Philemon is about reconciliation and relationships between Christians. Onesimus (which means “useful”) was a slave of a believer named Philemon in Colosse. Apparently Onesimus had stolen from Philemon and fled the city. At some point while Paul was under arrest in Rome, Onesimus met him and became a Christian. Paul wrote this letter about A.D. 60 and gave it to Onesimus to carry back to Philemon. Paul appealed to Philemon to accept Onesimus back into his household, but as a brother in the Lord rather than a slave. In Paul’s estimation, Onesimus was far more “useful” (v.11) not that he was a Christian. Paul even promised to pay whatever debt Onesimus might owe to Philemon. Marquis reads from the ESV Bible.

Total running time: 3 minutes.