True & Beautiful Things About the Bible--New Testamentਨਮੂਨਾ

Letter to Philemon—Forgive

Forgiveness sounds like a beautiful idea, until you’re the one who has been hurt.

In a story only God could write, there was Paul, behind bars in Rome, when he met Onesimus, who just happened to be the runaway slave of Paul’s friend, Philemon from Ephesus.

Small world . . . God’s world.

The situation got tricky when Onesimus, a fugitive from justice, believed in the Lord Jesus Christ after hearing the good news from Paul. Now Onesimus wanted to go back to his master and make things right. But Onesimus’ crime, in their cultural context, was massive, deserving severe punishment. No one would blame Philemon if justice were done.

So Paul stepped in the middle. He pleaded Onesimus’ case to Philemon. Onesimus is now your brother in Christ, he says. And he’s like a son to me—sending him back to you is like "sending my very heart" (1:12). Onesimus means "useful," and Paul did a little word-play, saying he doesn't know what he'll do without him. He finished his short letter by saying he hoped Philemon would receive the boy back "no longer as a slave but more... as a beloved brother" (1:13-20).

In essence, Paul pleaded for forgiveness. Release Onesimus from the debt that he owes you when he hurt you. Or put the debt on me…

Don’t punish him. (That’s mercy—withholding the punishment deserved).

Forgive him instead. (That’s grace—giving him something amazing he doesn’t deserve.)

What Paul proposes will set both the offended and the offender free. That’s God’s way of doing things.

When we are on the run from justice, we need someone to step in on our behalf to enter a plea for mercy.

Put the debt on Me, Jesus says. And God accepted His death on the cross as payment for our sin. And because of that mercy, our debt is paid. And because of that grace, we can have a true and beautiful relationship with God.

We don’t know for sure if Philemon welcomed Onesimus back, but we have a clue. Decades later, another Christian leader, Ignatius, was in jail. The bishop of Ephesus sent people to care for him. Ignatius wrote him, asking for some grace, using some of the same language Paul wrote to Philemon. The bishop’s name was Onesimus.

Small world? God’s world.

Next: Is it really worth it?