Put That Down to My Account

One of the most fascinating, if usually ignored, texts in the Bible is the tiny little letter Paul wrote to Philemon.

It’s made up of a mere 25 verses. In this dense little letter, however, we are given a tantalizing glimpse into the way in which Paul has internalized and personally appropriated the “Jesus-story.”

We know from almost every letter that Paul thinks of Jesus as having taken upon himself the weight of sin for the whole world, putting down every one to his own account (especially Col. 2:13-15).

What’s so striking, then, is to see not Jesus, but Paul taking precisely this “Jesus-like” place in the letter to Philemon.

Philemon was a relatively well-to-do man living in ancient Colossae. He had come to believe the gospel and even to host a church in his own house. Moreover, Philemon, like many wealthy men of the ancient world, had at least one male slave, named Onesimus.

Onesimus, however, according to the beginning of the letter, appears to have run away from Philemon and made his way to Paul. Paul, who was likely imprisoned in Ephesus, then shared the gospel with Onesimus which the latter joyfully received.

However, by running away from Philemon, and perhaps by doing something about which the letter doesn’t tell us, Onesimus had wronged Philemon in some specific way.

However, Paul, in sending Onesimus back to Philemon, doesn’t expect Onesimus to pay any penalty for the wrong he has done Philemon.

Rather, Paul says of this runaway slave: “(1:17) If, therefore, (Philemon) you consider me to be your partner in fellowship, receive him as though he were me. (1:18) And if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, put it down to my account.”

Do you see what has happened? For Paul, the story wherein Jesus rescues people and sets them free, is often described as redemption from slavery (Rom. 6). This has become not just a story for Paul but through Paul and for others. Paul is now not simply an object of redemption but a vehicle of redemption.

The little story then poses the question to us, For whom are you saying, “Put that down to my account”?

At Ooltewah United Methodist Church we are trying to discover day-by-day and week-by-week how better to understand and to embody the Jesus who has put everything down to his own account.