21 Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you; so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen.
22 I Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord.
23 Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus, greet you. (Romans 16)
Before his final benediction, Paul wants to mention a few more people, who may or may not have been known to his readers. Timothy was his faithful friend and fellow-worker, while the next three were fellow Jews who had come to Christ. This was relevant to the letter they had just read, as he had said a lot about the role and relationships of Jewish and Gentile believers. They knew what he was writing and were, in a sense, partner to it. As usual, Paul had an assistant do the actual writing, who was also "part of the team." The last three would be men of prominence who would have some "name recognition" amoung them. Paul was not "throwing names around", but wanted them to understand the unified team behnd this letter. That is something we need to have a keener sense of - introducing fellow believers to other fellow believers. It helps us have a growing sense of how big and unified the body of Christ could and should be. It reminds us that we do have much which does and can "bind us together", and that it is a good thing to be a part of the family of God. So don't just huddle in your little clique with a few fellow saints; spread the wealth.
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