Biblion Bible Commentary
Read the introduction to Philippians · About this commentary
Those of Caesar's Household
Philippians 4:21-23
21 Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you. · WEB
The last greeting comes from inside the palace of the man who could order Paul's execution.
Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you. The word every appears here as it has throughout the letter, and in a congregation with a rift in it the insistence is not accidental.
Then verse 22, and it is the sentence the letter has been quietly building toward: All the saints greet you, especially those who are of Caesar's household.
The phrase covers the imperial staff — slaves, freedmen, officials, the enormous establishment that ran the emperor's affairs. Some of them had believed, and they are singled out to send greetings to a Roman colony in Macedonia.
The letter opened by reporting that the gospel had reached the whole praetorian guard Philippians 1:13. It closes with converts inside the household of the man whose court would decide whether Paul lived. Chains had proved to be a delivery system after all, and the letter offers no comment on the irony beyond stating the fact.
And then the last line, addressed where the letter has kept everything: the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
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