Skip to content

Add your phone number?

Optional. Nothing is sent unless you choose it.
The Historic Faith
Sign in

Jumpstarter 10 of 10

Ideas to help restart your discussion
Romans Commentary Chapters 9-16  /  Romans 16:1-16 Greetings to Various Individuals Part One  /  Discussion Questions
All Questions
Question 10
When Paul greets Priscilla and Aquila as those who “laid down their own necks” for him and whose thanks are owed by “all the churches of the Gentiles,” Bercot notes we don’t know the details but that early writers connect it with hospitality, monetary openness, and willingness to shed blood; what kind of discipleship culture produces people who make “their whole property open to everyone” and risk their lives, and what concrete steps would your group need to take to move from admiration to that sort of costly, practical solidarity?
Another way to ask: Priscilla and Aquila risked their lives for Paul, and early writers connect it with radical hospitality and generosity. What kind of church culture creates people who give that freely and take that kind of risk, and what practical steps would your group need to take to move from admiring them to living like them?

Direct Answer The transcript points to a discipleship culture shaped by hospitality, shared resources, evangelistic labor, and real willingness to suffer for others—not merely verbal support. Moving from admiration to action would mean practicing hospitality and generosity in concrete, costly ways, as Priscilla and Aquila did.

Support from Transcript:

  • Paul calls them “my helpers in Christ Jesus,” indicating hands-on partnership, not spectatorship.
  • He says they “laid down their own necks” for him; Bercot admits, “We do not know” the details.
  • Bercot says they helped Paul by “providing him with hospitality” and “engaging in evangelism themselves.”
  • Origen says they were “obliging and hospitable to all the faithful brethren,” Jews and Gentiles.
  • Chrysostom links their sacrifice to generosity: they made “their whole property open to everyone,” gave “monetary assistance,” and were willing to “poured forth their blood as well.”
Discussion Follow-ups What specific acts of hospitality could your group commit to (meals, hosting travelers, caring for needs)? What financial or time sacrifices would be required if you treated your “property” as open to serve the saints?

Jumpstarter 10 of 10
Back Questions Done