“Timotheus my workfellow, and Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen, salute you.”
My Notes
What Does Romans 16:21 Mean?
Paul closes Romans with personal greetings — and names four co-workers: Timothy (his workfellow), Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater (his kinsmen — likely relatives or fellow Jews). The naming is the honoring: these men are acknowledged publicly, in a letter to the most important church Paul hasn't yet visited, as partners in the mission.
The term "workfellow" (synergos — co-worker, fellow laborer) for Timothy means Timothy isn't Paul's assistant. He's Paul's partner. The same word Paul uses for Priscilla and Aquila (Romans 16:3). The relationship is collaborative, not hierarchical. Timothy works WITH Paul, not UNDER him.
"My kinsmen" (syngeneis) may mean relatives (shared family) or fellow Jews (shared ethnicity). Either way, the identification is communal: these men share something with Paul beyond the mission. The bonds are multiple — family or ethnicity plus shared work. The partnership is layered.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Who deserves to be 'named' in your story — the co-workers and kinsmen whose partnership has been essential?
- 2.Does Timothy being called 'workfellow' (not assistant) challenge hierarchical views of ministry partnership?
- 3.How does public naming (in a letter read for millennia) honor the people who serve alongside you?
- 4.Are you acknowledging your partners the way Paul does — specifically, publicly, in the permanent record?
Devotional
Timothy. Lucius. Jason. Sosipater. Named. In the letter to Rome. Paul's co-workers and kinsmen.
Paul closes the most theologically dense letter in the New Testament with the most personal section: names. Real people. Real co-workers. Real relatives. Named publicly in a document that will be read for millennia. The theology is incomplete without the names. The doctrine is embodied in the people.
Timothy — synergos — co-worker. Not assistant. Not student. Co-worker. Paul's most trusted partner, identified not by hierarchy (my student, my protégé) but by equality (my fellow laborer). Timothy works at the same level. The prefix syn- (together, with) is the theology: ministry is always syn — together. Never solo.
Lucius, Jason, Sosipater — kinsmen. Whether relatives or fellow Jews, the identification is communal: they share something with Paul beyond the mission. The bonds are multiple. They're connected by blood (or ethnicity) AND by work. The relationships aren't single-dimensional.
The naming in Romans is the honoring: these men will be known forever. Every time Romans is read — in every language, in every century, in every church — their names appear. The co-workers and kinsmen who served alongside Paul in obscurity are preserved in the most-read letter in Christian history.
The theology of naming: Paul doesn't just acknowledge people. He names them. Specifically. Publicly. In the permanent record. The naming says: you mattered. Your contribution was real. Your partnership was essential. And the world that reads this letter will know your name.
Who are your Timothys? Your Luciuses? Your Jasons and Sosipaters? The people who work alongside you, who share your bonds, who deserve to be named?
Name them. The way Paul did. In the letter.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
I Tertius, who wrote this epistle,.... This name is a Latin one, and perhaps the person might be a Roman, for the names…
Timotheus - Timothy; to whom the Epistles which bear his name were written. He was long the companion of Paul in his…
Timotheus my workfellow - This is on all hands allowed to be the same Timothy to whom St. Paul directs the two epistles…
As the Apostle had before sent his own salutations to many of this church, and that of the churches round him to them…
Salutations
21. Timotheus my workfellow Cp. especially Php 2:19-22 with this brief allusion to this singularly beloved…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture