Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Romans 16:21

"Timothy my fellow-worker saluteth you; and Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen." — Romans 16:21 (ASV)

Paul usually had coworkers and friends around him. This occasion is no exception, and they take this opportunity to send greetings. Timothy, named first, had been Paul’s helper on the mission to Macedonia and Achaia (Acts 17– 18) and his assistant in handling problems in the Corinthian church (1 Corinthians 4:17; 1 Corinthians 16:10).

The next three persons named are called “relatives,” raising the same problem of interpretation faced in vv.7, 11 (see comment). There is a possibility that Lucius is an alternate form for Luke , who does seem to have been with Paul at Corinth (Acts 20:5). Jason could be the individual who entertained Paul and his two helpers at Thessalonica (Acts 17:5), though this too is uncertain (especially since he is not mentioned in Ac 20:4). Sosipater could be the Sopater mentioned in Ac 20:4; his home was in Berea.

At this point (v.22) Tertius, Paul’s amanuensis (the one who wrote down the letter at Paul’s dictation; cf. 2 Thessalonians 3:17), asks for the privilege of adding his personal greeting. We may be sure Paul carefully chose believers to write down his letters rather than public secretaries. We also may be sure that people like Tertius would undertake that task as work for the Lord.

Resuming his closing remarks, Paul again takes up the pen and passes on the greeting of Gaius, with whom he had been staying while he wintered at Corinth (v.23). Gaius seems to have been one of the early converts in Paul’s mission to the city (1 Corinthians 1:14), and the very fact that Paul made an exception in his case by personally baptizing him suggests that his conversion was a notable event due to his prominence. This mention of Gaius as Paul’s host helps confirm that Paul was writing from Corinth.

Erastus (v.23) also, a notable figure because of his public office, sends a greeting. Archaeologists have found an inscription in Corinth that bears the name of this public official (cf. also Ac 19:22). Nothing more is known of Quartus than what is stated here. He was probably a member of the Corinthian church and may have had some contact with the congregation in Rome.