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Romans is perhaps the most influential letter ever written. Famous theologians like Augustine and Martin Luther spent significant parts of their lives explaining deep theological truths that Paul explained in Romans. From the sinfulness of humanity to God’s faithfulness, Romans provides believers with plenty of material to study.

Amidst all these rich theological themes, it is easy to look right past the book’s final chapter. In it, Paul doesn’t explain God’s grace or reflect on His faithfulness to Jews even as He expands the kingdom to include the Gentiles. Instead, Paul devotes the final chapter to a series of greetings.

As we pause and reflect on Paul’s intention in Romans 16, it helps us to read the rest of the letter.

I don’t know about you, but I often think of greetings in letters as a necessary but unimportant formality. I need to know who sent me the letter, but I don’t expect to learn anything from the greeting.

By contrast, Paul often invested his introductions and greetings with theological significance and, in Romans, saved his greeting for the end.

Paul spent a significant amount of time in his letter encouraging the Roman believers to love one another well in light of Christ’s grace. Think of Romans 12:10 where Paul said, “Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other” (NLT).

By greeting so many people in Romans 16, Paul modeled the kind of love he advocated for throughout the book. Though he did not physically visit the church in Rome, he knew many of its leaders and loved them as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Paul likely got to know many of the people mentioned in Romans 16 after they fled Rome when Emperor Claudius expelled the Jews. Upon their return to Rome, Paul looked forward to seeing them again.

While Paul mentioned a number of people, special attention should be given to Phoebe. Based on Paul’s introduction, Phoebe seems to have delivered his letter to the church in Rome. As the letter carrier, she may have read the letter aloud and answered any questions others had about Paul’s message.

Paul entrusted Phoebe with an important task. Letter carriers often did more than read the passage. They actually performed the letter in the style intended by the author. As a deacon in the church of Cenchrea, Phoebe had proven she was up for the task. Paul wanted the believers in Rome to show her the hospitality she deserved. It is also likely that Phoebe was a patron of Paul’s ministry, meaning she gave money or raised finances to support the work he was doing.

As we study the rest of Paul’s letter to the Romans, let’s remember that Paul wrote these words to real people who he loved and cared for deeply. And may we imitate the same love he illustrated in Romans 16.