Titus and Philemon - Leaders Guide and Map Collection
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Roman Empire AD 60s
$10.00
Paul Sent Onesimus Home Carrying a Dangerous Letter
Runaway slave Onesimus apparently traveled nearly 1,000 miles (1600 km) from Colossae to Paul’s prison in Rome. But Paul sent the enslaved man back carrying a carefully worded letter asking Philemon to welcome him—not as a disobedient slave, but as a member of the family.
Description
A 1,000-Mile Journey Toward an Uncertain Welcome
Onesimus had left Colossae and somehow reached Paul, who was probably imprisoned in Rome—roughly 1,000 miles away. The letter never tells us how he got there or exactly what had happened between him and Philemon. Paul does suggest that Onesimus may have caused Philemon some loss or owed him money.
Whatever brought Onesimus to Paul, something changed. He became a Christian. Paul grew so close to him that he called Onesimus his son and “my own heart.” Paul would have liked to keep him nearby.
Instead, Paul sent Onesimus back to Philemon, apparently carrying this letter with him. Under the Roman system, an enslaved man returning to his owner could face serious punishment. So Paul didn’t send Onesimus back empty-handed. He sent him with a carefully constructed appeal.
Paul told Philemon to welcome Onesimus as though he were welcoming Paul himself. If Onesimus owed anything, Paul said, “Charge it to me.” More pointedly, Philemon should receive him “no longer as a slave,” but as a dear brother.
Paul never wrote the blunt sentence, “Set him free.” He didn’t need to. He said he trusted Philemon to do even more than he was asking. He strongly hinted that he wanted Onesimus returned to help him—and then added that Philemon should prepare a guest room because Paul hoped to visit.
Subtle? Not especially.
This map shows the enormous distance behind that intensely personal letter. Rome and Colossae sat on opposite sides of the Roman Empire. Onesimus wasn’t simply delivering Paul’s theology. He was carrying an appeal for his own forgiveness, freedom and future.
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