“Tychicus, a beloved brother, faithful minister, and fellow servant in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me. I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that he may know your circumstances and comfort your hearts” (Colossians 4:7-8).
There were no standardized postal or letter delivery services as we know them today in the days of the New Testament. Therefore, letters had to be carried by friends or travelers to their destinations. Since news from out of town was greatly limited during that time, it was not unusual for a writer to close a letter with a message or salutation from mutual acquaintances. This helps explain why Colossians 4:7-15 largely consists of personal greetings from common friends.
Nevertheless, it seems natural to question why God would permit this seemingly idle chatter to find its way into His Word. One commentator offers an answer to that question…
“In Colossians 4:7-17, Paul mentions more people by name than in any other epistle except in Romans 16:1-23. If any should wonder why these personal references should be included in a divinely inspired document intended by the Holy Spirit to be used in all churches of all the centuries, the intent may be to assure us that God is interested in individual believers as well as in the church as a whole.
All believers have their individual names written in the Lamb’s ‘book of life’ in heaven (Revelation 20:15). As a token and surety of this, some of these names have also been written in His book on earth.” (1)
We can also expand this idea to include some of the many genealogies that appear within the Scriptures as well. Like many of the those who are mentioned in the latter half of Colossians chapter four, we may be inclined to skip past the genealogical lists in order to concentrate on “more important” portions of God’s Word.
Since modern-day readers have no personal connection with the people in such passages, it may seem tedious to read through these greetings and genealogical records, But while these names may mean nothing to us, they do mean something to God.
The Biblical genealogies and list of names we will encounter over the closing verses of Colossians remind us that our existence is significant to God, If future generations come to look upon us in much the same way we look upon the names found here in Colossians chapter four, we can take comfort in the fact that God knows who we are, just as He knows every person listed in these verses.
(1) Institute for Creation Research, New Defender’s Study Bible Notes [Colossians 4:10] https://www.icr.org/bible/Col/4/10