Colossians 4:10

Aristarchus my fellow-prisoner saluteth you, and Mark, the cousin of Barnabas (touching whom ye received commandments; if he come unto you, receive him), and Jesus that is called Justus, who are of the circumcision: these only are my fellow-workers unto the kingdom of God, men that have been a comfort unto me.

Aristarchus my fellow-prisoner ...

ARISTARCHUS

This man, a Jew of Thessalonica, is first mentioned in the New Testament in Acts 19:22, where it is reported that, along with Gaius, he was dragged into the theater at Ephesus. When the riot was over and Paul left Ephesus, Aristarchus went with him (Acts 20:4), appearing again as one of the committee in charge of Paul's collection for Jerusalem. Presumably, Aristarchus remained with Paul continuously; because, after the two-year imprisonment at Caesarea, Luke reveals that Aristarchus was "with us" in the long voyage to Rome (Acts 27:2). The deduction has been made, "Whether voluntarily or involuntarily, Aristarchus really shared Paul's imprisonment,"[14] a deduction that is suggested, or demanded, by the words "my fellow-prisoner." He is mentioned again in Philemon 1:1:24.

Mark, the cousin of Barnabas ... For a somewhat extensive discussion of this character, author of the gospel that bears his name, and a principal in the dispute between Paul and Barnabas (Acts 15:37ff) due to his having deserted the missionaries in Perga of Pamphylia (Acts 13:3), please see (in this series of commentaries) the introduction to the Gospel of Mark.

Touching whom ye received commandments ... This, according to Dummelow, refers "to commands they must have received at an earlier time."[15]

If he come unto you, receive him ... As Lipscomb said, "This recommendation is somewhat of a church letter,"[16] showing that the old breach between Paul and Barnabas regarding Mark had long been healed, Mark appearing in this passage as a definite comfort to the apostle.

Jesus that is called Justus ... It is very curious that so soon after our Lord's ascension there should have been a Christian named "Jesus" whose surname, "The Just One," is one of the titles of our Lord.[17] Nothing at all is known of this man, except what is stated here, there being no other reference to him in the New Testament.

Who are of the circumcision ... This means that Aristarchus, Mark and Justus were "of the circumcision," that is, Jews, with the undeniable implication that Luke, mentioned a moment later in Colossians 4:14, was not a Jew, the same being the strongest evidence that Luke was a Gentile.

These only are my fellow-workers unto the kingdom of God ... The words "are my" are italicized, meaning they are not in the Greek; so it is proper to read this sentence without them. These only ... There is infinite pathos in these tragic words. Paul's concern for the salvation of many Jews in the great Roman capital had been frustrated and defeated. Of all the Jews in Rome, "these three ...!" As Hendriksen expressed it:

It must not escape our attention that the apostle's statement with reference to these three men as the only Jewish-Christian fellow-workers who had been a comfort to him implies deep disappointment with other people of his own race.[18]

Men that have been a comfort unto me ... We are indebted to Findlay for the amazing fact that the word here rendered "comfort" comes from a Greek word meaning "soothing relief," the same Greek word chosen as the name of a widely used medicine for children, "paregoric."[19] This is a medical term, and one of those "peculiar" words found only in this epistle. Perhaps Paul had been extending his vocabulary somewhat through his association with the "beloved physician, Luke."

[14] Alfred Barry, op. cit., p. 116.

[15] J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1937), p. 984.

[16] David Lipscomb, A Commentary on the New Testament Epistles, Vol. IV (Nashville: The Gospel Advocate Company, 1964), p. 312.

[17] Alfred Barry, op. cit., p. 117.

[18] William Hendriksen, Colossians and Philemon (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1964), p. 190.

[19] G. G. Findlay, Colossians in The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 19 (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950), p. 213.