The Runaway Slave
The focus of Paul’s letter to Philemon is Onesimus, the runaway slave. Ironically, Onesimus means “useful.”
After Onesimus flees, he encounters Jesus through Paul. Paul mentors the escaped slave and the two begin working together.
However, it is not right for him to remain with Paul—even though what they are doing is important. To do so would be to defraud Philemon of Onesimus’s labor.
So Paul encourages the runaway to return to his master, despite the risk it involves. A recaptured slave could have been punished or imprisoned for an attempted escape.
To facilitate a positive reunion, Paul writes a letter to Philemon, pleading that mercy be accorded his salve.
While we don’t explicitly know the outcome of this drama, we can reasonably deduce it.
First, Paul’s petition on Onesimus’s behalf is so powerfully worded that it is hard to image anyone not complying.
Second, in the only other mention of Onesimus in the Bible, Paul announces that he is sending him and Tychicus to the people of Colossi. Paul also affirms the runaway slave as being faithful and a dear brother.
Since this trip could not have reasonably occurred prior to him returning to Philemon, it can be safely assumed that Philemon did as Paul requested, allowing his slave to return to Paul to work with him on Philemon’s behalf.
This would put Onesimus in a position to take a trip to Colossi.
At last Onesimus can be useful indeed—to both Paul and Philemon, as well as to the Colossians and to God. This all happened because he did the right thing, returning to his master despite the risk.
[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Colossians 1-4 and today’s post is on Colossians 4:7-9.]
Read about more biblical characters in The Friends and Foes of Jesus, now available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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