“I commend unto you Phebe our sister which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea That you receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that you assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you for she hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also” (Rom 16:1-2)
A Thoughtful reading of these verses is needed to exhaust the information that is here about the remarkable woman named Phebe The record is succinct and one of the joys of studying God’s word is thinking about such an abbreviated record.
Phebe is the person Paul is trusting to take the epistle he has just written to the believers in Rome At this tune, the imperial post was not available for private correspondence An epistle such as Paul’s would have to be sent by a trusted friend or a private messenger It is evident Paul had great confidence m Phebe’s responsibility to send with her this important writing.
We are not told when Phebe was converted to the faith She resided at Cenchrea, the eastern harbor of Corinth lying about eight miles from the main city Paul sailed from there on his second journey (Acts 18 18) at the end of a long stay in Corinth during which tune Phebe may have learned the Truth When he visited the area a second time, an ecclesia had been formed in Cenchrea and Phebe was a leading member of it.
One might speculate Phebe was an older woman of wealth and position, otherwise, it would have been difficult for her to travel so far as easily as it appears she did She also had business in Rome of either a personal of ecclesial nature Paul instructs the brethren to “receive her m the Lord” and to “assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you”
Despite Paul’s few words, we have a vivid picture of this woman First, Paul calls her “our sister” This was a simple but affectionate designation used for a member of the Christian community, as it is today.
Second, he calls her “a servant (KJV) of the church which is at Cenchrea” The word “servant” comes from the Greek word diakonos, from which the word “deacon” is translated in several passages (Phil 11,1 Tim 3 8-13) Just what Phebe’s duties were as “deaconess” during this time, we can’t tell from the record She must have had some definite job in the ecclesia similar to the function of a deacon.
The third important thing Paul tells us about Phebe is that she was a “succourer of many” The Greek word rendered “succour” indicates “one standing before, border, protector” From this we may surmise Phebe was a helper to and a defender for those in need.
Fourth, Paul says she was a “succourer of myself also” He had first-hand knowledge of her ministering work It has been conjectured Paul might at one time have been ill when he stopped at Cenchrea and that Phebe helped care for him.
Since it would appear Phebe had devoted herself unstintingly to the ministry of the ecclesia, it is also possible the meeting was in her home In any case, her home would have been a hospitable place where Paul felt welcome
Although Cenchrea was a port, it is likely Phebe traveled overland, joining up with a caravan This was the preferred method of travel for a lady in those days The ships often carried crude people and the waters were frequently turbulent.
If she did go by caravan, she would have traveled northward into Achaia and Macedonia, then crossed narrow waters that took her into Italy and to the capital city of Rome Along the way, she probably had opportunity to visit Christian churches To those congregations, she would have been able to bring news and greetings from Paul.
We know Phebe’s journey was successful because we have the epistle to the Romans as part of our scripture Through Phebe, God directed His word.
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