God’s Word for You
Philippians 4:21-22 Greetings
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Wednesday, April 29, 2026
21 Greet each saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you. 22 All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household.
Sometimes our understanding of Greek sinks a little, and we stumble the way I sometimes do in my preaching robe as I climb the steps to the chancel, and our proud, certain, and rightfully comforting exegesis and analysis of some of the Bible’s most difficult passages trips up on the simplest of greetings, and the most ordinary-sounding words become twisted like a pretzel right before our very eyes. What I mean is that here, we honestly don’t know whether Paul means “Greet in Christ Jesus” or “each saint in Christ Jesus.” Is the greeting “in Christ,” or are they saints “in Christ”? Both can be true.
1, Paul cannot mean that the saints “in Christ” should be greeted as opposed to Old Testament saints.
2, True saints are only saints “in Christ,” including such men as Adam, Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, Malachi, and the like.
3, Christians should greet one another “in Christ” for encouragement and mutual love.
We end up saying that yes, it could be (2) or (3). And we are no wiser. Perhaps we are overthinking Paul’s words in this case (no grammatical pun intended). Can it be possible that the phrase “in Christ” points in both directions? A greeting is always a good thing to receive; when an apostle like Paul asks for people to be greeted “in Christ” he surely adds another degree of warmth and affection, since, like the benediction (Numbers 6:27) and the absolution (Matthew 16:19), such a greeting carries with it the blessing of God on God’s good people. “Anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward” (Mark 9:41).
What about the greeting from “those of Caesar’s household”? Who might such people be? Would it be impossible to say, or do we possibly have some insight here?
This letter was sent from Rome. Paul also greeted quite a few people in a letter sent to Rome (Romans 16:3-16) three or four years before this. Could any of these saints from Caesar’s household have been included in that earlier greeting? Who were they?
1, Paul would have had very few opportunities to make inroads into Caesar’s household while in prison in Rome.
2, In Romans 16:10, Paul greets “those who belong to the household of Aristobulus.” Herod the Great had a grandson named Aristobulus, the younger brother of Herod Agrippa I (Acts 12:1), and who is known to have lived in Rome as a private citizen. He was a friend of Caesar Claudius. If, at his death, he gave Caesar his property in his will (this was a common bequest) it would have included his slaves, who would then have been distinguished in the imperial household as the “Aristobuliani” (household of Aristobulus).
3, In Romans 16:11, Paul greets his relative Herodion, who may also have had ties with the family of King Herod.
4, Later in Romans 16:11, Paul also greets the household of Narcissus “who are in the Lord,” meaning that they were Christians. Many commentators have thought that this group would have been made up of the slaves of Tiberius Claudius Narcissus, a famous freedman who served as a secretary of Caesar Claudius. When he fell from favor, he was put to death and his slaves became imperial property, but were distinguished from other slaves with the name “Narcissiani” (the household of Narcissus).
While “those of Caesar’s household” probably does not mean any members of the Romans imperial family, it could mean any number of freedmen or slaves associated with the household and who served the Emperor and his family.
A greeting then as it is now is an important social moment. When Moses and his father-in-law met during the exodus, before they entered a tent to discuss Moses’ work, “they greeted each other” (Exodus 18:7). Without any doubt this moment lasted longer than just the time it would take to say “hello” and give a blessing (as in Ruth 2:4). but was a preliminary greeting to their meeting, including news of their families, the villages in Midian, the adventures of the exodus so far, and even Moses’ desire to learn about the herds and flocks he had shepherded for forty years and had only left perhaps two years before.
A greeting among us is an acknowledgment of familiarity, friendship, and among Christians, of shared faith. When I greet men who were my classmates thirty years ago, our greetings have the understanding of shared experiences, and of many other experiences since that time. A greeting is more than catching up, it is love and respect extended and appreciated. One ancient writer warns: “Be ashamed of silence before those who greet you.” And we don’t want to leave anyone out when we send a greeting. Recall John’s words: “Greet the friends, every one of them” (3 John 1:15).
Therefore, greetings, grace, peace, blessing, love, and friendship to you, from me.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.