Slaves and Slave Owners

The letter to Philemon is about a runaway slave named Onesimus who was owned by Philemon and somehow made it to Rome where the Apostle Paul was imprisoned by the Roman government awaiting trial.

Somewhere along the way Onesimus hears about Jesus Christ and becomes a Christian and a friend and helper of Paul.

This makes me wonder a few things… Paul could have asked/demanded that Philemon free the slave Onesimus or he could have offered to purchase Onesminus or he could have asked Philemon to loan Onesimus to him. Instead he sends Onesimus back to Philemon.

My guess is that if he had done any of these things (besides sending Onesimus back)that Philemon could have felt that he was being taken advantage of. After all Philemon could have had a significant investment in Onesimus especially if Onesimus had a particularly valuable skill set. It might have been, as Paul alluded to, that the slave Onesimus might have stolen from Philemon. All these things have to be considered as possibilities.

So Paul was very careful about how he handled this situation… after all it could have turned out to have a negative impact on the Kingdom. Paul’s handling of this situation demonstrated skill and concern about all parties involved. By sending Onesimus back, Paul demonstrated both Philemon’s legal right to Onesimus and Onesimus’ legal obligation to Philemon. So Paul was acting in a way that dealt honorably with the Law.

It was almost a certainty that Philemon would act honorably towards Onesimus and perhaps even free him. Paul in his writing to Philemon in an understated way reminded Philemon of his obligations to Paul. Presumably Paul converted Philemon to Jesus Christ and perhaps as an Apostle laid hands upon him and imparted some spiritual gift. Philemon was under a tremendous spiritual debt to Paul.

The bottom line is that Paul demonstrated great skill and consideration so that the Kingdom could be elevated and not diminished. What a great lesson… can we do any less?