Final greetings and conclusion
My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.) 11 Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me.
In verses 10 to 14 Paul’s three companions of Jewish birth (Aristarchus, Mark, Jesus Justus) and three of gentile birth (Epaphras, Luke, Demas) send greetings to the Colossians. They too are concerned about the Colossians’ spiritual welfare. They want the believers in Colosse to know this, and they want the Colossians to know that they concur with everything the apostle has written.
Aristarchus was a Jewish native of Thessalonica. On Paul’s third mission journey he was with the apostle at Ephesus, where he was seized by the angry crowd of idolaters. His name is also mentioned in Acts chapter 20, Luke’s account of the return leg of the journey. Aristarchus probably accompanied Paul on his perilous journey to Rome and worked with the apostle during at least part of Paul’s imprisonment in the imperial capital. Paul calls him a fellow prisoner, not because he too is on trial but because he is someone who has volunteered to be with Paul and to assist Paul during the apostle’s imprisonment.
Mark, also known as John Mark, authored the second of the four gospels. Paul mentions that he was a cousin of Barnabas, since some of the Colossian Christians must have met Barnabas on one of Paul’s stops during his first mission journey. On that journey Mark had accompanied Paul and Barnabas part of the way but then had turned back. Because of this, Paul refused to take Mark along on the second journey. This led to a sharp disagreement between Barnabas and Paul and resulted in their parting. By the time Paul wrote these words, however, Mark had nobly redeemed himself. The apostle no longer regarded him as a liability but commended him warmly as one who had been a comfort to him. That this relationship continued is clear from the fact that Paul also praises Mark in 2 Timothy, his last epistle.
What brought about the change in Mark and his relationship to the apostle? Undoubtedly Mark had matured, both emotionally and spiritually. Perhaps Paul’s discipline had sobered him. Maybe Barnabas or even Peter, with whom Mark is also frequently associated, had taken him under wing and tutored him. Peter certainly knew what it meant to fall and be lifted up again. Whatever the reason for the change, we now remember Mark not as the man who deserted the apostle but as the man who came back, and we admire him for it.
As Paul wrote these words about him, Mark was apparently ready to undertake an assignment that would bring him into the general area of Colosse. Perhaps Paul had given him that assignment. Maybe it was a task he was doing for Peter or Barnabas. At any rate, the Colossians already knew about this visit of Mark and had received instructions about it. To those previous instructions Paul added an encouragement to the Colossians to receive this faithful servant when he came to them, to show him hospitality and provide for his physical needs. Incidentally, the fact that Paul had forgiven Mark, who had once forsaken him, was certainly a silent encouragement to Philemon to forgive his slave Onesimus, who had once forsaken him but was now returning to him.
The name of Jesus Justus, another Christian of Jewish background, is otherwise unknown to us. Both names were rather common among Jews in the Roman Empire. This is the only mention of this man that Paul ever makes, but the report concerning him is favorable. Of all the Jews, including the Jewish Christians in Rome, these three were the fellow workers who gave the apostle real comfort.
There is disappointment in Paul’s words here. For the most part, the members of his own race had disowned the apostle. Romans 9:1-5 is a further commentary on Paul’s love for the Jews and his deep sorrow in their rejection of Jesus and the gospel. Perhaps certain Jewish Christians in Rome were among those who preached Christ but had no love for the apostle (see Philippians 1:15-18). These factors must also have served to intensify Paul’s feelings of appreciation for the service that these faithful three were rendering to him.