Image: "Awaiting Day", 2009, Millersville, Md.
Philemon 8–11 Therefore, though I might be very bold in Christ to command you what is fitting, 9 yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you—being such a one as Paul, the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ—10 I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains, 11 who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me.
Philemon 15–16 For perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive him forever, 16 no longer as a slave but more than a slave—a beloved brother, especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.
Philemon 17–18 If then you count me as a partner, receive him as you would me. 18 But if he has wronged you or owes anything, put that on my account.
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Paul's epistle to Philemon is perhaps the most intimate of all his writings. Certainly, we see Paul's zeal and penetrating insights to a far greater extent in other writings, but in this letter, we see Paul the man, Paul the pastor, Paul the brother.
Onesimus was Philemon's slave. We don't know exactly how he came to Paul. He "departed" from Philemon (vs. 13) for some reason. I doubt Philemon, whom Paul holds in great affection, was all that terrible a master, at least by Roman standards. It's possible he was abusive but Paul does not address him with heated rhetoric or implied condemnation. Onesimus may have simply wanted to spend time with Paul, to be taught, not as a slave but as a welcome friend and brother. It's possible he snuck off to learn more about the risen Jesus. This last certainly accords better with the fact that Paul's affection for him is plain. He calls Onesimus "my own heart." (vs. 12) So, in this passage we see Paul, as a Christian, dealing with a rather complex social issue of his day that had presented itself in the form of very personal issues.
Let's focus on the underlying principles on which Paul builds this letter.
The surface account is straightforward. Paul comes to Philemon as an intercessor, "praying" for Philemon to receive Onesimus back into fellowship with forgiveness and joy rather than anger and condemnation. In the process, Paul offers himself as a substitute, or better yet, a guarantor of reparation for any "harm" that Onesimus caused Philemon. (vs. 17-18) And finally, Paul implicitly calls Philemon to account for viewing Onesimus as a slave rather than a "beloved brother." (vs. 16)
What we see here is Paul showing Philemon and us, what it means to emulate our Lord Jesus Christ.
Did our Lord not come into this world to befriend and comfort those whom the institutions of oppression had worked great harm? Philemon was a Christian but evidently, his eyes were not opened to his own unconscious furthering the demonic agenda. Our Lord came to not only free those enslaved to Satan openly and explicitly. He also came to free those of us who were blind to our own participation in that agenda. Paul, here, beautifully fulfills his Lord's purpose by following in His footsteps.
Our Lord is our great intercessor, our High Priest, Who continuously intercedes for us before the throne of God. As such He pleads our cause and begs forgiveness for our sins and has already voluntarily taken upon Himself the full and complete penalty for those sins. He has completely satisfied our God's honor as well as His justice. Thus Paul is implicitly reminding Philemon of what his own Lord, Jesus, had done for him. It is a beautiful thing.
And lastly, as the goal and purpose of intercession, Paul is, like his Master before him, tearing down strongholds. By pointing Philemon toward the fundamental truth of Jesus Christ, that in Him there are no status differences, no slaves or free. There is only a sublime brotherhood that welds us together as a family. Paul asks Philemon to no longer treat Onesimus as a slave but as a brother... a beloved brother. Here we see Paul ringing out the death knell of slavery. How can a man hold down his own brother in slavery apart from sin? He can't. Joseph's brothers sinned mightily when they sold him into slavery. No Hebrew could coercively obtain another Israelite as his slave. That doesn't mean that a poor Israelite might not voluntarily "enlist" as such to another man but in the year of Jubilee, that bond of slavery was severed.
God did not design human beings to "own" other human beings and it is entirely counter to the gospel of Jesus Christ to call it "good." Like polygamy, God tolerated it for a while, but in Jesus Christ, God has called us to a higher life and a more beautiful set of social institutions.
So, in this concise yet marvelously profound epistle, Paul gives us an example to emulate. We too should engage the world and oppose the demonic institutions persisting in it. We also should learn the value of intercessory prayer, both directed toward God and toward people in authority. Paul shows us that we do not always have to fight with clubs. And lastly, Paul shows us that the gospel is the answer to all the social sins still prevailing among us. It is the power of God to bring about the righteousness of God. We need to trust it and put it to work.
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