative man. And there are particular ideas involved in these general thoughts. For example, as an advocate, Christ represents us; and, if Christ as an advocate represents us, we appear before God in Him. Again, Christ is called the chief corner-stone. As the several stones are one in the corner, so are believers one in Christ; and the same thought, you observe, is involved in Christ being the Head. Again, He is called the true vine; and His disciples are the branches. But there are certain doctrines which throw light upon this expression. Let me just remind you that all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; and, except we are redeemed by the Saviour, we are ungodly. We are not in the spiritual, and in the most blessed, sense living in God. In the lowest sense we all live, and move, and have our being in Him-just as plants, and trees, and flowers, the grass of the field, the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, live in Him; but in the highest sense, the ungodly cannot live in Him while they are ungodly. Instead of being of the Father, they are of the world. Their element is not God, And this is our great fault; this is the source of our wretchedness; this is the root of all our wickedness. Look further. God loves the world, and desires, in the most blessed sense, that men should be brought back to Him. Then, to restore them to union with Himself, He gives His Son to be a Mediator. Now suppose that I receive this truth, what have I done? I have not my own case in hand as a suffering, sinful man. I am not trying to be my own advocate. My case is in Christ; it is entirely represented in Him. It is not only in His hand, but it is involved in His very position; because unless there were sinners there could not be a Mediator. In Christ–then your iniquities are forgiven, and your transgression is covered. In Christ–then by His obedience you are accounted righteous. In Christ–then the Spirit of Christ dwells with you. In Christ–then you are joint heirs with Christ. In Christ–then your life is hid with Christ, and it cannot be taken away. (S. Martin.)
The blessedness of being early in Christ
I. It makes our work easier. How easy to bend the pliant twig! How hard to move the sturdy tree! An old man, one day taking a child on his knee, entreated him to seek God now. With artless simplicity the little one asked, Why do not you seek God? The old man answered, his utterance half choked with tears, I would, child, but my heart is hard–my heart is hard!
II. Our work is better done. He who invites us to remember Him in the days of our youth, will show His love by affording abundant help.
III. Life is made more happy. Conscience testifies that we have chosen the good part, and that God is our Friend. The power of temptation is weakened. The growth of graces is promoted. Unreasonable doubts and fears are removed. The sting of death is effectually plucked away. Religious ways are ways of pleasantness and peace. Great peace have they who love Gods law.
IV. It saves us from being destructive examples to others. When Lord Peterborough was the guest of Fenelon, he exclaimed, If I stay here any longer, I shall become a Christian in spite of myself. A young man, who was about to be ordained to the ministry, stated that at one period he had been nearly betrayed into infidelity. But, he added, there was one argument in favour of Christianity which I could never refute–the consistent conduct of my own father! In contrast with such examples for good, imagine the terrible, soul-destroying influence of evil men!
V. It fits one for an exalted position of usefulness in Gods kingdom. Early piety, says Henry, it is to be hoped, will be eminent piety. Those that are good betimes are likely to be very good. Take an old, time-wrinkled man, and endeavour to teach him the arts of a soldier, or to make a scholar or tradesman of him. What painful plodding, and, oftentimes, what unavailing effort! But the young can master any-thing.
VI. We are certain of a heavenly reward. As in a well-appointed army the soldiers pay is regulated by the time of service, so is it with the followers of Christ. Long years of patient continuance in well-doing will be recompensed with the highest seats, the brightest crowns, and the most ecstatic enjoyment. (J. N. Norton, D.D.)
The privilege of being early in Christ
Everything is beautiful in its season. What spring is in the natural year, youth is in the life of man. If that precious season is lost, it is a dreadful thing; rather there should be the sowing to the Spirit, that we may reap life everlasting. It is therefore a beautiful order that the young should remember their Creator in the days of their youth. Hence it was that Paul spake of himself as one born out of due time–not born at the right season. And hence it is that he attaches such distinction to Andronicus and Junta.
I. What is it to be in Christ? Probably the common answer isTo be a Christian. But what is it to be a Christian? To be baptized? Then indeed the whole baptized population of our land were in Christ. But is there any man in his senses that dares to affirm that? There is a sense, indeed, in which all who are baptized are in Christ: they are under solemn obligations to Christ; they have His name upon them; they have the symbol of His service traced upon their brow. But this will only enhance their guilt and aggravate their condemnation, if this be all. And yet there is a sense in which being baptized into Christ is being in Christ, but that is when the sign of the water poured on the child is authenticated by a new birth unto righteousness. Baptism is the outward and visible representation of the grafting of a soul into Christ. Now when the gardener wishes to graft a scion from one tree into another, he inserts it into a little aperture, and afterwards surrounds it with clay and straw, and binds the whole round with strong bands. And thus the grafting, as far as man can accomplish it, is done. But in order that the grafting may take effect, the bark of the stem must grasp and coalesce with the little slip, and that little slip, putting forth its fibres and its stems, must also grasp the bark of the stem, and so there must be a reciprocal union. Then the grafting is effectual. Even so it is in the grafting of a soul into Christ. Baptism and all the means of grace are what men can use and ought to use; but in vain are all the means of grace, except the union of the soul with Christ takes place. That union is accomplished on the part of Christ by putting His own Spirit into the soul, and on the part of the soul by believing in Christ. And if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, however duly baptized, however moral, he is none of Christs. Therefore to be in Christ is represented by every figure of adhering union.
II. What is the inestimable blessing of being thus in Christ? And here all thought fails us; for, if a man be out of Christ, he is under sin and the power of Satan; but he that is in Christ is delivered out of the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the sons of God. And if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; all things are his–whether Paul or Apollos, etc. He is safe from every peril, secure from all evils: God is his Father, angels are his attendants, and all things work together for his good.
III. The unspeakable blessing of being found early in Christ. To be early in Christ–
1. Is to be in Christ. At the right time, as Christ Himself designs that we should be. For I have no doubt that infant baptism is of Christ. Circumcision was enjoined upon every child of Gods professing people, so that the child who was not circumcised was to be cut off from Israel.
2. Will save from thousands of evils and dark stains. Out of Christ the child knows not what may become of it, how he may, like the prodigal, debase himself until he is feeding the swine. But to be early in Christ is to be early in the ark, in the stronghold, out of the reach of Satan.
3. Will augment usefulness. The stream that runs a little way to the ocean can leave but little greenness and beauty on its banks; but the river that winds its crystal way through many a valley and over many a plain–oh! what rich blessing it scatters along its course! And so it is in comparison with the man who has but a little course in which to serve God, when he has wasted his best years in sin. (Canon Stowell.)
Early consecration
I. In its relation to God.
1. Our first clear duty is to know and glorify God. He has made, preserved, and redeemed us. It is, therefore, utterly ignoble to ask with how little we may satisfy His claim. A duke of Brittany during a long imprisonment vowed that if he regained his liberty he would give to the Church his weight in gold, and did so conscientiously, for he went into the balance clad in all his armour. When Don Carlos, the son of Philip II., lay ill, he made a like vow, but on his recovery placed himself in the scale clad in damask and fur. We see at a glance which is the more excellent way.
2. We glorify God the most when we come to Him soonest (Eph 1:12), with the free-offering of a life unviolated, fresh, and full of all glorious possibilities–far more than we can by laying fortunes at His feet in distant years (Mic 7:1).
II. In its relation to our own life. It is our business to make the best of our life throughout, and early consecration gives perfection–
1. To our youth. It secures to the full–
(1) The grace of early days. Like the firefly on a flower, or the rainbow above a waterfall, what was already beautiful the grace of God makes doubly so.
(2) The joy of youth. The light-hearted, free joyousness of lifes golden dawn is not damped by the fear of God, only conserved and raised.
(3) The spirit of youth. So far from destroying enthusiasm, the love of God only renders more intense and pure the generous fire.
(4) All the beautiful characteristics of youth. The angel John saw in the sun would not dim the light: religion in youth is that angel giving new splendour to life.
2. To our manhood. A wasted youth tells injuriously on the later stages of life. When the trees in the spring-time are nipped by the frost they never quite recover. But early in Christ means a strong, pure, blessed manhood (Lam 3:27). It is an unspeakable advantage to serve the apprenticeship of life under Christ. He can make us workmen needing not to be ashamed in that most difficult art–the art of living.
3. To our age. Andronicus and Junia were admirable people to the last. Age is much what we make it, desolate old age being the bitter fruit of self-will and indulgence, a bright old age the fruit of discipline. The French artist Millet used to say to his pupils, The end of the day is the proof of the picture. That which will bear the test of the twilight hour is true in character as well as in art.
III. In its relation to social duty.
1. Early in Christ we best serve our generation. Andronicus and Junia were famous workers in their generation. As a rule the world can owe but little to men saved in the eleventh hour. At eventide we hear men say, Well, it is too late to make a good days work of a bad one.
2. None who in early life devote themselves to Christ ever live to regret having done so. Protracted investigation only shows them the reality of the rock on which they have built; the experiences of life only prove the preciousness of Christs truth and grace; the sorrows of life only cause them to cherish with profounder satisfaction the consolations and hopes of faith.
3. None who in later life devote themselves to Christ but wish they had done so earlier. Was not this really the wish of Paul here? Andronicus and Junia were rejoicing in Christ while he was haling men and women to prison.
4. That portion of our life which had no spiritual experience in it we feel was lost, no matter our worldly delights, knowledge, wealth, social triumphs. Pontius, the biographer of Cyprian, passes by the early period of his history with the remark that a mans actions should be recorded not from the time of his first, but of his second birth (Rom 6:20-21).
5. Few who finally fail to devote themselves to Christ but feel that the fatal mistake of their life was their early neglect of Christ.
(1) The external difficulties of beginning multiply with time, until in the course of years they become apparently insurmountable. The aged sinner is conscious that the gossamer thread which once held him from Christ has become an iron fetter, and the rivulet separating from the great inheritance a river.
(2) The internal difficulties increase–the failure of sensibility, will-power, etc., renders the beginning of a new life almost incredible to him who has for years resisted the Holy Ghost. It is always difficult to make the great renunciation, but the initial difficulty is never less than in lifes opening years (1Jn 2:14; Pro 8:17; Isa 26:9). (W. L. Watkinson.)
Early piety, beauty of
Early in the morning the dew still twinkles on the leaves, the maiden blush of dawn remains and reveals an opening beauty, which is lost to those who rise not to see the birth of day. There is a beauty about early piety which is indescribably charming, and unutterably lovely in freshness and radiance. We remark in childhood an artless simplicity, a child-like confidence, which is seen nowhere else. There may be less of knowing, but there is more of loving; there may be less of reasoning, but there is more of simply believing upon the authority of revelation; there may be less of deep-rootedness, but there is certainly more of perfume, beauty, and emerald verdure. If I must choose that part of the Christian life in which there is the most joy, next to the land Beulah, which I must set first and foremost by reason of its lying so near to Canaan, I think I would prefer that tract of Christian experience which lieth toward the sun-rising, which is sown with orient pearls of love, and cheered with the delicious music of the birds of hope. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Early piety, importance of
If the tree is permitted to grow up and to grow old, with the intention of making it new then, there is danger, lest, through storms or fire or war, it may be suddenly destroyed. And, even though it were protected from all these risks, it is strange that any one should deliberately desire that the soil and sun and air should be enjoyed by that tree, and wasted in bearing bitter fruit all the days of its strength, and only make a good tree in its old age, when it scarcely has sap sufficient in its veins to bear any fruit at all. See, reader, in this plain parable, how foolish, how false, how blasphemous, is the desire that throbs cowardly and covertly in many young hearts, to waste the broad sunny surface of life in sin, and throw a narrow strip of its withered, rugged edge at last as an offering to God! If you have no desire to be good and do good throughout the life on earth that lies before you, how can you desire to be good and do good in the eternity that lies beyond? Be not deceived. He who is weary of sin wants to be quit of it now, and instantly to enjoy a new life.. He who says he wants to be holy, but would rather put off the date of the change, lies to himself, to the world, and to God. (W. Arnot, D.D.)
Early piety, enduring
As a vessel will long retain and keep the savour of that wherewith it is first seasoned; even so, if children be taught good things while they be young and tender, they will abide the longer with them. (Cawdray.)
Youth, the root of age
It should be borne in mind that in old age it is too late to mend, that then you must inhabit what you have built. Old age has the foundation of its joy or its sorrow laid in youth. You are building at twenty. Are you building for seventy? Nay, every stone in the foundation takes hold of every stone in the wall up to the very eaves of the building; and every deed, right or wrong, that transpires in youth, reaches forward, and has a relation to all the afterpart of mans life. A mans life is not like the contiguous cells in a bees honeycomb; it is more like the separate parts of a plant which unfolds out of itself, every part bearing relation to all that antecede. That which you do in youth is the root, and all the afterparts, middle age and old age, are the branches and the fruits, whose character
the root will determine. (H. W. Beecher.)
Priority in Christ
1. Is a privilege.
2. Confers honour.
3. Demands proficiency.
4. Should guarantee usefulness.
5. Commands respect. (J. Lyth, D.D.)
The blessedness of being betimes in Christ
I. What is the import of being in Christ?
1. Some are in Christ only externally, as by baptism entered into His Church.
2. Some are also in Christ by vital union (Eph 5:30; 1Co 6:17; Joh 6:56).
II. The blessedness annexed to the being thus in Christ. You may see this–
1. In the union itself, as it is–
(1) Most intimate and endearing. Christ is compared to a foundation for our support, a vine for our fruitfulness, a head for vital importance, a husband for the most tender love. This is the ground of that sympathy that there is between Christ and His members (Heb 4:15; Col 1:24; Act 9:4).
(2) Most honourable. No title among men is comparable to that of being a member of Christ. Angels are subject to Him, but are not styled His body (Eph 1:23; Heb 2:16). How great is their dignity who are thus allied to the Lord of glory (1Co 2:8).
(3) Most enriching (Eph 3:8; Col 1:19; Joh 1:16; 1Co 1:30; 1Co 3:21; 1Co 3:23).
(4) Most comfortable. Nothing can be wanting to their support who are taken into it.
(5) Immediate. Every member stands equally near the Head: they are all in Him (1Pe 4:5-6; Eph 2:22; 1Co 12:13; Col 2:19).
(6) Inseparable.
2. In some instances of the happiness that belongs to those who are found in Christ. They–
(1) Have their sins pardoned (Psa 32:1; Col 1:14).
(2) Are freed from sins reigning power (Rom 7:24-25; Rom 8:2).
(3) Are rescued from the tyranny of Satan (Eph 2:2).
(4) Are delivered from the curse and condemnation of the law, and so from hell (Joh 3:18; Rom 8:1; Gal 3:13).
(5) Are brought into a state of favour with God whose lovingkindness is better than life (Psa 63:3; Rom 5:1).
(6) Are adopted into His family, that of which the Lord Jesus Christ is the head (Joh 1:12; Eph 2:19; Rom 8:17).
(7) Have the privilege of free access to God and are always welcome, being made accepted in the Beloved (Eph 1:6).
(8) Have their perseverance secured while they live; the reception of their souls to heaven at death; a glorious resurrection of their bodies, and a blessed eternity.
III. There are special advantages of being early in Christ.
1. This is the best preservative from sin, so displeasing to God, and which will fill the guilty with so much horror in the review.
2. Hereby you will be saved from being destructive examples to others; drawing them on in sin together with yourselves.
3. You will be fitted for more eminent service for God and your generation; be common blessings in helping to keep off judgments, and bring down mercy upon the places of your abode.
4. You will be especially dear to heaven; in the number of those whom God and Christ will delight to favour and honour.
5. This will speak you signal instances of the sovereignty and riches of grace that may be matter of comfortable reflection to you all your days.
6. You will be most like to attain a comfortable evidence of the sincerity and truth of grace, and so that you are the objects of Gods eternal choice.
7. Your great work upon earth will be over, being early provided for a blessed eternity.
8. If you are longer spared you will have a fair advantage of making a greater proficiency in grace, and so enlarge your capacity for greater glory.
IV. Application. Is it the happiness of some to be in Christ before others? Hence learn–
1. That a state of nature is a Christless state, and so a very miserable one (Eph 2:12).
2. How dangerous must it be to rest in a mere profession, and what multitudes are like to perish as looking no farther I (Mat 7:21; 1Jn 3:23).
3. How unreasonable is the backwardness of sinners to close with an offered Saviour! And yet how commonly is it discovered!
4. With what seriousness should every one concerned about his everlasting happiness or misery take up and pursue the inquiry, Am I in Christ, yea, or no? (D. Wilcox.)
Old age in Christ
The date of this Epistle is A.D. 58; the apostle was converted in A.D. 34. So that Andronicus and Junia had been disciples for more than twenty-four years, They were therefore advanced in life. May we not suppose that they were known to Him when He was a persecutor?
I. The characteristic features of aged Christians.
1. Stability in the faith.
2. Fertility in holiness.
3. Expectancy of blessings.
II. The advantages which they confer on the Church.
1. They afford encouragement to the fearful.
2. They suggest caution to the inexperienced.
III. Their special claims to our regard. They claim–
1. Our veneration.
2. Our sympathy on account of their infirmities.
3. Our assistance. (J. Blackburn.)
Age, what men reap in
A young man came to a man of ninety years of age and said to him, How have you made out to live so long and be so well? The old man took the youngster to an orchard, and, pointing to some large trees full of apples, said, I planted these trees when I was a boy, and do you wonder that now I am permitted to gather the fruit of them? We gather in old age what we plant in our youth. Sow to the wind and we reap the whirlwind. Plant in early life the right kind of a Christian character, and you will eat luscious fruit in old age, and gather these harvest apples in eternity. (T. De Witt Talmage, D.D.)
The Christian sage
I. His privilege.
1. Early conversion.
2. Experience.
3. Prospects.
II. Duties.
1. To counsel.
2. Exhort.
3. Encourage.
III. Claims to–
1. Respect.
2. Veneration.
3. Sympathy. (J. Lyth, D.D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 6. Greet Mary, who bestowed much labour on us.] Who this Mary was, or what the labour was which she bestowed upon the apostles, we know not. Her works, though hidden from man, are with God; and her name is recorded with honour in this book of life.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Greet Mary: this was a common name, but the person here meant was of special note. Ignatius highly commends one of this name, giving her an ample character for wisdom and godliness.
Who bestowed much labour on us; this is the commendation the apostle gives of this woman: it is to be understood of her labour and service in providing food and other necessaries for the entertainment of the faithful, especially the preachers of the gospel; which he acknowledgeth as done to himself, though he had not been at Rome, because of the communion of saints. Some think this woman dwelt before at Corinth, or Antioch, or in some other places, where she had ministered unto the apostle Paul himself.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
6. Greetor “salute”
Mary, who bestowed muchlabour on uslabor, no doubt, of a womanly kind.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Greet Mary, who bestowed much labour on us. Some copies read, “you”; and so do the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions: and indeed it seems most likely that the persons on whom this good woman bestowed so much labour, and to whom she was so very serviceable, were the saints at Rome, where she lived, rather than the apostle and his companions; not but that she might have been in some parts where she had met with him, and his friends, and had been very indefatigable in assisting and supplying them, in a very generous and liberal manner, with all the necessaries of life; and was exceeding useful in encouraging the ministers of the Gospel, and in promoting the interest of Christ. Her name Mary is the same with Miriam in Hebrew; whether she was of Jewish extract is not certain, and who she was is not known: some have conjectured her to be the same that Ignatius wrote an epistle to; not Mary of Castabilis, but of Naples, who was at Rome in the time of Linus, the Latin version reads “Cletus”, and of Clement, on whom he bestows very great characters; calling her most faithful, worthy of God, and a bearer of Christ, and in all things wise m: and in another letter n of his he represents her as exceeding learned, an exemplar of godly women, and having a church in her house. But both these epistles are thought, by learned men, to be falsely ascribed to him, and so not to be depended on.
m Ignat. Epist. ad Mariam, p. 69, 70. n lb. ad Heronem, p. 97. Ed. Voss.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Mary (). Some MSS. have , the Hebrew form. The name indicates a Jewish Christian in Rome. Paul praises her toil. See Lu 5:5.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Mary (Mariam Mariam). Westcott and Hort read Marian. A Jewish name, the same as Miriam, meaning obstinacy, rebelliousness.
Bestowed labor [] . See on Luk 5:5.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Greet Mary,” (asposathe Marian) “Greet Mary,” or “be extending my greetings to Mary,” of whom nothing more is known. What or which of the Marys of the New Testament believers will be revealed only at the rewarding hour, 1Co 3:8.
2) “Who bestowed much labor on us,” (hetis palla ekopiasen eis humas) “Who tediously labored for you all,” labored much or in many things for you all; and it was not in vain, 1Co 15:58.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
6. He again testifies his gratitude, in recording the kindness of Mary to him. Nor is there any doubt but that he commemorates these praises, in order to recommend those whom he praised to the Romans. (475)
(475) It is said of Mary, that she “labored much,” εἰς ἡμᾶς, towards us, or among us; “ inter nos — among us,” [ Beza ]; “ pro nobis — for us,” [ Grotius ]. The reading εἰς ὑμᾶς, towards you, has many MSS. in its favor, and also ἐν ὑμῖν, among you. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
CRITICAL NOTES
Rom. 16:7. My kinsmen.Kindred. Perhaps in this passage the wider sense of fellow-countrymen. It is difficult to state what is the imprisonment here mentioned.
Rom. 16:8-9.Amplias and Urbanus, two of few Latin names. Aquila, Junia, Rufus, Julia, etc., are names of Greek origin, and probably for the most part of a lower class, such as freedmen and slaves (Wordsworth). Peters name not mentioned. Conclusive against the pretensions of Rome.
Rom. 16:10.Apelles is a name used by Horace in ridicule, but here ennobled by St. Paul. Origen says, approved by suffering and great tribulation.
Rom. 16:11.Narcissus, perhaps a freedman of Nero. Another Narcissus was put to death before the date of this epistle.
Rom. 16:14.Everything to be consecrated by Christianity. Phbe (the name of Diana) is a deaconess of the Church. Nereus and Hermes are Christianised. Striking is the contrast between Tryphena and Tryphosa, with their sensuous meaning and voluptuous sound, with the sterner words that follow, labouring in the Lord. Eusebius says that Hermes was the author of The Shepherd; but Lange says that the author of the book was the brother of Pius, bishop of Rome, and lived about the year 150. This book, pretending to give the revelation of an angel in a dream, once contended for authority with the Epistle to the Hebrews, and was held by some of the Alexandrian school in equal esteem with the Scriptures, and quoted as such; but it was never admitted into the canon.
Rom. 16:16.A holy kiss given at the feast of love. Justin Martyr says, We mutually salute each other by a kiss, and then we bring forward the bread and the cup. Tertullian calls it the kiss of peace and the seal of prayer. Discontinued on account of scandalous reports. Still practised in the Greek and Oriental Churches. Rabbins attached much importance to a kiss. Every kiss causes that spirit cleaves to spirit.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Rom. 16:6-16
St. Pauls conception of the respectable.In modern society we do not all move among what are called the respectable classes. There are classifications. It is sometimes highly amusing to hear one of the followers of him who was the friend of slaves, prisoners, freedmen, mere nobodies, parties whom you know one cannot know, declare that people are not respectable. In what is called Christianised society of to-day it is not the qualities but the quantities that a man possesses which command respect. The social pride of the day is odious. Some of the followers of fishermen are as proud as Lucifer. There are ecclesiastical dignitaries in every branch of the Church who need to study the kind of friends whom their great apostle saluted.
I. There is one quality possessed by all who command respect.That quality is the one of being in Christ, in the Lord. The question with the apostle is not, Is he in our set? Is he the kind of person we ought to know? Does he attend our church? Does he speak our shibboleth? The question which absorbs all other inquiries should be, Is he in Christ? is he in the Lord?in Christ by vital union with Him, deriving from Him spiritual life and force by active co-operation with all His loving plans and purposes.
II. Some have a bareness of quality which does not immortalise.Some are saved, but so as by fire. They are Christians, and that is all which can be affirmed. There must have been many more names in the Roman Church, names known, it may be, to the apostle, in addition to those here mentioned; but their names find no place in this immortal scroll of honour. Even in this list are names with no special marks of approval; they are honourable, but do not take the foremost places. It is something, a precious something, precious beyond compare, to be numbered amongst Christs redeemed; but it is something more to be numbered amongst Christs valiant workers, amongst His true and stalwart soldiers. It is a noble ambition to leave behind a name which the world will not let die; but nobler to have a name which Christ will mention with approval amid the plaudits of rejoicing angels.
III. Others have a richness of quality which commands special respect.We cannot be the firstfruits of our country in respect to time; but may we not be in respect to fulness, ripeness, and completeness? The richest fruits of our seasonwhat a noble ideal! We cannot be the personally well-beloved of St. Paul, but the well-beloved of Him who knoweth all things and knows those who ardently love and serve Him. Helpers in Christ; mighty labourers in the Lord. However mean our position, however isolated our lot, we may all be helpers in Christ. He has need of all; He lays claim to the service of all. Helpers with Paul in Christ are all the faithful workers through the centuries. Faithful helpers in Christ are the worlds mighty labourers. Earths minsters do not entomb their ashes; national mausoleums do not enshrine their effigies; earths historians do not indite eloquent panegyrics on their memories. But what are earthly glories? Vanitas vanitatum. Our national mausoleum now honours the names of those whom Christian England a short time ago dishonoured and illtreated. Christs approvals do not thus change. His valuations are always correct; His awards are discriminating; His immortalities alone endure.
Immortal friendships.There were women at Rome wearing in a single necklace of pearls a fortune of a hundred thousand pounds. Their very names have perished with their follies and vices, while Phbes name is resplendent for ever in Pauls gospel. Open your commentaries at this chapter, and note how often the dreary remark occurs, Nothing is known of this person. Nothing known of Epnetus and Urbanus and Olympas? If Alexander the Great and Napoleon Bonaparte could make their choice now, have you any doubt they would gladly exchange their fame for such a divine enrolment as this in the letter of some prophet or missionaryAlexander, the beloved, and Napoleon, my fellow-worker in the Lord? Let us first endeavour to find out how these names came to be in our Bible at all, and then consider the immortal friendships they celebrate. Three or four of them appear elsewhere in sacred history, and possibly two of them in the annals of Rome; but all the rest stand alone in this postscript of the letter which more than any other contains Pauls gospel. How wide was its reach already! Most of the names are of Greek origin. Only a few years before he had come to the centre of learning and the arts with the wisdom of God unto salvation, and now Greece and her colonies furnish him with twenty-one names for his roll of honour. Rome contributes nine more. His own people, to whom the covenants and the oracles of God belonged, are represented by only four Hebrew names; and Persis is not a name, it means the Persian woman. The Orient and all the world are laid under contribution, but these names reflect no splendours of earthly honour. Phbe, the first to appear in this galaxy, is the feminine of Phbus Apollo; she was named from the fabled divinity which Virgil describes, Semper rubet aurea Phbe. Yes, she shines for ever. But the name which her heathen parents gave her was a decoration of idolatry. And nearly all of these names had been tarnished by the superstitions and degradations of a false religion in which faith was perishing.
The glorious obscure.Our English Bibles only hint at the fact that the greater number of persons mentioned are not known by name to Paul: Salute them which are of the households of Aristobulus and of Narcissus. This is not a literal translation of what was written: Salute them who came out from the men belonging to Aristobulus and Narcissus. They are the converted slaves of these great Roman families, the poor creatures who were corralled overnight like cattle, or chained to posts around their palaces. Now they are grouped, to the number of hundreds perhaps, among the shining ones of God. Nameless men, and men of obscure and of tarnished names, make up this divine enrolment. And this is the first practical lesson it yields us: how to make our names shine; how to remove reproaches, justly or innocently incurred, and come out of obscurity and be remembered with veneration and affection. Some good man will be writing a letter by-and-by; you and I can get into its postscript. There is a Lambs book of life to be written; we can all get into that divine enrolment.
The friends of childhood.But these names do no stand here merely because they represent good men and women. They are also pledges of immortal friendships. This is a dull chapter to many because they do not know how to translate it. The friends of my childhood, friends on both sides of the ocean, my fellow-workers in the gospel, my beloved in the Lordthese are the faces that look at me out of this chapter, like the portraits which compose the clouds in Raphaels great picture in Dresden. The Christian friendships immortalised here are only meant to bring back to you the names you love best in the fellowship of Christ.
How a friendship began.Remember how Paul came to know Timothy at first, and then think of the special providence that has led to your most precious intimacies. Do you notice that there are no glittering generalities in this postscript? Remember me to all inquiring friends. No, indeed; Paul is the inquiring friend. He remembers the very things Phbe and Prisca and Mary and all the rest have done who have bestowed much labour on him and on the brotherhood.
Unknown heroes and heroines.Do you remember, or did you ever know, in detail all the little things which your own brethren and sisters in this congregation have done?
Helpful friendships.The helpfulness of Christian friendshipsthis is our last and best lesson. It is helpfulness in the every-day work of life. There is no helping in church-work or in spiritual culture without taking hold of the work of making a living and of getting on in business. Assist Phbe in whatsoever business she hath need of you. How were they to go about that? The word means lawbusiness. She was engaged in a lawsuit. Immense interests were involved because it had been appealed to the Supreme Court at Rome. And there were saints at Rome in Csars household. Maybe they were slaves; but there were lawyers in those days of the servile class. They could get the ear of the court; they could do something; they could try to do something. This is what Paul asks: Assist her in her law business. Brethren, help one another in law business if you are ever so unfortunate as to get involved in law business, and in commercial business, and in all sorts of honest business. It may be that Philologus and Julia his wife, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, describe three homes where a little Church used to meet in turn, and that the brethren with them are this Church within their houses. But who are Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, Hermes, and the brethren who are with them? No wife or sister is mentioned to indicate their homes. There is nothing but their bare names. But this clause after their names speaks volumes. I believe the brethren who are with them are their workmen or partners in the same business. Perpetuate the Christian brotherhoods which have been sealed in the business combinations for gospel work in Rome, in convents of the deserts and in alpine passes, in soldiers bivouacs, in sailors forecastles, and in the frugal homes of our ancestors. Never let your warehouses get too big nor your homes too splendid and too frigid for this family life of Gods dear children.
The source of immortal friendships.And who is Tertius? He has hardly any name. There is a Secundus somewhere else, and a Quartus here. The second, the third, and the fourthwho is the third man, Tertius? Tertius is the amanuensis. He has been in the Lord as well as Paul all through this wonderful composition. Parchment, pen, ink, his own skilful hand, and the heart that is burning within him in the radiance of these sublime truths, are all in the Lord. Now we have found the true source of immortal friendships. It is Christ Himself. Two men who are in the Lord must help one another as the left hand helps the right. They are one divine life.Rev. Wolcott Calkins, D.D.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON Rom. 16:6-16
Usefulness of women.Admitting that the Bible be the word of God, we might have inferred from His wisdom and goodness that no part of it can be useless. But we are expressly assured that all Scripture is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. Therefore this long postscript, this catalogue of particular salutations, has its uses. It certainly shows us the principle that actuated the first Christiansall men were to know that they were the disciples of Christ by their loving one another. It shows also how mistaken they are who think the New Testament does not sanction private friendship. It also proves how impossible it was to forge this epistle, abounding as it does with so many specific allusions; for these not only render detection possible, but easy. Hence Paley much avails himself of this chapter in his Hor Paulin. Neither is it improper to observe from it the error of Popery: Papists say that Peter was the bishop of Rome. But, had he been there, is it credible for a moment that he would have been overlooked by our apostle? The probability indeed is that he never was there. There is no evidence of it in the Scripture; and we know for what purposes of delusion it has been pretendedthe Roman succession of bishops from him. But who can help observing how many females are mentioned here? Phbe, Priscilla, Mary, Junia, Tryphena, Tryphosa, Persis, the mother of Rufus, Julia, the sister of Nereus. All these, with the exception of two, are not only mentioned, but commended; and these two would not have been saluted by name unless they had been persons of religious excellence, for Paul valued no other qualities compared with this. But all the rest of these worthies have ascribed to them some attainments or service in the Lord. Let not, therefore, females suppose that they are cut off from usefulness in the cause of Christ. The most eminent servants of God have acknowledged their obligations to them, and ascribed no little of their success to their care and kindness. Servants have blessed God for pious mistresses. Children have been prepared for the preaching of the word and the devotion of the sanctuary by the earlier but important efforts of a mother. How much does even the religious public owe to the mothers of Newton and Cecil, and a thousand more, from whom the Churches have derived such able ministers! To Hannah we owe a Samuel; and to Lois and Eunice, his mother and grandmother, we owe a Timothy. They are at home in almsdeeds, like Dorcas, who made garments for the poor; and are peculiarly adapted to visit the sick and the afflicted. The wife may win the irreligious husband without the word, and fan his devotion and give speed to his zeal when he is in the way everlasting. Who would keep them from those public meetings where feelings are to be excited which they will be sure to carry away and improve at home? In a word, women have the finest heads, and hearts, and hands, and tongues for usefulness in the world. Who does not wish to see them always under a religious principle? Who would not have them, appropriately, more encouraged and employed as workers together with the servants of Christ? Help, therefore says the apostle, those women that laboured with me in the gospel, whose names are in the book of life.W. Jay.
The influence of a good woman.That was a strange influence which Beatrice exercised over the great poet Dante, which not only moulded and affected his actions, but which entered into the spirit of his poetry, directed his thoughts, and gave the inspiration of his genius. Beatrice became to Dante the symbol of pure and holy things. Death itself disappeared before the mighty love that was kindled in the heart of the poet: it transformed, it purified all things. And then, when Beatrice died, his love became resigned, submissive; death sanctified it instead of converting it into remorse. The love of Dante destroyed nothing; it fertilised all, it gave a giantlike force to the sentiment of duty. The poet said: Whenever and wherever she appeared to me, I no longer felt that I had an enemy in the world; such a flame of charity was kindled in my heart, causing me to forgive every one that had offended me. The death of Beatrice imposed fresh duties upon him. That which he felt he had then to do was to render himself more worthy of her; he resolved to keep his love for her to the last day of his life, and bestow upon her an immortality upon earth. In his love for the beautiful, in his striving after upward purity, Beatrice was the nurse of his understanding, the angel of his soul, the consoling spirit which sustained him in poverty and in exile, in a cheerless, wandering, and sorrowful existence. La Vita Nuova, a little book which Dante wrote probably at the age of twenty-eight, in which he relates, both in prose and verse, the emotions of his love for Beatrice, is an inimitable little book of gentleness, purity, delicacy, of sweet and sad thoughts, loving as the note of the dove, ethereal as the perfume of flowers; and that pen, which in later years resembled a sword in the hand of Dante, here delineates their aspect, as Raphael might have done with his pencil. There are pagesthose, for example, where is related the dream of Beatricethe prose of which is a finished model of language and style far beyond the best style of Boccaccio.
A picture of the primitive Church.Here is, says Gaussen, a picture to the life of a primitive Church; we can see to what height the most ignorant and weak of its members can rise. We wonder at the progress already made by the word of God solely through the labours of travellers, artisans, merchants, women, slaves, and freedmen, who resided in Rome. Not only did the apostle know a large number of these workers, because he had been connected with them in the East (Andronicus and Junias, Rufus and his mother, for example), or because be had converted them himself (Aquila and Priscilla); but he also received news from Rome, as is proved by the intimate details into which he entered in chap. 14; and he might thus know of the labours of many of those saluted, whom he did not know personally. Such is probably the case with the last persons designated, and to whose names he adds no description. The Greek origin of the most of these names constitutes no objection to the Roman domicile of those who bear them. What matters it to us that, as M. Renan says, after Father Garucci, the names in Jewish inscriptions at Rome are mostly of Latin origin? If there be any room for surprise, five or six Latin names would perhaps be more astonishing at Ephesus than fifteen or sixteen Greek names at Rome. Have we not proved over and over that this Church was recruited much more largely from Gentiles than from Jews, and that especially it was founded by missionaries who had come from Syria, Asia, and Greece? M. Reuss no doubt asks what became of all those friends of Paul, when, some years later, he wrote from Rome his Epistles to the Colossians and Philippians; and later still, the Second to Timothy. But in writing from Rome to the Churches of Colosse and Philippi, he could only send salutations from individuals who knew them. And a little before the Second to Timothy there occurred the persecution of Nero, which had for the time dispersed and almost annihilated the Church of Rome. Our conclusion, therefore, is not only that this passage of salutations may have been written to the Church of Rome, but that it could not have been addressed to any other more suitably. As at the present day Paris, or even Rome, is a sort of rendezvous for numerous foreign Christians of both sexes, who go thither to found evangelistic works, so the great pagan Rome attracted at that time the religious attention and zeal of all the Christians of the East. Let us remark, in closing, the exquisite delicacy and courtesy which guide the apostle in those distinguishing epithets with which he accompanies the names of the servants or handmaids of Christ whom he mentions. Each of those descriptive titles is as it were the rough draft of the new name which those persons shall bear in glory. Thus understood, this enumeration is no longer a dry nomenclature; it resembles a bouquet of newly blown flowers which diffuse refreshing odours.Godet.
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 16
Rom. 16:8. The tomb of Amplias.The archological researches in Rome of recent years have thrown much light upon the life of the early Christians in that city; but no discovery has produced such interest as that announced of the tomb of Amplias. Says Paul in Rom. 16:8 : Greet Amplias, my beloved in the Lord. Who was Amplias? Who were his friends? Why was he buried in this particular place? The answers to these questions are all furnished by the discovery of his tomb; and a flood of light is let in upon the times of the early Roman Christians. His tomb stands in one of the catacombs excavated in the time of Domitian, on the ground then belonging to Flavia Domitilla, his niece. Roman history preserves the fact that Flavia became a Christian. Amplias, the friend of Paul, must have been a distinguished man. Because he was buried in Flavias cemetery we judge they were personally acquainted. By Pauls greeting we imagine he was a minister of the New World. Then the tomb is of such a character that only the possessor of great wealth could have constructed so remarkable a resting-place. Was this the work of Flavia, niece of the great Domitian? Was it erected at the cost of his family, or by the early Christians of Rome? These questions may not be answered, for the investigations are not yet concluded. All that we know at present is that there is no tomb in the catacombs that equals it for the beauty of its adornments and the variety of pictorial illustrations. The frescoes in the Golden House of Nero, and the adornments of the house of Germanicus in the Palatine, are not to be compared, so it is reported, with the symbolic illustrations of the tomb of Amplias, the teacher of Flavia, the beloved of Paul.Christian Commonwealth.
Rom. 16:12. Lord Shaftesburys tribute to a humble woman.Very tender was Lord Shaftesburys reference on one occasion to the kind heart which led him to Christ. He was for a time, at an early period of his life, left solely in charge of an old Scottish nurse. This humble woman took infinite pains to teach him the story of Christs love, and with such success that the great earl confessed, All that I am to-day, and all that I have done, I owe, under God, to that good womans influence.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(6) On us.The true reading seems to be, on you. The readers would know to what the Apostle referred. It is useless for us to attempt to conjecture.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
‘Salute Mary, who bestowed much labour on you.’
Mary was a common name both among Jews and Gentiles. He clearly knew her as being someone who gave herself in the service of others. That he knew what she was doing in Rome suggests some correspondence, either with her or with those who knew her (such as Prisca and Aquila).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Rom 16:6 . How far Mary had toiled much for the Romans ( ), was as well known to the readers and to the apostle himself, who awards to her on that account the salutation of acknowledgment and commendation, as it is unknown to us. It may have happened abroad (as van Hengel and others think) or in Rome itself through eminent loving activity, possibly in a special emergency which was now past (hence not , but the aorist ). Reiche refers . to activity in teaching , for which, however, since the text annexes no definition (as in 1Ti 5:17 ), and since Mary is not more specially known, there is no reason, and generally, as respects public teaching (1Co 14:34-35 ), little probability. On , comp. Gal 4:11 .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
6 Greet Mary, who bestowed much labour on us.
Ver. 6. Greet Mary, &c. ] It is profitable that men of great parts and place should preserve their memory with others, though it be but in a salutation; for it may be a means to fire up affection to godliness in such whom they so remember.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
6. ] None of the names occurring from Rom 16:5-15 are mentioned elsewhere (except possibly Rufus: see below).
De Wette remarks, that, notwithstanding the manuscript authority, is perhaps the more likely reading, (1) because the Apostle would hardly mention a service done to themselves as a ground of salutation from him, and (2) because without being expressly followed by (1Ti 5:17 ; see Phi 2:16 ; Col 1:29 ), said of women , most likely implies acts of kindness peculiar to the sex.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Rom 16:6 . It is not certain whether (which is Jewish) or (Roman) is the true reading. : the much labour she had bestowed is made the ground ( ) of a special greeting. is much better supported than : there is something finer in Paul’s appreciation of services rendered to others than if they had been rendered to himself. Cf. Gal 4:11 .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Mary. Greek. Mariam. The only Hebrew name in this list.
who . . . us. On an inscription from a Roman cemetery, about the second century A.D., a wife records of her husband, “who laboured much for me”.
bestowed . . . labour = laboured. Greek. kopiao. Compare Luk 5:5. Joh 4:6.
us. The texts read “you”.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
6.] None of the names occurring from Rom 16:5-15 are mentioned elsewhere (except possibly Rufus: see below).
De Wette remarks, that, notwithstanding the manuscript authority, is perhaps the more likely reading, (1) because the Apostle would hardly mention a service done to themselves as a ground of salutation from him, and (2) because without being expressly followed by (1Ti 5:17; see Php 2:16; Col 1:29), said of women, most likely implies acts of kindness peculiar to the sex.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Rom 16:6
Rom 16:6
Salute Mary, who bestowed much labor on you.-We know nothing of this Mary save what is here said of her. She had rendered herself particularly useful in the Roman church.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
who: Rom 16:12, Mat 27:55, 1Ti 5:10
Reciprocal: Exo 35:25 – General 2Ki 4:13 – thou hast Pro 11:16 – gracious Pro 31:31 – and let Rom 16:2 – for 1Co 16:16 – laboureth 1Th 1:3 – and labour
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
6:6
Rom 16:6. All we can know of this woman is what is said here. She had rendered some kind of service for Paul for which be wished her to be remembered.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Rom 16:6. Salute Mary. This is the sixth person of this name mentioned in the New Testament. Otherwise unknown, but characterized as one who bestowed much labor on you. So the best authorities, and most recent editors. Bestowed labor points to practical activity, in charity and womanly ministrations. When preaching and teaching are meant, in the word is usually added.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Rom 16:6. Greet Mary, who bestowed much labour on us Performed many good offices for the faithful, especially for the preachers of the gospel. The apostle is very affectionate in these salutations, giving almost every one some signal epithet, that he might both recommend them for their piety and virtue, and propose them as examples for the imitation of others; as also that he might show his gratitude to them, and the esteem he had for them. And concerning these salutations, and others in the apostolic epistles, it is proper to remark in general, that they were of great benefit to the persons saluted. For, being sent to individuals in letters addressed to the churches of which they were members, such public testimonies of the apostles esteem not only gave the saluted much pleasure, but confirmed them in the faith, and encouraged them to bear with patience the sufferings attending the profession of the gospel. And to us, these salutations are an example of that love which we owe to the sincere disciples of Christ on account of their character. Further, the apostle, by naming so many persons in his epistles, hath not only transmitted to posterity an honourable character of them, but hath furnished an additional proof of the truth and authenticity of his own epistles. For all the persons named in them were appealed to as witnesses of the things which he had written.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Salute Mary, who bestowed much labor on you.