Paul intercedes for a slave as Christ intercedes for us.

 

Sermon for Pentecost 13, September 7, 2025

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Philemon 1:7-21  ⁷For I have received great joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother.  ⁸For that reason, even though I have plenty of boldness in Christ to order you to do what is proper, ⁹I am appealing to you instead, on the basis of love, just as I, Paul, am an old man and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ.  ¹⁰I am appealing to you on behalf of my child Onesimus.  I became his father while I was in chains.  ¹¹There was a time when he was useless to you, but now he is useful both to you and to me.  ¹²I have sent him (who is my very heart) back to you.  Welcome him.  ¹³I wanted to keep him with me, so that he might serve me in your place while I am in chains for the gospel.  ¹⁴But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that your kindness would not be the result of compulsion, but of willingness.  ¹⁵Perhaps this is why he was separated from you for a while: so that you would have him back forever, ¹⁶no longer as a slave, but as more than a slave, as a dear brother.  He certainly is dear to me, but he is even more of a dear brother to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.  ¹⁷So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me.  ¹⁸And if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge it to me.  ¹⁹I, Paul, have written this with my own hand: I will repay it—not to mention that you owe me your very self.  ²⁰Yes, brother, I am asking for a favor from you in the Lord.  Refresh my heart in Christ.  ²¹Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask. (EHV)

Paul intercedes for a slave as Christ intercedes for us.

Dear redeemed in Christ,

            St. Paul wrote this letter from prison in Rome.  It was an important letter, especially for Onesimus, because Onesimus was a runaway slave.  Today, we might consider that a positive—the man had escaped his master’s control—three cheers for the little guy, right?  Perhaps, though, we should consider what his situation really was.  A slave in the Roman empire was purchased with the understanding that the owner would reap the benefit of his labor for a certain number of years, or as long as the slave might be useful, depending on the circumstance that put the slave in that position. 

Comparing this to our own time, we could imagine a man going under contract to fulfill a certain amount of work but paid in advance and expected to perform those duties, with the owner providing room and board, until the contracted work was fully completed.  It would be highly frustrating for us if that worker took the money and disappeared.  Further complicating the matter for Onesimus, Roman law gave the owner pretty much carte blanche to do with a rebellious servant as he willed.  Thus, depending on the frustration or anger Philemon felt for the desertion, his slave could have been in grave danger now that Paul was sending Onesimus back to Philemon.

This letter gives us a number of useful examples of how we should conduct our affairs in this world, but the main benefit for us is that Paul intercedes for a slave as Christ intercedes for us.

This letter is a fine example of gentle persuasion.  It exemplifies how we might soothe an angered party by emphasizing the good things that person has shown on our behalf.  Paul praises Philemon’s diligent and generous work for the church in Colossae, and his kindness for fellow believers, saying, “I have received great joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother.” 

When we are trying to accomplish something with an aggrieved party, we would do well to emulate such pleasant language and recognition of positive actions.  In doing so, however, we should primarily remember how kind and generous God has been to us.  No matter what situation we find ourselves in, God has delivered great things for us even in the worst of times.

Now, because Paul’s work had benefited Philemon in becoming a believer in Jesus and therefore receiving the benefits of Christian faith, namely forgiveness of sin and life everlasting, Paul could have boldly commanded the man to receive Onesimus with generosity and the same forgiveness. 

But, let me ask you, “How well do you like commands to do something for someone who has hurt you?”  Yeah, most of the time, that is a bitter pill to swallow, isn’t it?  Thus, Paul writes in a way that is smooth but not smarmy.  He wants to encourage Christ-like behavior rather than force a certain action.  So, Paul wrote, “For that reason, even though I have plenty of boldness in Christ to order you to do what is proper, I am appealing to you instead, on the basis of love, just as I, Paul, am an old man and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ.  I am appealing to you on behalf of my child Onesimus.”

In reality, Paul was asking Philemon to do for Onesimus what Jesus has done for us all.  With the fall into sin, you might say the whole human race ran away from God and became fugitives who owed their very lives to the Creator who made them and deserved their willing service.  Because He is our Creator, God had full right to expect our willing obedience, and then to judge and condemn all mankind for stealing our service away from God and failing to honor Him as we should.  Still, how many times, and in how many ways aren’t we guilty of running away from our willing service in God’s kingdom?

We see another similarity to the Roman world in that being fugitives, the world views our lives as cheap and lacking value.  Thus, vengeance is often carried out without remorse or even a trial.  The slightest offence can lead to death.  We see this most graphically when just being inconvenient to the parent causes the death of many babies, all conceived under sin and therefore slaves caught in the tragic tale of human life where many don’t value the lives of those created to serve, love, and be loved. 

Legally, Philemon could have severely punished Onesimus when Paul sent him back to his owner.  Even killing the slave would have brought no repercussions for Philemon.  Obviously, Paul didn’t want that to happen, because Onesimus had become very dear to Paul.  Paul loved the slave as a brother because they both shared the same Savior, Jesus Christ, and Onesimus proved to be a willing helper.  It could even be that Onesimus came to Rome because he had heard about Paul through the message of the Church in Colossae.  Paul holds out the possibility that God allowed the slave to reach Paul so that Onesimus’ faith could be firmly established and Paul might be helped by his willing service in that new faith.

Paul then used a play on the slave’s name to argue for mercy.  Onesimus’ name means “useful,’ so there is a good chance that he was valuable to his master, Philemon, just as he had been to Paul, so Paul pleaded,

Perhaps this is why he was separated from you for a while: so that you would have him back forever, no longer as a slave, but as more than a slave, as a dear brother.  He certainly is dear to me, but he is even more of a dear brother to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.  So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me.

Onesimus would be returning to his owner, repentant of abandoning his duties.  Having become a believer in Jesus, he now desired to do what was right, and Paul also wanted nothing to stand in the way of his relationship with Philemon, so he requests that Philemon welcome his slave back, just as the Father has so graciously welcomed us back into His kingdom of grace.

Then, Paul says something that reminds us so much of our dear Savior.  He pleads, “And if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge it to me.  I, Paul, have written this with my own hand: I will repay it—not to mention that you owe me your very self.”  Because of our waywardness and sin, we owed God a debt we could never hope to pay.  Even the cost of our lives would be no good to God.  “Therefore, God made him, who did not know sin, to become sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Amazingly, Jesus showed greater love than even Paul did here, for Jesus laid down His life to buy our freedom from slavery and death.  Furthermore, Jesus continually pleads with the Father in heaven on our behalf.  That is likely why the Holy Spirit has preserved this little, personal letter in the words of Scripture, because not only is it a great example of helping and pleading for our fellow believers to bring reconciliation among those who have hurt and been hurt, but it brings us a shining reflection of the love and kindness Jesus shows to us at His Father’s side.

Though like Onesimus, we have run away from our God by sin, and we often try to hide from His all-knowing eyes, God has, instead of raining down punishment and death upon us, offered His Son in our place and then accepted Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for the sins of the world as sufficient payment to remove all debt so that there is nothing left for us to repay. 

From before Adam and Eve sinned, God already planned our salvation.  And from before we were born, God moved the events of the world so that His Son would take on human flesh and make the great sacrifice that would reconcile us with God forever.  Now, in our times, God has moved events so that we live in a place where we could hear His Gospel and by the power of the Word and the miraculous rebirth of Baptism, He enlivened our hearts to believe in His love and kindness so that we might become brothers of Jesus who enjoy the same peace and life everlasting that has been His forever.

Paul concluded his request for Onesimus by writing, “Yes, brother, I am asking for a favor from you in the Lord.  Refresh my heart in Christ.  Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.”  What does this mean for you and me?  Again, we have a picture of Christ Jesus.  The Father in heaven has put all things under Jesus’ feet and given Him authority over heaven and earth, and what does Jesus tell us?  “Whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you.  Until now you have not asked for anything in my name.  Ask, and you will receive, so that your joy may be made complete.” (John 16:23-24)  Jesus also tells us not to worry about anything we might need in this life, but rather, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33)  Furthermore, the Holy Spirit expanded on these promises by having Paul write, “We do not know what we should pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that are not expressed in words.” (Romans 8:26)

Dear friends, we have nothing to fear as we return to God in daily repentance or even when He calls us out of this life to face the Judge of all, for just as Paul interceded for Onesimus so Christ intercedes for us now and forever.  With Jesus pleading for us, our Father in heaven is ready, willing, and able to welcome us into His presence, for as He promised through Ezekiel, in Jesus He has forgiven our sins and remembers them no more.  Our sin debt has been paid in full.  Through Christ’s intercession, peace with God is ours forever.  Amen.

The Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way.  The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.  Amen.