As I have been studying through the book of Romans, imagining what it might have been like to live in ancient Rome and to have received this letter from the Apostle Paul, I automatically assumed these people were normal average Roman citizens who had grown up worshiping false gods and goddesses their entire lives. I assumed they had somehow heard the good news about Jesus Christ … and they had believed.
To be sure there were some like this.
However, as I have reached the end of the book of Romans, and as I have been pouring over the final chapter, I’ve been astonished at the “power hitters” (so to speak) who were part of the early church of Rome.
For starters, Aquila and Priscilla were leading a house church in their home. I shared about Aquila and Priscilla in yesterday’s blog post. Aquila and Priscilla were “power hitters” of the Christian faith!
They had spent considerable time with the Apostle Paul, even having him live with them while he was in Corinth. They were very knowledgeable in the Scriptures … to the point that they could reason with highly respected, highly trained Apollos. They had great wisdom in explaining matters of doctrine.
These were the ones leading the early church in ancient Rome. “ Power hitters” for the Kingdom of God!
In Romans 16:7 Paul sends greetings to his family members: “Greet Andronicus and Junias, my relatives who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.”
Whoa! These two family members of Paul are obviously “power hitters”!
Could these be Paul’s brothers? We don’t know. Could they be Paul’s close cousins? We don’t know.
What we do know is that if they are Paul’s family members, then there is a high likelihood they had a similar background, upbringing, and training as Paul.
In Philippians 3:5-6 Paul mentioned he was: “… of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regards to the law, a Pharisee; … as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.”
It is logical then to assume that Paul’s family members – Andronicus and Junias – probably were also of the tribe of Benjamin, Pharisees, and likewise very righteous according to the Jewish law.
In Acts 22:3 Paul stated: “Under Gamaliel I was thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers and was just as zealous for God as any of you are today.” It is logical then to assume that Paul’s family members – Andronicus and Junias – probably were also trained under highly-respected Jewish rabbi’s (maybe even under Gamaliel as well).
At the end of his letter to the Romans, Paul states that Andronicus and Junias “are outstanding among the apostles.” That’s a huge statement!
Furthermore, Paul states: “They were in Christ before I was.” Andronicus and Junias were among the very first to believe in Jesus Christ, shortly after Jesus died, rose, and went back to heaven. Perhaps they even heard Jesus teach in the temple while he was still alive.
Andronicus and Junias were the ones leading the early church in ancient Rome. “ Power hitters” for the Kingdom of God!
In Paul’s closing remarks he also mentions another family member: “Greet Herodion, my relative.” – Romans 16:11 Based on the fact that Herodion is not mentioned alongside Andronicus and Junias, my guess is he might not have been as close a family member as they were. Perhaps a distant uncle?
Whatever the case … Herodion is no doubt also “from the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews.” Perhaps he likewise was a Pharisee. Perhaps he might have also been trained by a great Jewish teacher. Here is another “power hitter” for the Kingdom of God!
It’s no wonder much of Paul’s letter to the church in Rome dealt with complicated matters regarding the Jewish law. Romans 2:17-29 delves deep into the matter of relying of one’s “Jewishness” as a means of salvation.
Paul is very bold to say: “A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit.” – Romans 2:28-29 Or in other words: You can’t count on your outward “religiousness” for salvation … salvation is a matter of God changing your heart.
Paul continues to “hit hard” the matter of trusting in one’s “Jewishness” for salvation in chapters 3 & 4.
As I have been studying through the book of Romans, I wondered why Paul had so much to say about how we cannot trust in our “Jewishness” and our outward “religiousness” for salvation. Weren’t the people who received Paul’s letter just normal Roman citizens who had grown up worshiping false gods??
No! Not necessarily.
As evidenced by the “power hitters” mentioned in the closing of the letter, and by Paul’s focus on Jewish law, it is obvious that the early Christians in the church in Rome were from Jewish backgrounds. Aquila and Priscilla were Jews. Andronicus and Junias were Jews. Herodion was a Jew.
These leaders of the church in Rome were obviously teaching primarily Jewish converts to Christianity.
To be sure, normal Roman citizens (and slaves) came to faith in Jesus Christ as well. But Paul’s letter to the Romans was written primarily to Jewish converts to Christianity! Jews who had come (for one reason or another) from all parts of the Roman empire and had wound up settling in the city of Rome.
I did not realize this before.
Perhaps you might have already known this. Perhaps you might have studied commentaries.
I did not know this. And learning this has been such a huge blessing to me. I love studying the Bible and learning things I never knew before.
Studying the book of Romans, alongside pondering the ruins of the ancient city of Pompeii (from the exact same time period as ancient Rome), it has really helped me to better understand the people who received this letter when it was originally written.
What were their lives like? What was their city like? What were their streets like? What were their homes like? Who were these people??
Now we know.
