JMA Missions Mid-Month July 2025
The Great Commission in the New Testament – Philemon
Philemon 1:10-11 – “I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains, who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me.”
This month, we’re looking at the Great Commission in the shortest letter Paul wrote—Philemon. It’s only 25 verses, but it’s packed with a mighty principle: Make disciples of all the nations!
The short synopsis is this: Onesimus was a runaway slave. Under Roman law, he could easily have been subject to the death penalty. We're not here to judge the Roman Empire or the institution of slavery—and Paul doesn’t either. But what we find is Onesimus was born again under Paul’s ministry. And -the main point we want to capture here- he was discipled in the Lord.
There are a couple of unknowns we should mention. There could be several reasons why a person in the 1st century could find themselves enslaved—none of which we know for sure about Onesimus. Also, why did he run? A modern social-justice-warrior might say that being a slave is reason enough, however inviting the death penalty can't be that great! Finally, v18 might indicate that Onesimus stole something on the way out, but that is also unknown.
But we do know this: he was a goat. And we can safely assume upon him the full measure of goat behavior and goat thinking!
Also, how did these two guys connect? Paul was a prisoner of Rome, and it’s probably not normal that a fugitive runaway slave would hang out at the Roman county lockup just for fun.
Whatever the unknowns were, Onesimus and Paul found each other. Onesimus got saved, and Paul discipled him—even while in chains himself. And that took a minute. This was not an overnight success story!
The Great Commission Discipleship Moment
Here’s the Great Commission discipleship moment I want to point out. Put yourself in the room with those guys.
Can you imagine the look on Onesimus’s face when Paul tells him: “You have to go back to Philemon and make that right.”
Discipleship demands restitution where possible. Paul the discipler—not just the evangelist, not the pastor, not the social justice warrior—but the discipler says:
“I see there’s a part of your character that’s lacking, and this is what you have to do. It won’t be easy, but it will be right. I’ll walk with you, but you have to do it. Go back, face what you’ve done, and make that right. If you run, and you don’t face it, you’ll always run. No matter where you go or what you do, in your heart, your mind, even in your intestines, you’ll always be a fugitive.”
Discipleship secret:
This is the hard part. It doesn’t matter what Philemon did wrong, or how wrong the Roman system was. What Onesimus did was wrong—and he had to follow Christ for himself. Philemon would answer for his own actions. But this was Onesimus’s moment to make things right.
Real discipleship doesn’t tell you what you want to hear—it tells you what you need to hear.
If Paul hadn’t been a disciple himself, Onesimus would have died a runaway. Running forever. Because it takes a disciple to make a disciple.
Here’s the Great Commission in action:
Paul discipled Onesimus, mentored him, and then did something radical: he sent him back to a situation. Not as a slave, but as a new creature, a changed man, a brother, and a disciple.
Colossians 4:9 says:
“…with Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will make known to you all things which are happening here.”
Paul knew the born-again Onesimus so well that he called him “faithful and beloved” and trusted him enough to carry the letter to the Colossian church. That’s not small stuff—that’s apostolic trust.
He who was once unprofitable has become profitable.
Listen, y’all, we are all Onesimus. The Great Commission sends us back into the world as disciples to be profitable witnesses in the Kingdom of God.
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