I will not tell you that it is because of a sermon preached here years ago, that I’m stopping on verse 7. But there was a message preached here in my absence, which stirred up a few people. Fortunately it was taped, so that I was able to hear it later, and I had to admit that there was a serious misinterpretation of the scripture made, and there were some conclusions drawn which could have become quite dangerous. Whether or not it is a good thing or bad on my part, I have never forgotten that event. And there is something in this verse which brought my mind back to that heresy – and which answers it.
Even though there are four points brought out to us here, I don’t think that I’ll be keeping you long.
Perhaps only in passing, he said that Andronicus and Junia were his kinsmen. Some commentators suggest that this only means that they were Israelites as Paul was. But I don’t think so, because there appear to be others in this list who aren’t identified the same way. And yet, on the other side of the argument there is Romans 9:3 – “I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to flesh; who are Israelites.” Some commentators think that this means that Andronicus and Junia were of the tribe of Benjamin. This is certainly possible – in fact it is quite probable. But my heart wants to say that these two were blood relatives – perhaps a cousin and his or her spouse. My only argument is the presence of some details about them here in this verse.
Of course, this is not important, but I think that Andronicus and Junia were blood kin to Paul. On the other hand, if we wanted to stretch the point, they might have been double kin to Paul. Obviously they had been born again and adopted into the family of God. They were children of the Lord, just as Paul was a child of God – they were Christian brethren. (In a prayer letter read on Wednesday, we saw that a man called his son – his brother.) While these things are true, I don’t think that is what Paul meant by this comment.
But unless I am mistaken whenever Paul speaks of himself as a prisoner, he actually was in jail at the time. Ephesians – “For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles…” “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.” II Timothy – “Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God.” Philemon – “Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellowlabourer…” “Yet for love’s sake I rather beseech thee, being such an one as Paul the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ.” In Colossians he calls “Aristarchus my fellowprisoner.” In each of these cases Paul was in Rome in chains when he wrote.
Assuming that Paul was speaking literally, when were Andronicus and Junia in prison with Paul? If, we didn’t have the information that we do have, I’d enjoy making a point which is not really justified. If I didn’t know that there was more than one imprisonment, and that Andronicus and Junia were relatives, I’d like to say that they were among the prisoners in Philippi, who were freed by the earthquake. I’d like to suggest that they were captivated by the Holy Spirit with the singing and praise of Paul and Silas, and that they were won to Christ through the pain and testimony of the Apostle on that occasion. I’d like to make that point. But that was not the case, even though some of those prisoners might have been saved that night along with the Philippian jailer. No, Andronicus and Junia had been prisoners in some other place or in some other way.
We are told of only two occasions when the Apostle was in jail – Philippi and the succession of cells from Jerusalem to Rome at the end of the Book of Acts. But the Letter to the Romans was written prior to the end of Acts, so that rules out Rome and Jerusalem. Clement of Rome, who it is said, died about the year 100 AD, appears to have known Paul personally. Clement says that Paul had been imprisoned seven times. And Paul himself said in II Corinthians 11:23 that he had often been in prison.
The fact of the matter is that we don’t know when these three were jailed together, or if they actually were together when they were jailed. Perhaps the lesson is only that no Christian should be surprised if he is ever jailed for the truth of God. In fact, even Christian ladies have been imprisoned for the Lord and lost their lives for Christ. We may shortly come back to that kind of persecution even in this country. Are you ready to be jailed or to be beheaded for the cause of Christ? In some eras and in some areas that has been the norm, not the exception.
What a glorious thing to say, even though the praise of man is not to be regarded too highly. Nevertheless, this should not be discountenanced. To be praised by an evil man may be worse than a terrible thing – a Paul found in Philippi. But to be recognized as faithful to the Lord, by someone who himself is faithful to Christ – that is a very good thing indeed. Or when that opinion is submitted by an outside or unbiased observer, it is often important.
My opinion of you, and your opinion of me, may not be worth a great deal. I don’t say that in a disparaging way. We have known each other so long that our judgments have become tainted by events and affections. The only thing that really matters is what the Lord says of us. And yet, what do unbiased observers say of us? What do your co-workers say of your testimony? Of your honesty; your integrity? Your non-Baptist, Christian relatives talk about you, but what do they say? Are you of note among the pastors, missionaries and evangelists who have met you? These opinions may not be as important as those of the Lord, but they may more accurately reflect the truth than what we say of each other. Andronicus and Junia were of note among the rest of the twelve apostles.
But there may be another way to look at this statement. “Of note” is our translation of “episemos” (ep-is’-ay-mos). Strong’s concordance says that it is translated “notable” once and “of note” once. And then it defines the word as “having a mark on it, marked, stamped, or coined.”
I didn’t look very hard, but of the half dozen commentaries that I checked none of them suggested that this could mean that the Apostles had put their stamp upon these two. And yet the definition of the word apparently allows it. Not only did these two have the Apostles’ stamp of approval, but they were probably stamped with their theology and their devotion as well. They had apparently lived in Jerusalem long enough to have been deeply taught the things of God. If they hadn’t become believers in Christ prior to the Lord’s crucifixion, they had been saved early in the Christian era and had served the Lord along side John, Peter and the rest. What a glorious privilege that would have been.
And what words of praise Paul had for them: they are “of note among the apostles.”
And even the theology is practical. Despite the eternal will of God and His election of souls from before the foundation of the world, there is a sense in which they were not “in Christ” until … they repented of their sins and put their faith in the Lord Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross. There can be a deadly doctrine created when the evangelist mis-emphasizes God’s elective grace. Just because a person has been chosen to salvation doesn’t mean that he is saved before he places faith in Christ. Generally speaking, there is a point at which someone is born again. This does not mean that the Lord can’t save whomsoever he might choose, even unborn children and those whose minds have been lost, or perhaps never even found. But as a general rule, among the rest of the world’s population, salvation begins when people repent of their sins and trust Christ. Paul, in unmistakable language says that he became a Christian after these relatives of his. They were “in Christ” before he was “in Christ.” Like everyone else in this world before their conversion, all three of them … “walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath…”
When did Andronicus and Junia become children of God? Was it during the earthly life of the Lord Jesus? That is possible, but I personally doubt it, or Paul would have mentioned it. Was it perhaps at that great Christian Day of Pentecost? Perhaps. Whenever it was, it was likely at Jerusalem and very early in the Christian era. And these two were not content to be saved by the skin of their teeth – saved yet so as by fire. They became servants of God diligent enough to be recognized by those apostles in Jerusalem and also by the great apostle to the gentiles.
I wish that a verse similar to this might be spoken of you and me some day. “Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellowprisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.”