Final greetings and conclusion
Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. 8 I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts. 9 He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here.
The apostle now brings his epistle to a close with an introduction of the messenger who is bringing the letter to its destination, with final greetings from his associates to the Colossians, and with personal greetings to various members of the congregation. It is a special feature of this epistle that Paul mentions a rather large number of fellow Christians and coworkers. Only here and in the last chapter of Romans does he send such extensive greetings.
Nine names are mentioned here, including seven men with whom Paul was in contact during his imprisonment. By studying these verses we can discover a little more about the men who surrounded the apostle during the difficult yet productive days of his imprisonment. We can also gain a little insight into the intimate and cordial spirit that prevailed among all the Christians and particularly among those who labored together for the cause of the gospel in the early days of the church.
Timothy was with Paul when Paul wrote this epistle, but he is not mentioned here because he is mentioned in 1:1, together with Paul, as a sender of the letter. The first of Paul’s coworkers named in this section is Tychicus, no doubt because he was the person who carried this letter, together with the apostle’s letters to the Ephesians and to Philemon, to its destination. Tychicus was one of Paul’s closest friends and most valued allies. He was a native of the province of Asia and, quite likely, of the city of Ephesus. He had accompanied Paul to Jerusalem when the apostle delivered the collection that the believers from the outlying areas had taken for the needy in that city. Later he spent time with Paul in Rome during the apostle’s imprisonment.
Tychicus receives high praise from Paul. He is called “a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord.” Because he had recently been with Paul, Tychicus was an ideal messenger to supply the Colossians with information about how Paul was faring in his imprisonment. He could also provide any other personal information they might desire about Paul, his associates, or any other of their Christian acquaintances in Rome. This epistle contains very little personal information about Paul, the conditions of his imprisonment, or the prospects of his court hearing. Here the apostle tells us the reason: some things are better spoken than written. Paul wants Tychicus personally to supply the Colossians with the latest information about Paul’s imprisonment and court case, including any developments that might take place in the short time between Paul’s completion of his letter and Tychicus’ departure for Colosse. Though they may never have met Paul personally, the Colossians were concerned about his welfare. Paul appreciated that concern and made this arrangement to keep them informed.
There also was another reason that Paul sent one of his most trusted assistants to Colosse. He wanted Tychicus to “encourage your hearts.” Remember, the Colossians and their faith were under siege. The false teachers, with their philosophical Christianity, were threatening to raid and overpower the congregation. As a personal representative of the apostle Paul and a competent and faithful servant of the Lord, Tychicus could also add his encouragement to that provided by the apostle in the letter. That would give the Colossians a double source of strength to stand firmly on Christ and the gospel.
Accompanying Tychicus would be Onesimus. We will speak at length about Onesimus in the commentary on the book of Philemon. To sum it up briefly, Onesimus was a slave who had escaped from his master, Philemon, in Colosse and fled to Rome. In Rome he met the apostle Paul, learned the gospel, and became a Christian. Now Paul was sending him back to his master under the protection of Tychicus. Tychicus also carried a personal letter to Philemon, urging Philemon to forgive Onesimus and receive him back, not just as a returning slave but as a fellow believer.
Here Paul commends Onesimus to the entire congregation, underscoring to them what he has personally written to Philemon. By permitting Onesimus to stand with Tychicus as an informant concerning his affairs, the apostle visibly demonstrates to the congregation that he regards the converted Onesimus as a faithful and dear brother. Onesimus was one of them, not just in a physical sense because he was a native of their city but also in spirit, a fellow believer in Jesus.