Influential Christian Men and Women

June 26th, 2025
by Lance Waldie

Romans 16:10b-13 Greet those who are of the household of Aristobulus. 11 Greet Herodion, my kinsman. Greet those of the household of Narcissus, who are in the Lord. 12 Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, workers in the Lord. Greet Persis the beloved, who has worked hard in the Lord. 13 Greet Rufus, a choice man in the Lord, also his mother and mine.

In vv. 11-15 two households are greeted, both of which were part of the imperial court—five people by name, and an unnamed mother whom Paul says was like a mother to him. First, there is the “household of Aristobulus.” No greeting is given to Aristobulus specifically, so he had either passed away or was not a Christian. J.B. Lightfoot suggests that this Aristobulus was the brother of Herod Agrippa I, grandson of Herod the Great. This would have put him close to Emperor Claudius, although at the time of Paul’s writing Claudius had been succeeded by Nero. If this was that Aristobulus, and he was in fact dead, then all of his belongings—wife, slaves, and children included, would have become Claudius’ property, though still referred to as the household of Aristobulus. Perhaps Aristobulus’ household, now in Christ, were part of Claudius’ imperial home, now passed on to Emperor Nero—Christians in Nero’s house!

The second greeting went out to Herodian my kinsman. As a “kinsmen” Herodian was either Jewish like Paul or an actual blood relative. Also, since “Herodian” was related to the Herod dynasty, this might associate him with the Aristobulus household previously mentioned.

A third greeting was for another household, that of Narcissus. Now because of the close proximity of the imperial family greetings in vv. 10b-11, J.B. Lightfoot has shown that, like Aristobulus, Narcissus was a close associate of Emperor Claudius, perhaps his secretary. As a man of great wealth, Lightfoot suggests that this was the result of the many bribes he took for granting access to the emperor. Amazingly, his household, not necessarily Narcissus himself, were Christians and known to the Apostle Paul who sent them greetings. If so, then they may very well have been the ones Paul greets here who were “of Caesar’s household” who joined Paul, when imprisoned in Rome, in sending greetings to the church at Philippi (Phil. 4:22).

In v. 12 greetings go out to Tryphaena (“delicate”) and Tryphosa (“dainty”). Their names point to them being upper-class women. As “workers,” however, they may have given up their luxurious lives to be to do wearisome labor for the cause of Christ. Similarly, Paul greeted Persis (likely a Persian) whom he called “beloved,” who had also “worked hard in the Lord.”

In v. 13 Rufus is greeted and called “chosen in the Lord.” Since all Christians are chosen (Rom. 8:29), Paul is calling Rufus “choice,” or extraordinary, known for his works in Christ. Notably, in Mark’s Gospel, written in Rome after Paul wrote Romans, Mark mentions a certain Simon of Cyrene (North Africa) who was summoned to carry the cross of Jesus to Golgotha. Mark adds that he was the “father of Alexander and Rufus” (Mark 15:21). Now Mark, writing after Paul wrote to Rome, perhaps included this caveat because Rufus was known in Rome. It thus appears that Simon of Cyrene came to faith in Christ along with his wife, “your mother and mine,” for whom Paul also greeted. Perhaps she aided Paul in his ministries and acted as a mother would to him. It seems that Simon of Cyrene, carrying Jesus’ cross, was greatly impacted by how God selected him for such a work. Then his offspring, later, greatly impacted Paul.

Food For Thought
God works in so many ways to infiltrate the world with His people. He plants His elect children in pagan governments and watches their seeds grow into influential Christians within pagan regimes. He also takes people who are just passing by, like Simon of Cyrene, and changes their lives in a flash. Their seeds are passed onto their children, and men like Rufus are born who stand out among the rest. May God cause our seed to flourish mightily in Christ too!