Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow-bondman in [the] Lord, will make known to you all that concerns me;
Paul has finished his teaching and his instructions for the home. Now he sends a man. Tychicus will bring the Colossians all the news of Paul himself, and Paul introduces him with three titles.
Paul does not settle for one word. He uses three, and each one goes a step beyond the plain word.
The Apostle is glad to speak of Tychicus not only as a "brother", but as "a beloved brother"; not only as a "minister", but as "a faithful minister"; not only as a "servant", but as a "fellow-servant" with the Apostle in the Lord. These Christian traits were so well balanced in this servant that his love did not hold back his faithfulness, and his faithfulness did not shut out his fellowship with others.
Warmth and faithfulness often pull against each other. In Tychicus they did not.
The third title is the one that costs. Some translations put it "fellow-bondman": a slave next to Paul, owned by the same Master. One writer notes who else stands in this closing list.
Tychicus is first on the list and Demas last, as far as Paul's companions go. One of the marks of Tychicus seems to be exactly the thing that tested Demas: the mark of the "fellow-bondman". Demas was not prepared to suffer along with the glad tidings.
That kind of partnership costs something, and not everyone will pay it.
Some readers skip the closing greetings as filler. One commentator sees care in them, and warns what is lost when such warmth is missing.
Notice the remarkable care the Apostle takes to support and commend true-hearted workers. He knew well the belittling tone that comes naturally to men who can see the failings of those whose service has left them far behind… This overflow of loving praise deserves careful weight. Where it is missing, the bonds of love among believers tend to loosen and come apart.
People are quick to spot flaws in workers who have long outrun them. Paul's open praise is the counterweight.
Tychicus was more than a courier. Paul chose a man fitted for the errand.
Paul did not simply grab hold of a man who was standing around with nothing to do. In divine things that does not happen. A person is fitted for the work he is entrusted with. It would take some measure of spiritual judgment in Tychicus to describe the state of the Colossians to Paul, and to describe Paul's feelings towards them.
Paul had never visited this church. Still, he takes for granted that they want news of him.
We see how Christian love loves to tell news and to hear it… Can anything be sweeter than this simple, genuine affection and interest in each other? In a mere man it would be vanity and idle curiosity. In a Christian it is blessed… Here the humble-minded apostle writes in full confidence. He had never seen them, and they had never seen him. Yet he was sure that hearing about one another, through the man who travelled between them, would be a real joy on both sides. What a spring of power the love of Christ is! Truly love is "the bond of perfectness."
Tychicus was carrying more than news. He was carrying letters.
Paul sent Tychicus and Onesimus — the runaway slave, now through grace "a brother beloved" (Philemon 16) — to Colossae (Col. 4:7-9). Tychicus carried the letter written to the Colossians, to correct the evils that had arisen in that church and to warn them against the wicked teachings being spread among them. Onesimus the slave carried that beautiful little letter written to his master Philemon. At the same time, as Tychicus and Onesimus left Rome, Paul handed Tychicus the letter to the Ephesians. Never before and never after were such weighty and blessed documents entrusted to human messengers.
- Character first. Beloved brother, faithful minister, fellow-servant. His love never held back his faithfulness, and his faithfulness never shut out fellowship.
- Then cost. "Fellow-bondman" is the title Demas could not hold, because he "was not prepared to suffer along with the glad tidings."
- Then commendation. Paul takes care to speak well of his workers. Where that praise is missing, the bonds of love among believers loosen and come apart.
- Then competence. Carrying news each way took spiritual judgment. A person is fitted for the work he is entrusted with.
- Then connection. Paul had never met these believers, yet he was sure they wanted news of him. In a mere man that would be vanity. In a Christian it is blessed.
whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, that he might know your state, and that he might encourage your hearts
The last section of Colossians turns from teaching to people — names, errands, and greetings. Verse 8 explains why Tychicus is making the journey to Colossae: he goes to carry news, to learn how the Colossians are, and to encourage the hearts of a church that had never seen Paul.
The closing verses of Colossians are not filler. One writer finds a single name for what is happening in them.
Perhaps the best way to describe the closing section of Colossians is "heart-openings." It is in fact the free interchange of brotherly feeling among those who have recognised the place they have been given with regard to one another. So it begins with the provision for mutual knowledge of each other's state. Tychicus is a beloved and faithful brother, able to enter into such things. The apostle sends him to bring the disciples news about himself, and to bring back from them the account of their condition. He knows this is what their hearts would long for as comfort, since they are united together in the love of Christ.
The trip does two jobs at once.
To bring back a report to the Apostle, Tychicus would learn their state. At the same time he would encourage their hearts by letting them know of the Apostle's deep interest in them.
Translations split here. Some read "that he might know your state." Others, following different manuscripts, read "that you may know how we are." One commentator judged the oldest copies to be the misleading ones here:
Verse 8 is a plain instance where the influence of most of the oldest copies has misled editors and revisers. The Paris manuscript, with most other Greek copies and translations, has the right reading. The end of verse 9 and the beginning of verse 7 confirm it.
He settles it from the verses around it. On his reading, verse 8 is about Tychicus learning how the Colossians are.
Reporting on a church's condition is not a job for anyone with free time.
Paul did not just pick a man who was standing by with nothing to do. In divine things that does not happen. A person is fitted for the work entrusted to him. It would take some measure of spiritual judgment in Tychicus to outline the state of the Colossians to Paul, and also to outline Paul's feelings towards them.
Paul assumes the Colossians want to hear about him. He also praises Tychicus warmly. One writer says both are worth weighing.
This warm and generous praise deserves careful weight. Where it is missing, the bonds of love among believers loosen and come apart. Notice too that love counts on the interest of others in our affairs, just as much as it truly cares to hear about theirs. Among men this feeling is either unknown, or, where it exists, it is only vanity. But then love, divine love, is not there.
Paul and this church had never met face to face. The tie between them was still real.
Though the apostle was not known to the Colossians in person, he counts on their love for him and their interest in his welfare, so that they would want to know about it. It is sweet to trace this love in the Spirit between the apostle and those he had never yet seen, and the close affection that flows from a shared identification with the interests of Christ.
- Sent — Tychicus travels "for this very purpose." The visit is planned, and its aim is news and comfort in both directions.
- Learn — Part of the errand is to find out how the Colossians are doing, so Tychicus can carry a report back to Paul.
- Comfort — Learning how much the apostle cares about them lifts their hearts.
- Qualified — Carrying news between believers takes spiritual judgment. Paul did not hand the task to an idle man.
- Counted on — Love assumes the other side cares too. Commentators differ over what verse 8 says: some read it as Tychicus learning their state, others as the Colossians learning how Paul is. Both readings serve the same mutual affection.
with Onesimus, the faithful and beloved brother, who is [one] of you. They shall make known to you everything here.
Paul closes his letter by naming the two men who will carry it. The second name would have startled Colossae: Onesimus, a slave who had run away from a household in that city, is coming back with an apostle's commendation.
Onesimus has a history. It sits behind the short letter to Philemon:
Onesimus, the main subject of the letter to Philemon, had once been a servant or bond-slave of Philemon, as verse 16 shows. He had wronged his Christian master and then had run away. In God's great mercy, however, the runaway slave met Paul at Rome during Paul's imprisonment, and through Paul he was converted. He was converted so soundly that Paul could speak of him not long after as "a faithful and beloved brother."
The distance between what Onesimus was and what Paul calls him is the whole point of the verse:
Onesimus, who is called "a faithful and beloved brother," was the runaway slave with whom the letter to Philemon is concerned. What but the grace of God can turn a slave who had wronged his master and run away into a faithful and beloved brother in Christ? So Tychicus carried the letter to the Colossians, and Onesimus the letter to Philemon, when they travelled to Colossae together.
Notice also what Paul does not call him. Pardon alone would have met our need; grace went further:
In Colossians 4:9 Onesimus is not described as a pardoned criminal but as "our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you." This is the wonder of God's grace. Pardon for crimes of the deepest kind — would that not have answered our great need? But grace does not give pardon alone; it raises us up to be brothers. He is not ashamed to call us brothers.
The phrase places Onesimus somewhere. He left Colossae as a runaway; he comes back as one of the gathering there:
The letter goes to Philemon himself, and Paul appeals to him on behalf of Onesimus. But the gathered assembly had just as much reason to care about this runaway slave. He was coming back as a beloved brother, so they were to receive him into Christian fellowship. The Lord had received Onesimus. Through grace he had become a member of the body of Christ, and he belonged to the Colossian assembly.
Social rank did not vanish, but it stopped being the deciding thing:
At Colossae the church held both Philemon and his slave Onesimus, "a faithful and beloved brother." So grace triumphs over distinctions that hold good in this world. God recognises those distinctions. But in the church of God they give way to something infinitely higher, on a different level.
One writer reads Paul's warm words as a quiet push for more than a welcome:
The apostle looked for more in the changed slave than simply a saint. So he pressed Philemon harder for a fresh triumph of grace — not only in taking the wrong-doer back to his heart, but in setting him free.
Paul names no public role for Onesimus. That silence is worth hearing:
Onesimus, one of the Colossian saints, is also commended as a faithful and beloved brother. Yet nothing suggests that he took part in public ministry. He was probably not a gifted brother. Remember that in social position he was a slave. The commendation Paul gives him would show how fully he answered to the instructions given to slaves in this letter.
The praise poured on both messengers is deliberate, and its absence has a cost:
Notice the remarkable care the apostle takes to support and commend true-hearted workers. He knew well the fault-finding tone that comes naturally to men who can see the failings of those whose service leaves them far behind… This abundance of affectionate commendation deserves great weight. The lack of it tends to loosen and dislocate the bonds of love among the saints.
The verse ends with a promise: the two men will report everything happening in Rome. Paul wants the Colossians to know his news, and he wants to know theirs:
Can anything be sweeter than this genuine, simple affection and shared interest? In a mere man it would be empty and prying; in a Christian it is blessed.
- Runaway. Onesimus had wronged his master and fled; he met Paul in prison in Rome and was converted there.
- Received. Grace gave him more than pardon — Paul names him a faithful and beloved brother, not a forgiven criminal.
- Belonging. "One of you" places him inside the Colossian assembly; the Lord had received him, so they must.
- Faithful. Paul credits him with no public ministry, yet commends how fully he lived out what this letter asks of slaves.
- Commended. Paul's habit of warm commendation guards the bonds of love among believers; its absence loosens them.
Aristarchus my fellow-captive salutes you, and Mark, Barnabas's cousin, concerning whom ye have received orders, (if he come to you, receive him,)
Paul ends his letter with greetings, and the first two names carry a story: a friend who shared his chains, and a worker who had once walked out on the job. The short note in brackets, asking the church to welcome Mark, opens one of the Bible's clearest pictures of a failed servant restored.
Scripture names Aristarchus only a few times. Each time he stands in a harder place than the last.
When this letter was written, Aristarchus was a fellow-prisoner with the Apostle. He had been a companion in Paul's travels (Acts 19:29). He was a fellow-sufferer in the shipwreck (Acts 27:2). He was a fellow-labourer in service (Philemon 24). And at last he is a fellow-prisoner in the Apostle's chains.
Nothing forced him into that position. Neither Luke nor Aristarchus was a prisoner when Paul sailed to Rome. They went with him anyway: "Love led these to join him in the face of shame and danger" (William Kelly).
The letter to Philemon, sent at the same time, calls Epaphras the fellow prisoner instead. One writer passes on a possible reason for the difference, but only as a suggestion.
It is not exactly "prisoner," as Paul speaks of himself in this and in other letters... Yet it is a word of force, and means a captive, or war prisoner. Meyer, following Fritzsche, suggests that some of the apostle's companions chose to share his prison by turns. It was the turn of Aristarchus when Paul wrote to the Colossians, and of Epaphras when he wrote to Philemon.
The verse names Mark as the cousin of Barnabas. That family tie once pulled the other way. Mark had turned back from the work, and Barnabas had taken his relative's side against Paul (Acts 15:37-39). Notice which of the two men Paul now counts among his fellow workers.
It is striking that he should say, "These only are my fellow-workers", and yet Barnabas is named in verse 10. It is not Barnabas to whom he is calling attention but Marcus. Barnabas had apparently ceased to be a fellow-worker with Paul... It is striking that the very man who was the cause of the difficulty now comes in as a fellow-worker.
Paul does not repeat those instructions in this letter.
They had already received instructions about Mark that did not need repeating, and were probably not suited to a public letter. Paul wanted them to know how fully Mark had regained his confidence, by specially commending him for their welcome if he came to them.
The welcome itself was no formality. Paul knew what the church's memory of Mark could cost him.
How beautiful too is the grace which clearly commanded the reception of Mark! Otherwise, remembrance of the past would have forbidden a warm welcome to him, and so must have hindered his ministry among the saints... real love is as generous as it is faithful. It acts at all cost for the Lord, and where needed, despite what it costs nature. But it is glad to praise aloud and warmly where the grace of God has stepped in to remove the obstacle.
This verse is a stage, not the finish. Paul went further than a welcome.
The apostle had already joined Mark with himself as one of the few fellow-workers for the kingdom of God who had been a comfort to him. In the same letter to the Colossians he refers to instructions they had received to welcome him if he came to them (Col. 4:10-11). But now he goes further. He restores him to close personal service with himself — the very thing in which he had failed at the start. In nature a breakdown is beyond repair; not so where grace prevails.
And the end of the story is better still. Look at the man God chose to describe the perfect Servant: "How touching it is that the unfaithful servant was chosen to portray THE faithful Servant, even our Lord Jesus Christ. Mark was chosen to write the Gospel that bears his name" (A J Pollock).
- Fellow. Three words run through this chapter: fellow-servant, fellow-prisoner, fellow-worker. One writer sums up the letter's teaching in them: "working together; moving together; being knit together" (George Davison).
- Cost. Aristarchus lived out those words the hard way: travel companion, shipwreck survivor, fellow worker, and at last a sharer of Paul's chains. He chose every step of it.
- Grace. Mark's name here shows the old breach is over. The man who caused the split now stands among the few who comforted Paul.
- Welcome. Paul does not just forgive Mark in private. He clears Mark's path with the whole church, so an old memory cannot block a restored servant's ministry.
- Usefulness. The line runs from "welcome him" to full restoration in close service, and on to the writing of a Gospel. In nature a breakdown is beyond repair — but not where grace prevails.