Study in Paul’s Letter to Philemon
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I want to start by telling you a story about a young man.
At age 16 he was kidnapped from his parent’s estate. Foreigners raided the property and took him back to their country as their captive. If his parents were left alive, they may have worried if they’d ever see their son again.
I’m talking about the kidnapping of a young man named Patrick from Britain and his subsequent years in captivity in a place called Ireland.
You might consider what Patrick endured as indentured servitude or just plain slavery. We don’t have a clear and reliable picture of his position and freedoms. But we do know that during his 6 years in captivity, working as a shepherd, he had a deep sense of loneliness and solitude in the foreign land. That drew him toward faith in God. At that time, he became a Christian, a follower of Christ.
Some of the most reliable information, that being the oldest writings, were written by Patrick himself. He wrote that he heard the voice of God in a dream, telling him it was time to leave Ireland. So, he escaped.
March 17. A day that many folks celebrate Irish heritage by wearing green clothes. In Chicago, they even dye the river green. People eat traditional Irish meals and some drink stereotypical Irish alcohol.
Don’t you think it would be strange to celebrate in the memory of a person who some of your ancestors captured and enslaved. Even stranger that this person you honor fled to escape his captivity.
It would be REALLY weird….
if THAT were the whole story. Thank God, it was not.
Today we are going to finish out our journey through the Pauline letters that the teens studied for Bible quizzing this year. We’ve been through Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and now Philemon.
I don’t know about you, but I have learned quite a bit about the way that Paul wrote, and the people that he worked with. He still managed to lead and minister, even behind bars.
We will get back to the “rest of the [Patrick’s] story.” But let’s look at the story of three other men, their Connection to each other and what God called them to do in light of a runaway slave.
A Partner in Ministry
We started here, because prior to this, Paul does his standard greeting. He addresses Philemon and those in his house church and writes a word of blessing to him from Jesus.
And then he thanks God because of Philemon. Because of what he has done to support the sharing of Those in need. The support and the love for the Saints.
- Note: don’t think of Catholic Saints when you read that. There wasn’t such a thing, there wasn’t even the process of granting “sainthood” to someone for a long time later. This simply referred to “Holy” and in this context “Holy ones” or the members of the first Christian communities.
Paul is encouraged by Philemon’s love and faith, and he echoes that back to Philemon. “You, my brother, have refreshed the saints.”
So Paul begins by saying to Philemon, “I know who you are…who you really are. You are an encouragement. You support the ministry. You are a Partner in ministry. I want to encourage you to share the faith.” Then Paul comes to the crux of his letter, Philemon’s runaway slave that returned to him and handed him this letter from Paul.
The “Big” Request
15 Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever— 16 no longer as 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 fellow man and as a brother in the Lord.
Philemon 1:15-16
After Onesimus had left Colossae, he came to know and serve Paul in the ministry. He became a Christ-follower under Paul’s teaching.
Like the timeframe for several of the other letters we’ve studied together, Paul was a prisoner for the gospel. At least one of his imprisonments was much like a house arrest. He’d need to rely on people to supply his needs, bring him company, relay his teachings, and deliver his letters. People like Onesimus.
At a certain point, Paul decides he must send Onesimus back to Philemon.
But when Onesimus got back, it was Paul’s desire and hope that the relationship would change between him and Philemon. Doing the unheard of. Onesimus would become like family: a dear brother.
Don’t Shoot the Messenger
I need you to do a little imaging with me. I want you to think of someone who has badly hurt you. Maybe stolen from you, cheated you, disgraced you in some way. Imagine them walking up to you, with a letter in hand.
You start to make a face, physically tense up, perhaps take a few steps backward out of anger or fear. The aggravating person pleads with you, “Please… Please just read this.”
Now I need you to think of someone whom you respect the most in this world. Someone who’s character and honor you would defend without skipping a beat. They have written you this note. They have sent the person to bring it to you.
And in that note, they ask you to forgive and welcome this irritating letter carrier into your good graces.
I know, it might seem far-fetched, but I really want you to consider what Philemon felt when he saw Onesimus. The sudden shock of reading Paul’s letter. The choice Philemon would have to make. Would he live out his faith and welcome Onesimus as a brother, or would he use his rights to have him punished and have to pay Philemon back.
Paul’s words ring in 17-19.
“17 So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. 18 If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. 19 I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back—not to mention that you owe me your very self.”
Paul in Christ’s Place
This time around, the one thing I learned about the letter to Philemon is that Paul never says anything about Christ’s death and resurrection. It seems strange! Paul does nothing but teach and reinforce this point. Why wouldn’t he state it like he has done so many other times? He didn’t do it in this letter because he didn’t need to. He lived it in this letter.
“God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.”
2 Corinthians 5:19a
As we read in verse 18-19 Paul is taking on the consequence of Onesimus’ wrongdoing. He does it so the two men can be reconciled to each other. In this scenario, he is putting himself in the place of Jesus. He lived out the message of reconciliation right here in this brief letter.
You can teach and preach the gospel all you want. Only when you live it out will the world truly believe.
Let’s look back to the story of Patrick. According to Patrick’s writing, Confessio, after he escaped and returned to Great Britain, his parents begged him never to leave them again. Patrick records that he had many visions and dreams in his life. One where the Irish were calling out for him to return and walk among them. He wrote, “Thanks be to God, after many years the Lord granted them what they were calling for.”
After approximately 15 years of study, he was commissioned back to Ireland to minister to the existing Christians and convert Irish pagans.
It is curious why a former slave would desire to return to the land of his captivity. But this is where the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day really takes root. It became a day of celebrating Irish Heritage, but also celebrating the one person who would come to bridge the gap for their very souls.
Patrick, though he had been a slave, was more a kin to Paul than to Onesimus. He sacrificed his comfortable life, close to his family in Britain, to reconcile the Irish people to God.
Toward the end of his life, while still ministering in Ireland, he wrote his Confessio – a confession of faith, a testimony to the greatness of God. March 17, approximately 460 AD, Patrick died.
In memory of him, whether they understand the real Patrick or not, people celebrate his memory. The only reason anyone can is because Patrick went back. Because he preached and taught and ministered to the people of Ireland. And they rightly referred to Him as Patrick, Patron Saint of Ireland.
Who are you standing in the gap for?
Who do you need to forgive?
Patrick was useful, like Onesimus. We each have a calling to reach others for Christ.
Who is God calling you to?
I believe it is very important to cite sources when talking about historic figures, especially those outside the bible. I would point you to two sites that I used for research. The second one is very thorough and accademic.
Citation Information
Article Title: Who Was St. Patrick?
Author: History.com Editors
Website Name: HISTORY
URL https://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day/who-was-saint-patrick
Date Accessed March 17, 2024
Publisher A&E Television Networks
Last Updated March 4, 2024
Original Published Date October 14, 2009
Citation Information
Author: History.com Editors
Website Name: EG Patricus - (Hyperstack project for St. Patrick)
URL https://www.confessio.ie/#
Date Accessed March 17, 2024
Publisher 2011 Royal Irish Academy
ISBN 978-3-00-066954-5
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