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Good morning my friends who are on the “Walking with Jesus” journey together.
May I begin today with a question? What does the word ‘reconciliation” mean to you?
In a world filled with law-suits, revenge, conflict, discord and division, we each and all probably carry the wounds of broken or at least badly strained relationships, right? Can you think back to a relationship in your life which was healed? It went from broken to restored, from fractured to healthy?
Yesterday we left the Apostle Paul in Acts 28:30,31 under house arrest in Rome, but with freedom to receive visitors, which was I’m sure, a daily event. Some brought news from places Paul had visited and preached the Gospel. Others came to ask him questions, listen to him teach. Some, I’m sure, came to provide him food and other essentials. Paul’s day, everyday, was filled with people learning from him, about Jesus and the Gospel Paul loved to proclaim.
We know Paul was in Roman detention at least two years, and from that place Paul wrote some of his most powerful letters. Over the next weeks, we’re going to look closely at them. Today let’s read Philemon together. It’s brief, only one chapter. It’s very personal and it focus is healthy reconciliation.
Paul writes this letter to a man named Philemon, who evidently had become a good friend, and was a businessman whose slave Onesimus, had run away, we don’t know why. But Onesimus found his way to Rome and had been among those visitors to Paul’s house. Over time Onesimus had come to trust Jesus Christ as his Savior and became one of those who served Paul’s needs while in prison. Evidently, after a while, Onesimus felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit, that he should return to his master Philemon and face whatever consequences might come his way. He evidently knew Philemon was also a follower of Jesus Christ, but still, the crime of a slave abandoning his master was very serious.
Let’s put ourselves into the situation. Slavery was everywhere in the first century. Paying jobs were few. Slaves were employees, but much more. Slaves were often men or women who were poor, unskilled or uneducated, and sometimes in great debt. These people offered themselves to someone as their full time servant. In return, the master was responsible for the slave in every way. The master provided housing, food, medical care, even sometimes education & training, if the servant showed promise for the future.
Sometimes their slave-master relationship was a contract with details and time-limits and even financial arrangements. On other occasions it would be a lifelong relationship. Of course yes, there were slave-master relationships which were horrible and abusive. Others were mutually beneficial and wonderful. Paul included in his letters, several instructions regarding what a fair and God honoring relationship between servant & master should be. Colossians 3:22-4:1 is one example.
You see in verse one Paul addresses this letter to three people. We’re not sure, but it could be Apphia is Philemon’s wife and Archippus may be their son or a brother. They evidently host a house church in their home, and Bible scholars believe they lived in the city of Colosse. The Bible book called Colossians is Paul’s letter to the house churches in that city, and we’ll begin reading it tomorrow.
You’ll notice Timothy is included in Paul’s greeting, and in Paul’s closing of this letter, please notice a list of 4 other men who evidently are or have been with Paul in Rome. Mark, we presume to be John Mark, Barnabas’ cousin, who accompanied them on their first missionary journey (Acts 13) and then abandoned the trip and returned home. You may recall sometime later Barnabas wanted to invite Mark on a second trip with Paul, but Paul refused and they had such a sharp disagreement that Paul & Barnabas split up and formed two teams, with Mark going with Barnabas, and Silas going with Paul (Acts 15:36-41). Yet, here Mark evidently is in Rome with Paul. We don’t know all the details about how it happened, but clearly God brought reconciliation between Paul and Mark. This Mark, by the way, is the author of the second book of the New Testament, the Gospel of Mark. Do you see the power of reconciliation?
Also, we see Aristarchus, Demas and Luke mentioned and Paul calls them all “…my fellow workers”. (vs. 23,24) Luke is of course the Greek Physician who traveled with Paul and is the author of both the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts. At the point of this letter Demas is a good friend and partner with Paul, but turn back just one page in your Bible and look at 2 Timothy 4:9. This is a few years in the future, but Paul painfully writes “Demas, because he loved the world, has deserted me…”. Oh my friends, do you hear the pain in Paul’s voice as he dictates those words? As you look around your network of relationships, can you see some who have been lifelong friends, others who have drifted away and others with whom you’ve been reconciled? What do you see is the evidence of what God is doing in your relationships, my friends?
What do you notice is vs 4-7 of Paul’s letter to Philemon? I see that Paul has heard some good news of Philemon’s growing faith in Jesus and his generous love extended to Christians in Colosse, and we can presume even those who might be traveling through. Would you agree joyful, loving, generous, hospitality is a tangible, practical evidence of a genuine and healthy relationship with Jesus? Where does that come from, friends? I think it overflows from a deep well of gratitude. The more we are overwhelmed by God’s love for us, the more we joyfully extend God’s love through us to others, right?
Now the rest of Paul’s letter is a combination of appeal and instruction. “…although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I appeal to you on the basis of love…I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains. Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.” (vs. 8-10) Most of us are parents or even grandparents, so we understand instructing our kids who are in a spat, to apologize and resolve their disagreements. Perhaps you’ve had a child who said defiantly “NO” when you tried to facilitate family reconciliation. I wonder what your reaction usually was to that refusal? Perhaps you sent the stubborn to their room to think about it, or a spanking, or some other punishment or encouragement to do the right thing?
You see here Paul didn’t want to force reconciliation, he appealed to Philemon to look at Jesus, the greatest reconciler of all time, and follow Jesus’ lead, in reconciling with Onesimus. Do you remember Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians “Therefore if anyone is in Christ they are a new creation, the old is gone and the new has come! All this is from God who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them.” (2 Corinthians 5:17-19) Wow!!
It’s really overwhelming isn’t it…that Jesus would bring us, sinful, rebellious, people back to God, and reconcile us, by paying the full price for our rebellion! Paul was asking Philemon to look first in the mirror and be amazed at what Jesus did for him, and then turn and look at Onesimus and extend the same grace. It’s a lesson for us, isn’t it my friends? Can we do that with those who have hurt or wronged us? Of course we can…if we understand how Jesus has reconciled us to God the Father, by His horrific death on the cross, paying for our rebellion!
Notice in verse 16 Paul urges Philemon to see Onesimus through new eyes and pursue a different relationship. No longer master & slave, but now brothers in Christ, both sons of the Most High God, purchased by Jesus’ blood and part of God’s family! “…no longer a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord.” Can you see the vision Paul has for their future relationship as co-workers in Philemon’s business, doing that business for God’s glory, and as fellow sons of God, working together as Christian brothers!? Wow, what an example that could be for everyone in Colosse, who had such servants.
One last thing I’d like you to notice, Paul writes “If he has done you any wrong, or owes you anything, charge it to me.” (18). Isn’t that how it works when you and I are invited into reconciliation with someone we are at odds with? Jesus says these same words to us… so read that verse again, and hear it as coming from Jesus Himself, to you, as He invites you to reconcile with whomever you are in conflict with!
Let’s invite the Holy Spirit to percolate that in our hearts…it will make the process of reconciliation much easier, for you’ll find forgiveness is easier when you can entrust the person and whatever they did to you…over to Jesus and let Him deal with it! Jesus is fair and His justice is holy justice, right?
Remember Hebrews 4:13 & 2 Corinthians 5:10 speak to this and help us release to Jesus the person and the wrong that’s been done. Listen to them right now: “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him, to whom we must give account.” (Heb. 4:13)
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” (2 Cor. 5:10)
I love Paul’s confidence that as Philemon thinks this all through, he will do what will honor God most, and will set a great example for others in Colosse, who need to work through reconciliation… “Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask…the grace of Jesus Christ be with your spirit.” (21,25) Oh my friends, let’s receive that good word from Paul, as a personal encouragement to each of us, in ALL our relationships today… Are there some that need some work, my brothers and sisters? What’s holding us back from full and complete reconciliation and restoration to a relationship better than ever before?
Oh Lord Jesus, thank you for this wonderful, powerful letter of example for us. . .help us reconcile for Your honor & glory!
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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