I’d like you to imagine a scene. It’s about 60 A.D. We’re in the home of a wealthy man named Philemon. Philemon lives in the city of Colossae, in the south-east of what is now Turkey. Some time back, he met the apostle Paul and became a Christian, and he’s now one of the leaders of a church. And something has just happened that has set tongues wagging in that church.
Some years previously, Philemon had a slave called Onesimus. But Onesimus had run away and there’s a suspicion that he took valuables from Philemon’s house when he left. No one had seen Onesimus for years. But now, Onesimus has come back! Everyone was wondering what Philemon would do. Would Onesimus be Philemon’s slave again? Would Philemon take him back? Would he punish Onesimus? But now the news is that Philemon isn’t going to punish Onesimus. In fact, he’s going to set him free! And, even more amazingly, Philemon has declared that he accepts Onesimus as his brother in Christ! Whoever heard of such a thing?!
This is the story that lies behind the remarkable little letter which in our Bibles is called, simply, Philemon.
At some point, Philemon and Paul had met and Philemon had become a Christian. Perhaps, at this time, Onesimus met Paul. After Onesimus ran away he somehow found Paul. Paul was then in prison, possibly in Ephesus. Onesimus starts to look after Paul – and then Onesimus becomes a Christian.
Paul obviously doesn’t feel this is right. Onesimus is helping him, but legally, he belongs to Philemon. Paul no doubt tells Onesimus that he needs to go back to Philemon. He sends him back with the one of the most moving letters in the Bible.
Paul’s letter is short, just 25 verses long. I’ll point out a few things that we see in the letter and then think about lessons we can learn from it.
VERSE 1
In almost all of Paul’s letters, Paul starts by introducing himself as an apostle of Jesus. But in his letter to Philemon, Paul doesn’t mention that he’s an apostle. He starts, ‘Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus.’ He takes his apostle hat off. Paul is an apostle, but this time, he has a request to make. He isn’t going to lean on his authority as an apostle.
VERSES 2 TO 7
Paul greets Philemon. But this isn’t just ‘Dear Philemon.’ Timothy is ‘our brother’. Apphia is ‘our sister’. Archippus is ‘our fellow soldier.’ Philemon is Paul’s ‘beloved fellow worker.’ Paul tells him how much he appreciates him. Later, when Paul starts to talk about Onesimus, he refers to him as ‘my child’ and ‘my very heart.’
Paul’s letter is full of warmth and positivity. It exudes love. We British are a bit hesitant to speak like this. I think we can learn something from Paul. I’m not suggesting we say things that aren’t true. But if we value and love the people around us, it’s good to tell them. People love to be appreciated!
VERSES 8 TO 16
In verse 8, Paul gets to the reason for his letter. He writes, ‘I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus.’ In verse 12, Paul tells Philemon that he’s sending Onesimus back to him. Then in verse 16, Paul asks Philemon to receive Onesimus back, ‘…no longer as a slave but more than a slave, as a beloved brother.’
It’s notable that here Paul doesn’t directly say that slavery is wrong.
In other letters, Paul does say that slavery is wrong. He wrote, ‘For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery’ [Galatians 5:1]. He wrote that among Christians, ‘there is neither slave nor free’ [Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:11 is similar]. He condemns people who enslave others [1 Timothy 1:10].
More broadly, the Old Testament condemns slavery. God commanded, ‘Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found in possession of him, shall be put to death’ [Exodus 21:16].
So, slavery is wrong. It’s against God’s will. There should not be slaves. But in Paul’s time, slaves were absolutely normal. It’s estimated that in the Roman Empire there were about 60 million slaves! Paul wasn’t calling on slaves to rise up and demand their freedom. In 1 Corinthians Paul advises slaves, ‘Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you – although if you can gain your freedom, do so’ [1 Corinthians 7:21].
Paul believed that slavery was wrong. But in this letter, Paul doesn’t talk about slavery in general. He has a request that relates to one specific instance of slavery. Paul wants Philemon to receive Onesimus – his former slave – as if he were receiving Paul. Not as a slave, in other words.
VERSES 17 TO 25
Paul tells Philemon, ‘If he owes you anything, I’ll pay.’ Perhaps Paul knows that Onesimus stole something from Philemon. But Paul then gently reminds Philemon that Philemon has a debt to him. It was through Paul that Philemon came to Christ. Then Paul says in verse 21, ‘Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.’
It looks as though Philemon did what Paul asked. Paul mentions Onesimus in his Letter to the Colossians. He describes him as ‘Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you.’
So, that was a quick look at Paul’s letter to Philemon. What lessons can we learn from it?
LESSONS
1. NO TO SLAVERY
In his letter, Paul didn’t discuss slavery. But his view was perfectly clear. Legally, Onesimus was Philemon’s slave. But they were both sinners saved by grace. They were both children of God. Their proper relationship should not be master and slave but brothers. So, Paul asks Philemon to take Onesimus back, ‘no longer as a slave but … as a beloved brother’.
Paul’s phrase, ‘no longer as a slave but … as a … brother’ was put to good use in the campaign for the abolition of slavery in the late 18th century. In 1787 the potter Josiah Wedgwood produced huge quantities of a medallion which had a picture of an African slave. Around the rim ran these words: ‘Am I not a man and a brother?’ There’s no doubt that Josiah Wedgwood took this from Paul’s phrase: ‘no longer … a slave but … a … brother’. The medallion became a symbol of the abolitionist movement.
As Christians, we take the same view as Paul and Josiah Wedgwood and William Wilberforce. There is no place in the world for slavery. But the reality is that slavery is alive and well. In the UK it’s estimated that there are over 100,000 victims of modern slavery. Many are children. Worldwide, it’s estimated that there are about 50 million slaves. As Christians and as a society, we need to stand against slavery just as resolutely as Wilberforce and others stood against the Atlantic slave trade two hundred years ago.
2. BLIND SPOTS
As I mentioned, in Paul’s day slavery was normal. Even someone like Philemon, who had become a Christian, would have been surprised to learn that slavery was wrong. Philemon had a blind spot. But he woke up to it and set Onesimus free.
The same was true in Britain in the 18th century. John Newton was a captain of slave ships. He became a Christian in 1748 but after that, he still made three voyages as captain of slave ships. Although he had become a Christian he was still influenced by the prevailing attitude of his time, that slavery was acceptable. John Newton had a blind spot but he too woke up to it and later became an ardent abolitionist.
Philemon’s and Newton’s stories remind us that we can have blind spots. Most of us know how things are done and we just accept it. But sometimes, as in the case of slavery, ‘how things are done’ doesn’t align with what is Christlike. By writing to Philemon, Paul was willing to challenge ‘how things are done’. And Philemon was willing to be challenged. They’re both good examples for us.
3. THINKING SMALL
In his letter to Philemon, Paul didn’t say anything about slavery in general. He didn’t take action at the macro level. Paul wrote about one specific case of slavery. He asked Philemon to resolve the situation for his slave Onesimus. Paul took action at the micro level.
This is a good example for us.
There are many global issues which trouble us deeply. War, health, abortion, climate change, water quality and food insecurity are huge global issues. We look at them and may say to ourselves, ‘What can we do?’ Perhaps we can do something at the macro level. We can write letters. We can sign petitions. We can raise awareness. But the reality is that we may not be able to do very much – not at the macro level anyway. But that doesn’t mean we can’t do anything!
Paul’s example in the case of Philemon and Onesimus encourages us to think small. To take action at the micro level.
Engaging at the micro level can often have a wider impact. I started this talk by imagining what happened when Onesimus returned to Philemon with Paul’s letter. Philemon has set Onesimus free?! He’s treating him as his brother?! Tongues would certainly have been wagging! Word would certainly have got around.
Of course, when Christians do something countercultural, people might not like it. Here’s an example.
From about 1880 to 1960, most states of America had segregation laws which kept black and white people apart. But two couples, Clarence and Florence Jordan and Martin and Mabel England decided to do something about it. They didn’t launch a campaign. They took action on the micro level. In 1942, they set up a communal farm in Georgia. They called the farm Koinonia, which means fellowship. At the farm, everyone, no matter their race, was welcome. They described the farm as a ‘demonstration plot for the kingdom of God.’ But the local community didn’t like what they were doing. They boycotted the farm. The local Chamber of Commerce asked the farm to sell its property and disband. The Ku Klux Klan came calling. Even the local Baptist church rejected them. But Koinonia continued to operate and it’s still operating today.
The Jordans and the Englands took action at the micro level – but news spread. One person who news spread to was Martin Luther King junior. He called Clarence Jordan ‘my friend, my mentor, and my inspiration.’
The lesson here is to think micro. Micro allows us to take on a specific case of the problem. When we do that, people may well take more note than if we talk about the issue generally.
We can apply this to ourselves.
At the macro level, there are major conflicts in the world which we can’t do much about. But at the micro level we may be able to resolve a conflict at work.
At the macro level we can’t do much to help the health sector in the UK. But at the micro level, we might know of someone in another part of the world who is ill but can’t afford treatment. £50 might make all the difference to them. That’s something we can do.
At the macro level we can’t do much to reduce global carbon emissions. But at the micro level, we can reduce our own carbon emissions. We can reduce the amount we use the car. We can reduce overseas holidays. We can install heating at home that doesn’t run on fossil fuels.
That brings us almost to the end of this study of Philemon. It’s the first time I’ve really studied it. I found it had lots of lessons for me.
RECAP
Here, just to remind you, are some of the things we can learn from Philemon.
We noticed in passing that Paul didn’t push his authority and that his letter was full of warmth and love.
Paul’s letter reminds us that slavery is wrong. We must act against slavery whenever we have the opportunity.
Paul’s letter reminds us of the danger of blind spots, of simply taking on the attitudes of society around us without questioning it.
And Paul’s letter is a great example of thinking small, of taking action at the micro level.
THE END OF ONESIMUS’S STORY
You may be interested to know how Onesimus’s story ended. Some years later, there was a Bishop of Ephesus by the name of Onesimus. According to some writings from that period, this bishop of Ephesus was the same Onesimus who was Philemon’s slave. It sounds like a happy ending. But it wasn’t all that happy. According to tradition, Onesimus the bishop was stoned to death.
Curiously, there was someone in more recent history who made the transition from slave to bishop.
Ajayi was born in what is now Nigeria in about 1809. When he was about 12, he and his family were captured by slave traders. He was sold as a slave, apparently for a roll of tobacco. However, he was then freed from slavery by the Royal Navy’s West Africa Squadron which was enforcing the British ban against the Atlantic slave trade. He was put into the care of missionaries and took on the name Samuel Crowther. Later, he moved to England, studied languages, got himself a doctorate from Oxford University and was ordained as a minister. And many years later, in Saint Paul’s Cathedral, he was consecrated the first Bishop of Western Africa.
Perhaps this gives us one more lesson to take away. Because there’s a sense in which we are all like Onesimus and like Ajayi. God has set all of us free from slavery and he calls all of us into his service. Thank you, God!
TALK GIVEN AT ROSEBERY PARK BAPTIST CHURCH, BOURNEMOUTH, UK, 24th NOVEMBER 2024, 10.30 A.M. SERVICE.
