Onesimus - Book of Philemon

     In the first century, a person could become a slave for many reasons. The individual’s family could go into debt and sell a family member to pay off what they owed. An individual could sell themselves into slavery to pay off a debt. A creditor could seize a debtor into slavery. (The last two scenarios could present a debtor with a dilemma of trying to choose which master would be the most congenial, then hoping not to be later sold to someone worse.)
     Another common way that people ended up as slaves was through war. An individual on the losing side could be captured as one of the spoils of battle.
     A person could, of course, be born to a slave, the son or daughter of slave parents.
     Slaves had no rights. A slave master could beat his slave to death with impunity.
     Onesimus was a slave. We know his story today through the letter of Paul, known in the bible as Philemon.
     At some point in his career, young Onesimus ran away from slavery. This was a dangerous action. A runaway slave was beaten when caught, sometimes executed as a lesson to other slaves. Onesimus compounded his situation by also stealing some money from his master.
      It is not clear where Onesimus went after he ran away. It could have been to Ephesus,

Ephesus was a large seaport city in the Roman province of Asia. It was about 35 miles south of the city of Izmir in modern day Turkey. The culture of Ephesus tended to be Greek. It was founded by colonists from Athens in the early 1000s b.c. The city was famous for its Temple of Artemis, which was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. This temple was built, destroyed and rebuilt more than once.

Beginning in the 500s b.c., the Lydians, then the Persians conquered Ephesus.

     In 334 b.c. Alexander conquered the Persians at the Granicus River and Ephesus came under Macedonian power. The citizens had begun to rebuild their temple (The tradition of Plutarch is that the temple of Artemis burned on the day of Alexander the Great’s birth). Alexander offered to pay the expenses of rebuilding, under the condition that he got the credit for doing so in an inscription. The Ephesians declined the offer, although one citizen put it in flattering terms, i.e. that it was inappropriate for a god like Alexander to dedicate offerings to a god.

During the 300s b.c. the Greeks made Ephesus a major trading and banking center. In the Roman Empire it was the capital of the Roman province of Asia. For Christians it became the leading Christian community of Asia. One of the Apostle Paul’s letters was addressed to the Ephesians. In later years, the Goths, Arabs, Turks and finally the Mongals (in 1403 a.d.) looted the city. Ephesus was finally abandoned. Archaeologists began uncovering the ruins in the late 1800s.

     If Onesimus ran to Ephesus for freedom, it could have been a good choice. As a port city with numerous visitors, he might have been able to arrive and blend in without being too obvious. Other scholars believe he may have run away to Rome (and he may have used the money he stole to buy passage to Rome) and that this is where the Apostle Paul met him, in Rome.
     Paul was in prison. He became friends with the young slave, but it appears that Onesimus was not a fellow prisoner because the letter indicates that Paul is sending Onesimus back to his master.
     Paul had grown very fond of the runaway slave, so close that he seemed like a son to him, the son he never had. Paul had also told Onesimus about his faith in Jesus of Nazareth. He would have surely explained to Onesimus how he had been a man of hate, and vindictive determination to kill those who did not agree with him. He would have told the incredible story of how Jesus had transformed his heart and soul.
     Paul surely spoke about good news, about a God whose love was so powerful, nothing could ever separate human beings from it. Paul would have extolled the forgiving nature of God. He spoke about a life everlasting with Jesus Christ.
     Onesimus became a Christian.
     But Onesimus was a runaway slave. His master was part of a Christian community near Collasae. If Paul did as he personally wanted, he would keep Onesimus to comfort and help him while he was in prison. But that action must have seemed dishonest.
      The decision was made that Onesimus must return to his former master. Paul would send a letter with him, a letter to the slave owner and others of the Christian community. The owner would then have to decide what to do.
     The existence of the letter tells us about the faith of Onesimus. He wasn’t sent back. He wasn’t taken back by force. He didn’t dump the letter into the Mediterranean and make another break for freedom. He delivered the letter.
      Onesimus had to go back to his master without assurance that all would turn out all right.


How do you think he found courage to do this?
What decisions are similar in modern life?
What if the master had acted with vengeance against the slave? That is, what if the decision resulted in a “bad” or disappointing end? How do we look to faith in such situations?
Imagine the faith Onesimus must have had in Paul and in Jesus, to return to his master.