Date
There is no doubt this was a prison letter, but which imprisonment is impossible to say. It could be Paul’s Roman imprisonment around 61-63AD. Or an earlier one in Ephesus around 56-57AD. The letter was likely written the same time as Colossians. Colossians 4:9 mentions that Onesimus will be traveling with the person delivering that letter.
Paul calls himself “old” in the letter, which might favor a later date. Travel from Ephesus to Colossae is a more likely scenario than from Rome which favors an earlier writing.
General Observations
Onesimus was a slave whose name meant “useful.” He escaped from his master, Philemon, and somehow found his way to Paul, who shared the gospel. Onesimus attended Paul in prison and was, indeed, useful to him. Paul eventually convinced Onesimus that he needed to return to his master and accept the consequences of his disobedience. But he would not return empty-handed. He would carry this letter, which encouraged Philemon to treat the slave as a brother.
Philemon is a personal letter with universal implications. Paul uses a slave’s situation to argue for the transformative power of belief in Jesus.
This letter presents the gospel in miniature:
- We are all Onesimus – once separated from God and now reconciled to God.
- We are all called to be Paul – advocates for the marginalized who do not have a voice.
- We are all called to be Philemon – to welcome transformation, not only of ourselves, but of others, with all that entails.
The institution of slavery is on full view in this letter, and nowhere does Paul condemn it. Slavery formed the very fabric of ancient life in most cultures, and we might forgive Paul for not even being able to imagine life without it. Time and time again, however, Paul insists throughout his letters that one’s status as free or slave was absolutely no barrier to God. And, as in this letter, he insists on slave-owners acknowledging the full dignity of slaves as human beings.