“Timothy, my fellow worker, sends you his greetings, as do Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my fellow Jews. I, Tertius, the one writing this letter for Paul, send my greetings, too, as one of the Lord’s followers. Gaius says hello to you. He is my host and also serves as host to the whole church. Erastus, the city treasurer, sends you his greetings, and so does our brother Quartus.”
Romans 16:21-23 NLT
Another eight names appear in Paul’s letter to the Romans. We know of course about Timothy; in fact we know quite a bit about him. Paul nurtured him as a “true son in the faith” – “I am writing to Timothy, my true son in the faith. May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy, and peace” (1 Timothy 1:2). He was well taught in the faith by his mother and grandmother, “I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you” (2 Timothy 1:5). Timothy probably pastored the Ephesian church for a while – in his first letter to Timothy, Paul wrote, “When I left for Macedonia, I urged you to stay there in Ephesus and stop those whose teaching is contrary to the truth” (1 Timothy 1:3). And Timothy was obviously ill with some gastric condition – Paul advised him to, “Don’t drink only water. You ought to drink a little wine for the sake of your stomach because you are sick so often” (1 Timothy 5:23). And there are other little gems about Timothy that we can pick up from Paul’s letters.
Then we find that Paul didn’t write this letter himself, but used the services of a secretary called Tertius. From the customs and traditions of the time, we can draw other conclusions about Tertius. He may have been known by the Roman believers, because that is why he greeted them in this letter. Other traditions say he may have been a slave who went on to become a Bishop, but the one fact we do know something about is that he faithfully transcribed all of Paul’s thoughts and instructions. Perhaps he even thought “How much more, as he started the umpteenth new page!”
Gaius was the church host, we read, and Erastus was a man in high office, being the city treasurer – a useful man to have in the church role! But in this list of names, a picture of men of solid faith emerges. We are so grateful for the early Christians because of the legacy they left us. We know little about them, and for every name that Paul mentioned there were many more working behind the scenes. But their fortitude in difficult times is a glowing testimony to the love and power of God. We pilgrims today have the opportunity to leave a legacy for the generations and generations following us. We mustn’t waste the opportunities that we have.
Dear Father God. Our gratitude to those early Christians knows no bounds. You know who they are and we look forward to being able to thank them personally one day. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 