Paul says, "Hi!": Real Women, Real Roles, and a Real Story for the Church ~ Romans 16:1-16, 25-27 (Better Together series)

“You gotta wait for the stinger,” my friend whispered, as we watched the credits roll by after the movie and people got up from their seats. “The what?,” I whispered back. “The stinger!,” he hissed. “It’s a hidden scene following the credits. It’s really funny.” It was funny. In fact, it was one of my favorite parts. Since the 1980s, I’ve always loved stingers, whether they’re bloopers or outtakes, scenes giving closure to questions left unanswered in the film, or presenting a preview for an upcoming sequel. Stingers are fun because they’re often surprising and allow film makers to break the fourth wall – acknowledge that an audience is actually present.

Today’s text is just such a stinger. The final chapter (ch. 16) of what many claim is Paul’s finest masterpiece, the epistle of Romans. And while many people pay careful attention to what Paul shares in this amazing letter, few wait till the end to see him break the fourth wall and greet his audience, the recipients of the letter by name. We have been working through what the Bible says about men and women, particularly women’s place in God’s kingdom. And while the Apostle Paul says quite a few things on the topic, which we will explore in the coming weeks, few focus on the real women that he acknowledges as “co-workers” with him in the preaching and practice of the Gospel. As we explore what Paul says, in Galatians, 1 Corinthians, 1 Timothy, and Ephesians, I want us to remember chapter 16 of Romans as a place where Paul speaks about actual women doing real pastoral ministry. So in Paul’s stinger, . . .

          1.    Paul talks (a lot) about real women

These are not stereotyped women or women in the abstract. This is not a generalized text about women or men but a text to them directly, by name, celebrating them, thanking them, for who they are and what they do. In the last chapter of Romans, Paul wants to say, “hi” to particular women. The numbers are important.

Twenty-nine people are mentioned in Romans 16. But this passage is not a dry list of names but gives insight into the roles and relationships of actual Christians participating in ministry. Of the twenty-nine people mentioned, ten are women. Considering the culture of the time and that women had fewer freedoms and responsibilities than men, ten is a considerable number. What is especially amazing is that seven of the ten women are described in terms of their ministry activity (Phoebe, Prisca, Mary, Junia, Tryphena, Tryphosa, and Persis). By comparison, only three men are described in terms of their ministry (Aquila, Andronicus, Urbanus), and two of these men are ministering alongside a female partner (Aquila with Prisca, Andronicus with Junia).

Let’s look more closely at three of these women:

16 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. ² I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me.

Paul refers to Phoebe as both a “deacon” and “benefactor”, of many, including himself. And because she is mentioned first, we know she is one that traveled from Cenchrea, a port town of Corinth, to hand deliver Paul’s letter to the Christians in Rome. We can read the epistle because of her faithfulness. Her significance in the letter and Paul’s description depict an independently wealthy woman with clout and a close connection to Paul. We’ll talk more about the role of a deacon later but it’s important to note that Paul uses the exact same word [diakonos] for himself and other male religious leaders. The word, in other words, is not “deaconess.” It’s not feminized but in Greek has the masculine ending on it.

³ Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus. ⁴ They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.

⁵ Greet also the church that meets at their house.

After introducing Phoebe to the church at Rome, Paul goes on to ask that certain Romans be greeted. And who is the first on this list? It is another woman. She is even mentioned before her husband, a designation that most likely indicates that she was more prominent in ministry than Aquila. Priscilla and Aquila were friends of the Apostle Paul. The three had lived, worked, travelled, and ministered together for some time, and Paul refers to them with his favorite term “co-workers.” But Priscilla was not merely known in Rome but also in Ephesus. A few years earlier, when Apollos was an up-and-coming apostle and was teaching in Ephesus, it was Priscilla and her husband who corrected his theology, and Apollos accepted their correction (Acts 18:24-26). Correcting doctrine was a role of church leaders.

When Paul wrote his second letter to Timothy who was in Ephesus, he sent greetings to Timothy, Priscilla and Aquila, and to the household of Onesiphorus (2 Tim. 1:2; 4:19). No other Christians in Ephesus are greeted by name. It’s most likely they were the leaders of the Ephesian church. When Paul greets the couple here, he also mentions the “church that meets in their house” (16:5). In the New Testament, most churches met in homes.

⁷ Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.

Andronicus and Junia are only mentioned here in Romans. They were most likely married, were converted Jews who came to faith before Paul and who had been in prison with him. From the very beginning of Christianity, women, as well as men, were imprisoned and even killed for their faith. Paul himself confesses that prior to becoming a Christian, even he had engaged in such terrifying activity toward both sexes (Acts 22:4; Acts 26:9-11). The most outstanding feature, however, is that they are called “outstanding among the apostles.”

Scripture which heralds a woman as an apostle has been met with disbelief and often creative problem solving by those who refuse to believe that a woman could be an apostle. A few comments should be made:

• ·       Some have argued that Paul was writing to Junias rather than Junia making the name male rather than female. The weakness of such an argument is that there is no such name ever recorded in the ancient world. But the feminine name Junia is very common, found in over 200 ancient inscriptions.

• ·       Other translators have argued that “episēmoi en tois apostolois” should be translated as “well known to the apostles” NOT “outstanding among the apostles.” The problem with such a view is that there isn’t one clear biblical or extra-biblical example  of “episēmoi en” ever meaning “well-known to.” But the overwhelming evidence is that the preposition “en,” which is used 2,830 times in the New Testament should be translated as “in” or “among” in English (c.f. Matthew 6:9; James 1:1). The New Testament scholar Craig Keener writes, It is unnatural to read the text as merely claiming that [Andronicus and Junia] had a high reputation with the “the apostles . . . Those who favor the view that Junia was not an apostle do so because of their prior assumption that women could not be apostles, not because of any evidence in the text.”

These aren’t abstract women, or idealized women but actual women. And as such they should impact how we read the apostle Paul. Should we read 1 Timothy 2’s injunction that women should not have authority over men as a sweeping command if Paul acknowledges Priscilla as one who exercised authority over Apollos? Should we read 1 Corinthians 14 that women shouldn’t speak in church as a general and broad prohibition if Paul acknowledges Phoebe, Prisca, and Junia, with roles that would have had them speaking in churches?

Furthermore, the stinger of Romans 16 reveals . . .

          2.    Paul talking about women’s real roles.

I’ve said that the original creation story contains the same roles for both the male and the female. That they are given the same job description. And Romans 16 offers actual roles that the Apostle Paul acknowledges that real women and men were performing. So let’s look more closely at the words Paul uses to describe the roles these women were doing. As we study the Bible we must always remember that words matter. One time our oldest son was making fun of our youngest daughter by jokingly saying that women were weak and silly (he didn’t mean it). Lea, who was about seven at the time got upset and yelled, “Jeremie, stop being so sexy!” Everyone burst out laughing and I looked at Lea and said, “Never call a sexist sexy. It only encourages them.” We need to get the word right. Four words/roles stand out:

Deacon. Deacon is one of Paul’s most common words for describing an official agent of the church, often translated in the NIV as “deacon,” “minister,” or “servant.” He uses this term to refer to himself (Rom. 15:25; 1 Cor. 3:5; Eph. 3:7; Col. 1:23) as well as other male leaders (1 Tim. 4:6; Col. 1:7, 4:7-9; Eph. 6:21-22; 1 Cor. 3:5), and even of Jesus (Rom. 15:8). When Paul applies the word to himself and others, the preaching of the gospel is central (1 Cor. 3:5).

Benefactor. In Greco-Roman society, it was common for people from more elite social groups to act as benefactors or patrons to those of lower social status, their clients. The support was not limited to financial resources but broadly encompassed social resources as well. Such people helped the new Christians by offering financial resources, protection, and places to worship, often their own homes, giving them critical roles to play in the first house-churches.

Apostle. Apart from Jesus’ twelve apostles who are in a special class, an apostle in the earliest churches meant a minister who serves as a church planter or missionary. Apart from the original 12 – others who are offered the title are: Paul, Barnabas (Acts 14:14), Silas, Apollos (1 Cor. 1:12), Timothy, Ephaphroditus (Phil. 2:25) and Andronicus and Junia (Rom. 16:7). In Paul’s letters, apostleship was based upon witnessing the resurrected Jesus, receiving a commission and preaching the gospel (1 Cor. 15:5-9, 2 Cor. 11:4-6)

Laborers. For Paul “labor” [kopia] and “laborers” [kopos] are common words used to describe Christian ministry and Christian ministers particularly when coupled with “in the Lord” (e.g. Rom. 16:12). He uses the words several time for himself, and in reference to the leadership ministries of others (e.g. 1 Corinthians 3:8; 15:10; Galatians 4:11; Philippians 2:16; Colossians 1:29; 1 Thessalonians 3:5; 1 Timothy 4:10). In Romans 16, Paul uses “labor” for the ministry of four women: Mary, Tryphena, Tryphosa, and Persis.  He further qualifies this labor with the word “hard.” These women were hard workers. Christian ministry could be difficult and even dangerous work in the first century (Paul himself was almost killed numerous times). In 1 Cor. 16:16, Paul tells the Corinthians to submit to everyone who is “laboring” in service to the Lord. Cooperating with such laborers certainly made their hard work easier.

Here's the point: All of the roles/titles for ministry and authority that are given to men are also given to women. None of the ministry roles that Paul discusses are specific to a particular sex or changed for women. It makes sense that God’s kingdom would mirror the original relationships of creation – men and women with the same job description. One of the questions that I have gotten numerous times about this series is, “why?” “Why are we talking about this?”

          3.    I’m trying to tell the real story that the Bible wishes to tell (vss. 25-27). A story of redemption that places male and female relationships in the center – a story of sin and salvation that began in Genesis of creation and “fall”, that prophets like Joel predict and long for, that Jesus redeems and that Paul proclaims, calling both women and men to proclaim it.

Why talk about this? Because women continue to languish under a curse that was never meant for them. They were made to be partners in God’s great wonderful kingdom. I talk about it because we need more ministers of this gospel not less; Why talk about it? Because we’re talking about our sisters: Phoebe, Priscilla, Junia, Helen Salley, Brooke Anderson, Nancy Gordon, Dawn Taloyo, Carmen Bensink-Lewis, and Melody Schultze, and perhaps that young woman or little girl sitting right beside you. Why talk about it? Because we are talking about this - a picture that I’ve shown you before – an early mosaic of the resurrected Jesus pulling both Adam and Eve out of the grave.

I want to remind you that Jesus did that in his ministry as well - pulling women out of despair and out of the curse. Why do we need to talk about this? Because it’s the real story that Jesus wants to redeem and Paul wants to proclaim. Let’s join them. Let’s stop pushing women down or out or away and grab them by the hand in full partnership of this amazing gospel that redeems the world. We’re talking about it because of the gospel!