Philemon 22-25

²²And one thing more: Prepare a guest room for me, because I hope to be restored to you in answer to your prayers. ²³Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. ²⁴And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers. ²⁵The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

Paul concludes with one more request and final greetings. His request, found in v22, reveals that he expected to be released from his Roman imprisonment – as a result of the prayers of God’s people – and planned to visit Colosse. If for no other reason that he would have to deal with Paul face-to-face on this matter, Philemon ought to forgive and release Onesimus. We don’t know if he made it to Colosse, but tradition certainly gives us reason to believe that he was released from this first imprisonment. And furthermore, tradition suggests that Philemon obeyed Paul and released Onesimus, who possibly went on to serve in the church even as a prominent leader. The greetings are short here, but it’s a similar list of names as that in Colossians. And the conclusion is a benediction, that the grace of Jesus would be with their spirit. That’s the Book of Philemon – as much the Word of God as the rest of the Bible.