Reconciliation is the central theme of the book of Philemon, as well as the enduring legacy of Paul’s mission. Reconciliation between God and humanity and here, reconciliation between Christians.

It’s like this: Onesimus, slave of Philemon, has run away. He encountered Paul—perhaps by coincidence, perhaps deliberately—and became a Christian convert. Now, Paul writes to his master Philemon, asking him to reconcile with his formerly troubled slave Onesimus and allow him to return to his household.

While this may sound like the plot of a historical fiction novel, for these real people in this difficult situation, stakes are high. Philemon, a slave owner and so, presumably, a wealthy man, has the right by Roman cultural and legal standards to do almost anything he wants to Onesimus. According to the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary on the New Testament, “A master vexed with a slave might put him to death in extreme cases. More commonly, the slave would be beaten, demoted to menial jobs, or sent away to hard labor on the family farm, in a mill, or in some other brutally arduous occupation.”¹

Philemon’s culture stands in opposition to his mandate as a Christian to treat humans with dignity and respect. For Onesimus’s part, we glean from the text that he may have stolen from Philemon or done damage to property—in verse 18 Paul mentions “If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything.”

How can Paul possibly reconcile them?

Paul opens his letter by addressing it to a whole group of people, “To Philemon our beloved fellow worker and Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house” (Philemon 1b–2). When Paul asks for the letter to be read before the church, he puts Philemon on the spot, sure. But he also makes public his next words, which are a strong commendation of Philemon:

Philemon 4–5, 7. I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints,… for I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.

Imagine receiving a compliment like that from the apostle Paul! Paul gives to Philemon this kind of public honor because he has a big ask: he’d like Philemon to welcome Onesimus back and be reconciled with him as a brother.

This is where the rubber of Galatians 3:28 “There is neither slave nor free, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” meets the road of actual human experience. No doubt Onesimus has frustrated and upset Philemon. No doubt Philemon’s culture, upbringing, and law encourage him to punish Onesimus with deprivation and even death. But here, Paul is about to beg Philemon to forgive Onesimus completely and welcome him back into his family and his household.

We can contrast this letter with a similar one that Pliny the younger—not a Christian—wrote to reconcile a freedman to his master. The letter to Sabinius, written around the same time as Paul’s in the latter half of the first century, is worth reading in full.² In it, Pliny also advocates for an inferior—a freedman—and requests that his friend bring him back. But he does it on quite different terms.

Paul asks Philemon to welcome Onesimus back “as a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord” (16). But unlike Paul, Pliny leaves the freedman in his station. He says:

You are angry, I know, and I know too that your anger was deserved, but mercy wins most praise when there was just cause for anger. You loved the man once, and I hope you will love him again,… You can always be angry again if he deserves it, and will have more excuse if you were once placated.…I have given the man a very severe scolding and warned him firmly that I will never make such a request again. This was because he deserved a fright, and is not intended for your ears.³

Where Paul says, “Onesimus is my son. Philemon, please welcome him into your home as a brother,” Pliny says, “I’ve given him a very severe scolding and warned him.” This is the kind of forgiveness we can expect from the world.

Why didn’t Paul tell Philemon to set Onesimus free? Surely, we moderns think, Paul must have known that slavery is an evil institution. He ought to have used his position to end it.

But we must take two other factors into account: Firstly, Roman society protected low-status citizens by placing them in households. A free agent was frequently worse off than someone in a family—even if they were a slave. Onesimus’s situation was defined by how Philemon treated him, not by his low legal status.

But when we ask why Paul didn’t plead for Onesimus’s manumission, we miss something important: Paul asked for far more.

“Receive him as you would receive me,” he says (17). “If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it” (18–19).

Isn’t this just what Jesus did for us? He paid for our sin on the cross, saying to God, charge it to my account. Now, those of us who have accepted Christ are freed from condemnation in his place (Romans 8:1).

Paul’s request to Philemon is just like that of Christ: “put me in his place. Treat him as you would me; lay his wrongs to my account.”

The book of Philemon represents a master at work in relationships. As an individualistic American, I tend to think of other people’s peacemaking support as meddling. Leave me alone, I think to myself. Why are you inserting yourself into my relationships? But Paul’s work here of reconciliation embodies Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount, when he says “blessed are the peacemakers” (Matthew 5:9).

Paul’s delicate intervention in this fraught situation made such an impression on the early church that they preserved it in the canon. American or otherwise, I should repent of my unwillingness to receive the work of a peacemaker and maybe even consider becoming one.

How can I encourage my brothers and sisters toward healthier, more peaceful relationships? Instead of looking out for number one, how can I help my siblings in Christ walk in peace together?

Christianity is a team sport, my friends, and Paul’s letter deserves both our careful consideration and our emulation.

Question for consideration: In my Christian community, do I more frequently cause rupture or repair it—and how can I do better?

1. S. M. Baugh, “Philemon,” in Romans to Philemon, vol. 3 of Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary: New Testament. ed. Clinton E. Arnold; Accordance electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002), 517.[↩]
2. For much of the comparison between these two letters, I’m indebted to N. T. Wright, Paul and the Faithfulness of God (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2013).[↩]
3. Pliny the Younger, Letter to Sabinianus. 1909–14.[↩]