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Rom.16:1. I present to you Phoebe, our sister, deaconess of the Church of Cenchrea. The real message was delivered to the Romans by Thebes. That’s why he introduces them to her. He expresses his respect for her by mentioning her in the first place, by calling her sister (this is a great dignity), and by showing her position by calling her a deaconess. Rom.16:2. Receive it for the Lord, as becomes saints. That is, for the Lord, do her honor. He who receives for the Lord and an insignificant person honors the Lord; and Thebe was holy: therefore, all the more honor should be shown to her. Therefore, he added: “as befits the saints,” that is, how the saints should be received. and help her whatever she needs from you, That is, provide what you can, give a helping hand; for he did not say: satisfy all her needs. for she was also a helper to many and to myself. First he praised, then in the middle he placed an admonition, and finally he again placed praise, surrounding his admonition on both sides - to honor her. For she, he says, was a helper to many, even to myself, the universal preacher who endured so much suffering. Rom.16:3. Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus. They, he says, helped me in word and teaching and shared with me the labors and dangers. Some believed that these workers were Paul's tent-making assistants (Acts 18:3). Rom.16:4. (who laid down their heads for my soul, They were perfect martyrs: for under Nero there were innumerable dangers. whom I thank not only, but also all the churches of the Gentiles), This hints at their strangeness. And lest they think that he speaks out of flattery, he introduces many other witnesses. They were so virtuous that all their household became faithful; for he called them the church. He named them that way because of their love of strangeness; for the church is that house in which exemplary piety and virtue are found. Let those leading a married life understand that the marriage union does not serve as an obstacle to virtue for them. Rom.16:5. Greet my beloved Epenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia for Christ. It is a great thing to be the beloved of Paul, who knew how to love carefully and not in vain. He calls Epenetus the firstfruits either because he was the first to believe, becoming the beginning and the door to faith for the whole people, or because he showed greater piety in himself, which is why it is said: “who is the firstfruits of Christ,” that is, not in worldly things, but in what relates to Christ. Rom.16:6. Shout out to Mariam, who has worked hard for us. Decorates a woman with her labors for the truth. Mariam, she says, worked, stayed awake, and prayed not only for herself, but, more importantly, she performed her duties in place of us, the apostles. How does he say: “But I do not allow a woman to teach” (1 Tim. 2:12)? He forbids her not to teach by word, but to take an honorable place among the church and sit on a dais, and he highly approves of home teaching. In this way a wife teaches her husband (1 Cor. 7:16) and children (1 Tim. 2:15); and Priscilla instructed Apollos in the faith (Acts 18:26). He did not say: she taught a lot, but “worked a lot” in order to show that Mariam served as a supply of money and other means. Rom.16:7. Greet Andronicus and Junia, my relatives and prisoners with me, who were glorified among the Apostles and who believed in Christ before me. That they are kinsmen of Paul is not such a praise as the fact that they are prisoners with him; for they suffered much more than any prisoner, being dragged from place to place and destroyed. It is also important to be an apostle, especially if you take into account that Junia was a woman: it is all the more important to be glorious among the apostles. And they were famous for their deeds. Paul is not ashamed to say: “those who believed in Christ were before me,” giving them credit for going ahead and anticipating the good. Rom.16:8. Greet Amplius, my beloved in the Lord. If it is considered great to be loved by a king; how much more glorious is it to be loved by Paul, who loves for virtue and for God? Rom.16:9. Greet Urban, our fellow worker in Christ. This praise is greater than the previous one; she is even the cause of that and contains it in herself: for whoever is a fellow worker is also a beloved. And Stachia, my beloved. Rom.16:10. Greet Apelles, tried in Christ. That is, impeccable and blameless in everything, and some say that this is said in contrast to some other Apelles, who does not deserve approval. Greet the faithful from the house of Aristobulov. These were probably not the same as the previous ones, which is why I did not mention them by name. Rom.16:11. Greet Herodion, my kinsman. Greet those from the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord. Rom.16:12. Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, who labor for the Lord. About Mariam he said above (Rom. 16:6): “who labored much,” but about these he says that they are still laboring. It is a great praise to always be in business and working hard. Greet beloved Persis, who has labored much for the Lord. This is the one mentioned above; because not only has she worked hard, but she is also beloved. This is how he names everyone according to their dignity, encouraging some to greater jealousy, and rousing others to competition. Rom.16:13. Salute Rufus, the chosen one in the Lord, and his mother and mine. Double blessing: both the son is blameless and the mother is blameless. For, of course, he would not have said: “his mother and mine,” if he had not acquired great virtue for this woman. Rom.16:14. Greet Asinkritus, Phlegontus, Hermas, Patrov, Hermias and their other brothers. Here, do not look at the fact that he lists them without attributing any praise to them, but at the fact that although they were much lower than everyone else, they nevertheless received greetings from the apostle. It would be better to say that he attributed praise to them too when he called them brothers. Rom.16:15. Greet Philologus and Julia, Nireus and his sister, and Olympanos, and all the saints with them. He attributes great praise to these persons too: for he called them saints. Rom.16:16. Greet each other with a holy kiss. In order not to give rise to strife by greeting some this way and others differently, speaking of some with greater and lesser praises of others, he equalizes everyone with a holy kiss, so that neither the superior despises the inferior, nor the inferior envy the superior; because the holy kiss pacifies and equalizes everything. All the churches of Christ greet you. Not only did he unite them, but he also sends them greetings from all churches to unite; for he speaks of everyone in general, and not of this or that. And he expressed greetings to so many people in this message, which he did not do in any other, because he had not yet seen the Romans. Since many of his relatives found refuge in Rome, he worthily mentions them by name and introduces them to the Romans through a letter. Rom.16:17. I beseech you, brethren, beware of those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the teaching which you have learned. Again he offers admonition, and not as an adviser, but as a humble petitioner and with great respect for them; for he calls them brethren. Discovering the machinations of harmful people, he said: “beware,” that is, find out about them carefully. First he mentions strife, and then discord. For as long as unity is observed in the body of the Church, discord cannot enter. And strife is heresy; for he says: “contrary to the teaching which you have learned.” He did not say: which we taught, but “which you learned,” warning them by this and showing that they are already convinced and accepted the teaching, and therefore must continue in what they have already accepted. So, factions and strife or heresies are introduced by those who teach teaching contrary to the apostolic teaching. Rom.16:18. for such people do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly. Move away, he says, from them. If they did this out of ignorance or error, they should have been corrected. But since they sin intentionally, run from them. He alludes to the Jews, whom he usually reproaches as gluttons; for such is their whole generation. Further, all heresies are born from serving the passions and the womb. Aren’t you ashamed, brother of Christ, to make slaves of the womb your teachers? Note that he who serves the belly does not serve Christ. And with flattery and eloquence (δια της χρηστολογίας και ευλογίας) they deceive the hearts of the simple-minded. They deceive, he says, through flattery; for the expression “by flattery and eloquence” means: friendship on the tongue, but deceit in the heart; he did not say: they deceive you, but: “the hearts of the simple-minded,” that is, the simple. Rom.16:19. Your submission to faith is known to everyone; therefore I rejoice for you. They deceive, he said, the simple-minded. But “your humility,” which comes from great meekness, is known to everyone: not I alone, but the whole universe testifies to it. Therefore, I rejoice for you that you were not deceived. But I wish you to be wise in good and simple in evil. It hints that some of them were deceived. He clearly expresses the same thing as the Lord: “Be wise as serpents and simple as doves” (Matthew 10:16). For he wants them to be “wise” or careful “for good,” that is, in the matter of their own salvation and their own benefit, and “simple for evil,” that is, in not doing evil to others, for being simple does not harm anyone. Rom.16:20. The God of peace will crush Satan under your feet soon. Since there were strife, he calls on the Giver of Peace to stop the strife. He does not say: he will conquer, but what is much stronger: he will crush, and he will crush not only those who introduce discord, but also their leader. It also consoles regarding time; for he added: soon. The word “crush” expresses both prayer and prophecy because it is in the future tense. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you! Amen. He also reminded them of grace, so that, judging by what they had already received, they would become more zealous for the faith and for the future; for if the Lord saved them at the time when they were enemies, much more will He now crush Satan. Note: the apostle does not separate either deeds from prayer, or prayer from deeds. First, he testified to their obedience, and then began to pray, which made it clear that we not only before, but even now, even if we were skilled, have a need for the grace of God. Rom.16:21. Greetings Timofey, my colleague, Timothy labored with him in the gospel; and to do what Paul did is great praise. and Lucius, Jason and Sosipater, my relatives. This Jason is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles as having risen to danger very courageously (Acts 17:6). And they are relatives of the apostle not only in the flesh, but also, what is much more important, in piety; for if they were not such, he would not have mentioned them. Rom.16:22. I, Tertius, who wrote this message, also greet you in the Lord. It is a great thing to be Paul's scribe. And Tertius writes this not in order to praise himself, but in order to attract the great love of the Romans, as he served in writing the epistle to them. Rom.16:23. Gaius, my host and the whole church, greets you. That is, he received me in his house. Further, that Gaius hosted the entire Church and Paul himself is great praise; for Paul would not have gone to him unless he had found him worthy. Erast, the city treasurer, and brother Quart greet you. That is, the trustee and treasurer of the city of Corinth. He mentions him so that you know that neither wealth nor rank serves as an obstacle to anyone in faith and right life. Rom.16:24. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. At the base or at the beginning of his letter he put the following words: “Grace to you and peace” (Rom. 1:7). And now, putting a limit or end to the epistle, he concludes with the same, praying that the grace of God may always remain with all the Romans. This is the trait of a teacher - to help students not only with words, but also with prayer; which is why the apostles said: “But we will continue continually in prayer and in the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:4). May grace also preserve us, not by works hoping to find places of salvation, but wholly trusting in divine grace and mercy, and through it may we rise above the snares of Satan, crushing them under our feet in Christ Jesus our Lord. To whom be glory forever. Amen. You might be interested in: