More greetings
Just as there was a note of finality at the end of chapter 15, so there also is here. Paul has finished his part of the letter, but there still remains a bit of unfinished business. His colleagues in Corinth, who, like Paul, also knew many of the same people in Rome, would like to take advantage of the rare opportunity to send their greetings. Therefore, Paul lets them piggyback on his letter.
Timothy, my fellow worker, sends his greetings to you, as do Lucius, Jason and Sosipater, my relatives.
Timothy, of course, is well known from Scripture. Since joining Paul’s missionary team on the second missionary journey (Acts 16:1-5), he has been Paul’s constant companion and coworker. By contrast, we know nothing about Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, except that they are Paul’s relatives.
22 I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord.
Fortunately, Tertius identifies himself. He was the professional scribe, undoubtedly Christian, who wrote what Paul dictated. Paul always used secretarial help. The secretary would write the body of the letter, and Paul personally added merely a closing section as his signature (2 Thessalonians 3:17). That practice is evident at the close of Galatians where Paul says, “See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand” (6:11). Here in Romans, verses 25 to 27 of this last chapter are very likely the sign-off in Paul’s own handwriting.
23 Gaius, whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy, sends you his greetings.
This Gaius is often assumed to be the same person referred to in Acts 18:7. There we are told that after Paul and his Christian group were driven out of the synagogue in Corinth, they “went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God.” The assumption is that this benefactor’s full name was Gaius Titius Justus.
Regardless of whether or not that association of names is correct, this verse does substantiate the assumption that early Christians regularly operated as house churches that met in homes rather than church buildings. Gaius must have had a large home to accommodate the “whole church” in Corinth, which seems to have been more formally structured into one congregation than was the Christian community of Rome.
Erastus, who is the city’s director of public works, and our brother Quartus send you their greetings.
The observation is occasionally made that the majority of those who were attracted to the Christian message were from the lower classes of society, also including many slaves. For example, attention is called to the fact that names such as Ampliatus, Urbanus, Stachys, and Apelles (16:8-10) turn up in the listing of slaves in the imperial household. Not all Christians were from the lower classes, however. As “director of public works,” Erastus obviously held an important civil position.
Archeology has unearthed a fascinating bit of information possibly related to this verse. While working on an ancient paved square in Corinth, archeologists discovered a reused stone block bearing this Latin inscription: “Erastus, commissioner of public works, bore the expense of this pavement.” That may be the same man who sent greetings to the Romans, but we cannot be certain. “Brother Quartus” remains totally unknown to us.
To close out this section of greetings, many Greek manuscripts have another doxology such as we saw at 15:33 and 16:20. Some translations include this doxology as verse 24; the NIV has entered it as a footnote: “May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you. Amen.”