Onesimus was enslaved by Philemon but ran away and, at some point, became a believer and a great support to Paul. However, Paul did not wish to be unfaithful to his friend, Philemon, for whom Onesimus was his property/slave. Therefore, Paul sent Onesimus back, but with the plea to treat Onesimus more as a brother than a slave.
Paul’s appeal to Philemon reminds me of a story I heard about a man who was travelling – before the time of ATM machines. He started to get low on cash and he needed to cash a personal check, but he was in a town without a branch for his own bank, and other banks would not be willing to cash his check because they did not know him. However, he called a friend of his who was a prominent person in that town. His friend told him which bank to go to and he would take care of it. When the man entered the bank and identified himself, he was treated as an honored guest and the bank would do whatever he needed. This happened because the man went under the name and authority of another. Paul is sending Onesimus with a similar understanding. Paul had addressed Philemon as a fellow worker, brother, saint and partner and now requests that Philemon treat Onesimus as he would Paul.
Slavery was the law of the land, but Paul was not addressing whether that institution was right or wrong. However, Paul does address a more significant issue – how do we treat brothers and sisters in the Lord. In this case, Onesimus was, in effect, sent under the name and authority of Paul. How much then are we, along with our brothers and sister in the Lord, serving under the name and authority of the Lord.
The sentiment expressed by Jesus in Matthew 10:40-42 is similar that of Paul with Philemon, Jesus encourages us to treat his disciples just as they would treat him. 2 Corinthians 5 refers to Jesus’ disciples as ambassadors. As Jesus’ ambassadors, we operate under the name and authority of Jesus. While the world may not treat us with that respect, we should be treating each other with that respect.
In the Jewish tradition, in informal conversation, God is referred to as “Hashem,” which means “The Name.” With that in mind, we should we regard ourselves and all others who profess Christ as being “under The Name.” Therefore, we should consider that all of us who are “under The Name” are of great worth and dignity.
Transcendent Touched 