Video Notes: 

• Often, we cruise over the names in greetings as meaningless, but they do help to give us an idea into the life of the church and the connections between the author the people in the church he is writing.
• Paul has never been to Rome and thus most of the members of the church in Rome don’t know Paul personally. By greeting so many people, 16 in all, they act as personal references to Paul’s identity and authority. He’s also asking for support.
  • How did Paul know so many people in Rome if he hadn’t been there before? We know some, like Prescilla and Aquila Paul knew from Corinth. The Jews had been expelled by Claudius in AD 49 or 50, but that order was rescinded when Nero came into power in AD 54. Many Jews and possibly Christian Greeks migrated back to Rome after the ban was lifted. So, it’s likely Paul knew these people from his missionary journeys to other cities, but they had since moved to Rome.
• Pheobe – A wealthy gentile, probably of higher social status and independence who was likely the courier of the letter (thus they should welcome her). She was from the worshiping community in Cenchreae, a port city 8 miles East of Corinth, and served in some capacity in that church with regularity, though how she served is unknown.
• Prisca (Priscilla) and Aquila – A married couple Paul met in Corinth. They worked as tent makers with Paul as well as spreading the Gospel. When Paul left Corinth Prisca and Aquila left with him and went to Ephesus where they taught Apollos in the faith and helped with the church there. They hosted a house church in their home. It’s unclear how they “risked their necks” for Paul, but it’s clear they were willing to suffer for the Gospel like Paul did.
• Epaenetus – From Asia (not Asia like we usually mean today). Ephesus is in Asia, so it’s possible that’s where Paul knows them from and that they knew Prisca and Aquila well. Epaenetus was the first convert in which ever town in Asia they were from.
• Mary – A common Jewish name. So, we don’t know much more about her other than what Paul says here. She works hard in the church of Rome. It’s unclear how Paul knew her if he knew her personally at all. It’s possible a previous communication from Prisca and Aquila had mentioned her since she was a hard worker in the church.
• Andronicus and Junia – There is a lot of debate about these two. Andronicus is a man, but it’s unclear if Junia is male or female. Both are possible and at different times in history, both have been favored. If Junia is a woman, it’s possible this is a married couple or brother and sister. If Junia is male, they may be brothers, other family, or close friends. They are Jewish, were Christians before Paul converted, and are well known among the apostles. This is also a debated phrase as to whether they were apostles or just well known by the apostles. We know they aren’t two of the twelve apostles of Jesus, but they could be apostles in the sense of missionaries. They also were imprisoned for their faith at some point, though whether Paul means they were imprisoned with him or imprisoned like he has been imprisoned is unclear.
• From this point on we are pretty light in details of most of the remaining people. 
  • Paul uses phrases like, my beloved, our fellow worker, approved in Christ, etc. which convey they are Christians in the church and little more, though “my beloved likely implied Paul knows them pretty well while other phrases don’t indicate whether Paul was familiar or not with them.
  • Paul greets the families of Aristobulus and Narcissus and not Aristobulus or Narcissus themselves. This could mean they had died or that either they weren’t believers or Paul didn’t know them.
  • Tryphaena and Tryphosa may have been sisters since they are named together. 
• Rufus and his mother – In Mark 15:21, Mark tells of Simon of Cyrene being chosen to carry Jesus’ cross for Him. In that description, Mark indicates Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus. This likely indicates that Alexander and Rufus were known in the church and had a powerful witness to Jesus’ crucifixion. Paul’s reference here could refer to this Rufus. A possibly hint to this is the phrase, “chosen in the Lord” which could be reference to his father having been chosen to carry the cross. Both were well known to Paul and Rufus’ mother cared for Paul like a son.