Colossians 4:13Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

I bear witness of him, he says, that he has great zeal and care for you. A trustworthy witness! That he has, he says, great zeal and care for you, that is, that he loves you ardently and has a strong attachment to you. And for those in Laodicea, he says, and Hierapolis. By this also he commends him. But how could they know this? They could, of course, have heard it. Yet they learned it with certainty when they began to read this Epistle: See that it is read also in the church of the Laodiceans (Col 4:16).

"Zeal" and "great" are both placed together for emphasis. He praises Epaphras also to the Laodiceans and Hierapolitans, for they, without doubt, could hear about him after reading the Epistle.

At the conclusion there first come the notices which the Apostle entrusts Tychicus and Onesimus to convey to the Colossians (Col 4:7-9). Then come greetings or salutations from Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica; Mark, the nephew of Barnabas, not the evangelist; Jesus called Justus, who had once been chosen as a candidate for the number of the twelve Apostles in place of the fallen Judas; Epaphras, the head of the Phrygian churches; Luke the physician, the evangelist; Demas, who later left Paul (2 Tim 4:10). A greeting is also sent to the brethren in Laodicea and to Nymphas the presbyter, with the church in his house (Col 4:10-15).

Having conveyed greetings from his fellow workers from among the Jews, the Apostle now greets the Colossians in the name of their laborer Epaphras, and then from others among the Gentiles.

Epaphras was the chief fellow worker of the Apostle Paul in converting the Colossians and instructing them in the faith. He had been sent by them to the Apostle in Rome. Paul hoped that he might return to them again. Therefore he gives such comprehensive testimony about him, both concerning his general worth and especially concerning his care for the flock he had left behind. Because of the great distance separating him from them, nothing remained for Epaphras except to pray for them. This he did, according to Paul's testimony, constantly and fervently.

Then the Apostle greets the Colossians in the name of Aristarchus, his companion in imprisonment, who was from Thessalonica (Acts 20:4). He also greets them in the name of Mark, the nephew of Barnabas. The Colossians had received certain instructions about Mark from the Apostle. These probably forbade this preacher of the Gospel, who had not been firm in his work, to engage in public ecclesiastical activity; see Acts 15:37-38. But now the Apostle commands them to receive him. Then follow greetings from Jesus Justus, probably a Roman Jew; from Epaphras, known to the Colossians as their enlightener; from Luke, the evangelist and the Apostle's closest friend; and from a certain Demas; see verses 10-14.

I bear witness. St. Chrysostom says, The witness is worthy of all belief. But why is such assurance added? It is because the preceding warnings against the false teachers could have caused division between Epaphras and his flock. The Apostle could have learned the danger from no one except Epaphras. They might suppose that Epaphras presented them as so weak, and so much in need of warnings, because he had cooled toward them or disliked them. The Apostle forestalls this supposition. He assures them that, if Epaphras explained to the Apostle the state of affairs in Colossae and the neighboring cities, he did so from zeal for their spiritual good. He wanted them to remain unwavering in the doctrines and rules of life once received, for in this lies salvation.