I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord. Romans 16:22
Tradition tells us that Tertius was an elder in the assembly at Iconium, which today is the large Turkish city of Konya. The same tradition tells us that Tertius was a martyr at Iconium, although no details are available. The tradition may or may not have been true. But one thing that we know is true, because it is recorded in Scripture, is that Tertius was a godly brother who made himself available to transcribe Paul’s letter to the Christians in Rome. His personal message inserted into the epistle is unusual, in fact, unique among Paul’s writings. Perhaps we can guess as to why Tertius was prompted to insert his greeting.
The Roman epistle was written from Corinth, which was a Greek or Macedonian city, and yet Tertius’ name is not Greek, but Roman. He was very possibly from Rome and knew many of the Christians there. He might well have been the source of information on which Paul based his instructions to the Christians there. It must have warmed his heart that Paul would write such a letter. There is no doubt that Tertius cared about the spiritual welfare of the Roman saints, and kept them in his prayers. Why he was in Corinth we don’t know, but he obviously cared about the folks at home. Do we care as much?
Tertius’ brief but hearty greeting suggests he was a teacher or a leader among the Christians. As such, he would be an encourager and a builder, and Paul’s letter would be valuable to him as a means of helping the Roman Christians. People who are cheerfully building up the Lord’s people are always in short supply among our Assemblies. Are we among them?
As he was putting Paul’s words onto the parchment, Tertius would realise how important the letter was. Whether he realized that the Holy Spirit was in control we don’t know for sure, but he would surely realize that this was a very special letter, and that it conveyed God’s message. He was like today’s teachers and leaders among God’s Assemblies who have a deep reverence for the Word of God and a firm commitment to maintaining and teaching the doctrines and principles of the Scriptures. is our reverence and commitment so deep?
Tertius was also a very humble man. Although it was an honour to help the apostle Paul write a letter, it was also a painstaking and tedious task for which somebody else got all the credit. That didn’t matter to Tertius; he was willing to do whatever the Lord, and His servant Paul, needed him for. To carefully craft a letter for somebody else was OK with him, as long as he was serving the Lord. Are we so humble?
His cheery greeting indicates that Tertius was a very friendly person. We can imagine him with a ready smile and a twinkling eye, always glad to see a brother or sister in the Lord. He’s the kind of Christian I like to keep company with. Would you be so friendly?
Thank God for good men like Tertius; we owe them much more than we realize. -Jim MacIntosh