What does Romans 16:11 mean?
Paul continues to list individuals and families to whom he would like his readers to pass on his greetings. Now Paul mentions a man named Herodion. Since this would have been an unusual name in Rome, scholars suggest this may have been either a family member or former slave who served one of the royal lines of the Herods. Since Paul calls him a kinsman or relative, it is assumed the man is Jewish.Paul also offers his greetings to those in the Lord who belong to the family of a man called Narcissus. Paul does not offer greetings to Narcissus directly. In other words, Paul offers his greeting to the Christian members of this man's family, suggesting that some in the family had not come to faith in Christ. It's possible this is the same Narcissus known from history as a servant to the Roman Emperor Claudius. Claudius died in AD 54. Narcissus is said to have committed suicide sometime later.
Romans 16:1–16 includes a list of two dozen or so people or groups that Paul wants his readers to greet for him in Rome. He begins by introducing them to Phoebe, the lady who will deliver this letter from him in Corinth. He asks them to greet his good friends and longtime partners in work and ministry Prisca—or Priscilla—and Aquila, who have returned to Rome from their time in Asia. Also on the list are close friends, slaves, royal families, and members of the various house churches that meet in Rome.
The final chapter of Romans contains four sections intended to wrap up the letter. Paul commends the woman who will deliver the letter and then sends greetings to many people he knows in Rome. After last-minute, urgent instruction about false teachers, Paul sends greetings to the Roman Christians from those who are with him in Corinth, including Timothy. Paul closes out the letter with a hymn of praise to the God who has revealed to all the nations of the earth the gospel of salvation by faith in Christ Jesus.
