Eternity 101 - Fellow-Travelers Has someone forwarded you this copy of Eternity Daily Bible Study?
Go to http://www.aibi.ph/articles/eternity.htm to subscribe and receive it six days per week! Colossians 4:7-11 NKJV) Tychicus, a beloved brother, faithful minister, and fellow servant in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me. {8} I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that he may know your circumstances and comfort your hearts, {9} with Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will make known to you all things which are happening here. {10} Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, with Mark the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you received instructions: if he comes to you, welcome him), {11} and Jesus who is called Justus. These are my only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are of the circumcision; they have proved to be a comfort to me. The greetings at the end of Paul's epistles give us fascinating glimpses into the community life of the early church. The early church generally did not have church building but consisted of city-wide networks of converted synagogues, house-churches and prayer cells. The persecuted saints met in catacombs and tunnels in Rome and beside river-banks in Philippi. These city-wide networks of Christian cell groups were in turn networked by travelling teachers of the Word such as Paul, Apollos, Titus, Timothy, Epaphras etc. The messengers would bring news about how Paul's trial was going, the latest epistle, and set things straight in the local church ensuring that the same practices were observed throughout. If you have ever played the mental game of figuring out "how many handshakes" you are away from someone famous you will realise how interconnected we are and how well networks work. For instance I am "three handshakes" away from the U.S. President , having shaken the hand of my local member of Parliament in Australia, who has shaken the hand of the Australian Prime Minister John Howard who has in turn shaken the hand of President George. W. Bush. I am sure that all of us can claim something similar. In the early church no-one was more than three handshakes from Jesus! Jesus had direct contact with the twelve and Paul (and many others), these then directly trained senior leaders, who set in place the city elders, who then governed the church. Say you were a Christian in far-away Crete. The Lord Jesus appointed Paul who then appointed Titus, who then set elders in every city in Crete, who then took care of the Christians there. In addition to this direct chain of command many of the Christians would be visited from time to time by an apostle. For instance the church in Ephesus was visited by both Paul, and John. And Jerusalem, Antioch and Rome were visited by nearly everyone! This means that any major deviation in faith or practice was quickly spotted and corrected by a direct disciple of Jesus or someone that the apostles appointed. Major incidents would travel directly back to the apostles who would correct them in the next epistle or on a personal visit (see 2 John, 3 John and Philemon). Tychicus and Onesimus come with news from Rome. Onesimus is probably the runaway slave of Philemon on his journey back to his master, Tychicus was probably his protector in the delicate negotiations. Tychicus was an "Asian" convert and was with Paul for many years and travelled it seems to Tome, Crete, Ephesus and Colossae as well as Laodecia. His last mention is when he takes over the church in Ephesus, freeing up Timothy to be with Paul in Rome (2 Timothy 4:9,21). Another companion was the risk-taking, eventual martyr Aristarchus. Here is the entry on him in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia Aristarchus ar-is-tar'-kus (Aristarchos, "best ruler"): He was one of those faithful companions of the apostle Paul who shared with him his labors and sufferings. He is suddenly mentioned along with Gaius as having been seized by the excited Ephesians during the riot stirred up by the silversmiths (Act_19:29). They are designated "men of Macedonia, Paul's companions in travel." We learn later that he was a native of Thessalonica (Act_20:4; Act_27:2). They were probably seized to extract from them information about their leader Paul, but when they could tell nothing, and since they were Greeks, nothing further was done to them. When Aristarchus attached himself to Paul we do not know, but he seems ever after the Ephesian uproar to have remained in Paul's company. He was one of those who accompanied Paul from Greece via Macedonia (Act_20:4). Having preceded Paul to Troas, where they waited for him, they traveled with him to Palestine. He is next mentioned as accompanying Paul to Rome (Act_27:2). There he attended Paul and shared his imprisonment. He is mentioned in two of the letters of the Roman captivity, in the Epistle to the church at Col. (Col_4:10), and in the Epistle to Phm. (Phm_1:24), in both of which he sends greetings. In the former Paul calls him "my fellow-prisoner." According to tradition he was martyred during the persecution of Nero. This has got long enough! I will continue tomorrow with a look at Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. Blessings, John Edmiston johned@aibi.ph http://www.aibi.ph