Romans 16:14-15 Meaning: Why Paul Greets Obscure Believers
14Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers who are with them.
15Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them.
14Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, Hermes, and the brethren which are with them.
15Salute Philologus, and Julia, Nereus, and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints which are with them.
14Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brethren that are with them.
15Salute Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints that are with them.
14salute Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, Hermes, and the brethren with them;
15salute Philologus, and Julias, Nereus, and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints with them;
14Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brethren with them.
15Salute Philologus, and Julia, Nereus, and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints with them.
Meaning in one sentence
Paul names unknown Christians in his greetings, showing that every believer matters to God. A devotional on Romans 16:14-15.
Context
Paul is finishing his letter to the Romans. Chapter 16 reads like the end of a long conversation, with one personal greeting after another. After mentioning well-known leaders like Priscilla and Aquila, he sends greetings to names that appear nowhere else in Scripture: Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas. We know almost nothing about them. They were not apostles, not teachers of great fame. They were ordinary believers in Rome, meeting in house churches. By naming them one by one, Paul shows that his care for the church is not just for its leaders. Every person matters to him, because every person matters to Christ.
Key Words
The word at the heart of both verses is aspasasthe, usually translated “greet.” It carries warmth: to salute someone, to welcome them, to draw them close. This is not a formal nod from a distance. Paul uses the same word later when he says “Greet one another with a holy kiss” (Romans 16:16). The greeting is an act of family affection.
Paul calls these believers “brothers” (adelphoi) and “saints” (hagioi). Adelphos was the ordinary word for a male sibling, but Christians used it to describe their new family in Christ. Hagios means holy, set apart for God. In Romans 1:7, Paul writes to “all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints.” To be a saint is not to be a super-Christian. It is to belong to God. These unknown names were saints, set apart by God and worth Paul’s ink.
How Christians Read This Verse
Christians across traditions have noticed that Paul names so many obscure believers. Some commentators, like Wesley and Clarke, note that if Peter had been in Rome at this time, Paul would surely have greeted him by name. This point has been used in debates about papal succession, though other Christians read the silence differently. What is not debated is Paul’s pastoral heart. The Jamieson-Fausset-Brown commentary suggests these names represent small house churches, “singularly interesting” glimpses of early Christian fellowship. Whether the readers are Catholic, Protestant, or Orthodox, they agree on this: Paul’s greetings treat every believer as a person worth knowing.
A common misunderstanding
A common misreading is that this list is just filler, a string of names with no meaning for today. In fact, Paul deliberately includes people who would otherwise be forgotten. He does not skip over the obscure believers to get to more important matters. He spends his words on them. This shows that the gospel dignifies every person. If Paul took the time to write down these names, then God certainly knows yours and treasures you as part of His family.
Living This Out
This week, consider the people in your church or fellowship whose names you do not know. The person who sits near the back, the one who quietly serves. You could learn their name. You could greet them the way Paul urged these Roman believers to greet one another: with genuine warmth, as family. If you feel overlooked yourself, remember that Paul included names the world forgot. God has not forgotten yours. You are one of the saints with whom Paul would have been glad to exchange a greeting.
Main takeaway: Every believer, no matter how unknown to the world, is personally known and valued by God and by His people.
For Families
For ages 5, 8
Paul wrote a letter and said hello to lots of friends. Some of their names are hard to say. But God knows every name. He knows your name too.
For ages 9, 12
Paul could have just said “Hello to everyone in Rome.” Instead he named people we know almost nothing about. That tells us something important. In God’s family, you do not have to be famous to be loved. Paul wanted each person to know they were remembered. You are remembered too.
Questions People Ask
Who were Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, and the others?
We do not know anything else about them from the Bible. They were probably ordinary Christians who had moved to Rome from places where Paul had preached. Their names are Greek and Roman, suggesting a mix of backgrounds. The fact that Paul names them shows they were real people he cared about, even if history recorded nothing more.
Why does Paul list so many names at the end of Romans?
Paul is greeting people he knows personally. He wants the Roman church to feel connected to him and to each other. Listing names also shows the unity of the body of Christ across different house churches. It is a practical way of saying, 'I see you, I remember you, you matter.'
What does it mean that some are called 'brothers' and others 'saints'?
Both words describe Christians. 'Brothers' emphasizes the family relationship among believers. 'Saints' (hagioi) means holy ones, people set apart for God. In Romans 1:7, Paul calls all believers in Rome 'called to be saints.' So these are not two different groups, but two ways of describing the same people: they are both family and holy.
What does 'the brothers with them' and 'the saints with them' mean?
This likely refers to house churches. In Rome, Christians could not all meet in one place. They gathered in homes. Paul greets a group that meets around Asyncritus and his friends, and another group that meets around Philologus and Julia. It shows the church was made up of smaller fellowships connected to each other.
Does this passage prove Peter was not in Rome when Paul wrote?
Some Christians, following Wesley and Clarke, point out that Paul never mentions Peter in this long list of greetings, which would be strange if Peter were the bishop of Rome. Other Christians note that absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. The passage is not directly about Peter. Christians differ on what this means for church history. What is clear is Paul's deep personal care for ordinary believers.
For pastors & researchers
Greek interlinear, 8 commentaries & word study