Unheralded Faith: Aristarchus, a Servant of the Living Lord

By Walter N. Maris

The eleventh chapter of Hebrews has long been considered the Bible's book of faith. Descriptions are given of Bible heroes known and unknown persevering in a daily walk of faith to live and witness the Gospel message. Aristarchus is representative of the little-known disciple, but the Bible gives us just enough about his service as a disciple wi

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stratton Press
• Release date: Jun 8, 2022
• ISBN: 9781648959783

Walter N. Maris

The author is a Bible teacher of multiple-age Sunday school classes and small groups for 60 years. He has been a trainer of disciples for one-on-one discipleship. Walter is a freelance writer of articles for Christian periodicals and meditations for devotional books. He is a hobby gardener and lives in rural Savannah, Missouri with his wife.

Book preview

Foreword

Unheralded Faith

Aristarchus, a Servant of the Living Lord

A mention of Aristarchus to those who are interested in learning more of God’s Word will almost always draw immediate questions: Arist-who? Is that a name? Is it a new religion? What is his role in the Bible? Yes, Aristarchus (Ar-is-tar’-chus) is mentioned in the Bible in five places, indicating that he was a significant servant of Christ as revealed in the recorded ministry life of Paul the Apostle.

It never ceases to amaze me in the study of God’s Word of the new truths for me or truths I simply did not connect with previously. In forty years of teaching Sunday school, I had never noted the name of Aristarchus enough to even remember the name from one reading to the next. However, during one day of study, I ran across the name a couple of times and considered it so strange that I did not recognize his name or his place in scripture. Accepting the fact that I am working with a rather limited mind, one might understand and excuse my oversight. Thankfully, human limits do not prevent research or correction, and a little study revealed that Aristarchus is mentioned in three different places in the book of Acts and in two of the epistles as Paul’s companion and fellow worker. He is first described as Paul’s traveling companion who is grabbed by rioters in Ephesus (Acts 19:29) desiring vengeance against Christians for a perceived wrong or lifestyle that was in cross purposes with the idol-producing Ephesians.

It has always been so compelling to me to find a new pearl in God’s Word. Of course, it was there all the time, but I had failed in the past to absorb the significance of the message. As a teacher of God’s Word these many years, I still get excited about sharing my discoveries with my class. Thankfully, the class will usually respond with measured enthusiasm, leading to good discussion and further searching of the Word. I am truly grateful to my classes as they have never admonished me with Didn’t you know that? Still there is the fact, the working of our human natures that will allow a lack of interest in some areas, and I have received looks that could be interpreted as Will you just get on with it? Although I am disappointed with any negative response, I am sufficiently equipped with a thick skin to make the best of it and complete the presentation of the lesson as significant as a part of the Bible message.

As I continued my study of Aristarchus, my attention began to center on the hardships and faithfulness of God’s people as they sought to take the gospel to the world. We know of some of the hardships encountered by Paul and his fellow workers as recorded and preserved for us in his Word: We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger, in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything (2 Corinthians 6:3–10).

The event of the uprising of the jealous Jews in Thessalonica (Acts 17:5–7) against Paul and Silas, which of course was ultimately against the message of the Gospel, was certainly a preview of what Aristarchus would face as a soldier of the cross. We do not know if he was an actual witness to the mob scene in the marketplace, but it follows that he surely became aware of it at sometime when he joined up to work with Paul. From Thessalonica, Paul traveled to Berea where he was well received. However, the people who had made trouble for Paul in Thessalonica heard of his ministry in Berea, and they journeyed there to make more trouble by stirring up nonbelievers. Paul had to move on and continued his missionary journey to Athens, and then to Corinth, before going to Ephesus where Aristarchus is first mentioned by name. It is altogether possible that Aristarchus joined Paul’s itinerant evangelists on Paul’s first trip into Macedonia without being mentioned by Paul, as he was possibly accepted on a probationary basis. Paul often traveled with brothers, workers, and fellow missionary companions (Acts 17:14–15, 18:18) and assigned some of them to various mission sites along the way (Acts 19:22). The important thing is that Aristarchus was willing to continue despite the hardships and the danger, starting personally for him with the mob action in Ephesus. The Bible supplies the message that Aristarchus was from Thessalonica, and he is mentioned just often enough to reason that he was with Paul for his travels in Macedonia to his imprisonment in Rome.

If your interest is aroused, consider the following questions:

What is there to be learned from an obscure, though faithful, follower of Christ that we cannot learn from the life of a known hero of the Bible?

Will I find new inspiration?

Will reading the story of Aristarchus help me to understand that my service to the Lord is essential?

Will it help me to have peace about my role in service to the Lord that will never provide earthly recognition?

Will the reading and study of the scripture of Paul and his brothers help me to mature to the level where personal recognition isn’t needed or sought after?

Will learning about the faithful support role of Aristarchus help me to realize the need to stay the course in whatever service I have committed to?

We know that all scripture is given of God (2 Timothy 3:16), and therefore, everything that is included in the Bible is important and for our edification. We also have God’s instruction: Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says (James