Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, Hermes, and the brethren which are with them.
The verse is one of Paul's personal greetings to named believers in the Roman church and the brethren with them, showing they were people he knew and regarded as fellow workers alongside groups of believers. The persons greeted are those Paul may have met on his travels. The number of names greeted reflects the origin and growth of the church at Rome, which was founded by Jews and proselytes from Jerusalem converted on the Day of Pentecost with others added afterward. Hermas named in the verse was a companion of Paul. Hermas named in the verse was one of the apostolic fathers, a figure contemporary with the apostles.
The long list of greetings was given impartially to both men and women, showing the largeness and heartiness of Paul's sympathy and the special care of the Holy Spirit for each individual member of the household of faith by singling them out by name, which is why it was written. The verse belongs to the greetings in Romans 16:1-15 to Phebe, Priscilla, Mary, Tryphena, Tryphosa, Persis, the mother of Rufus, Julia, the sister of Nereus and others who labored with Paul in the gospel. The wider list in Romans 16:3-15 is evidence that women helped Paul in the work of ministry and served among his helpers. The people named in this verse itself are not identified as women. The list shows Paul believed in the labor of women and in women speaking, so his command in 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 for women to keep silence in the churches cannot mean a total ban on women speaking in church. The chapter's greetings naming women who served in the gospel are used to show that Paul did not forbid women from witnessing for God.
The absence of Peter's name from the chapter's greetings is evidence against the claim that Peter lived in Rome and shows he was not there when Romans was written. The absence shows Peter was not Bishop of Rome, for Paul would not have omitted the chief person in the church when saluting members by name, especially one whose hospitality he had shared for fifteen days in Jerusalem. If Peter ever came to Rome, it was after Romans was written and long after the church there was established and flourishing. The chapter's silence settles that neither the church of Christ nor the church of Rome was founded upon Peter.
The verse is one of Paul's personal greetings to named believers in the Roman church and the brethren with them, showing they were people he knew and regarded as fellow workers alongside groups of believers. The persons greeted are those Paul may have met on his travels. The number of names greeted reflects the origin and growth of the church at Rome, which was founded by Jews and proselytes from Jerusalem converted on the Day of Pentecost with others added afterward. Hermas named in the verse was a companion of Paul. Hermas named in the verse was one of the apostolic fathers, a figure contemporary with the apostles.
The long list of greetings was given impartially to both men and women, showing the largeness and heartiness of Paul's sympathy and the special care of the Holy Spirit for each individual member of the household of faith by singling them out by name, which is why it was written. The verse belongs to the greetings in Romans 16:1-15 to Phebe, Priscilla, Mary, Tryphena, Tryphosa, Persis, the mother of Rufus, Julia, the sister of Nereus and others who labored with Paul in the gospel. The wider list in Romans 16:3-15 is evidence that women helped Paul in the work of ministry and served among his helpers. The people named in this verse itself are not identified as women. The list shows Paul believed in the labor of women and in women speaking, so his command in 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 for women to keep silence in the churches cannot mean a total ban on women speaking in church. The chapter's greetings naming women who served in the gospel are used to show that Paul did not forbid women from witnessing for God.
The absence of Peter's name from the chapter's greetings is evidence against the claim that Peter lived in Rome and shows he was not there when Romans was written. The absence shows Peter was not Bishop of Rome, for Paul would not have omitted the chief person in the church when saluting members by name, especially one whose hospitality he had shared for fifteen days in Jerusalem. If Peter ever came to Rome, it was after Romans was written and long after the church there was established and flourishing. The chapter's silence settles that neither the church of Christ nor the church of Rome was founded upon Peter.