I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me.
Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus. They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.
Greet also the church that meets at their house.
Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.
Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you.
Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.
Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord.
Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys. Greet Apelles, whose fidelity to Christ has stood the test.
Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus.
Greet Herodion, my fellow Jew.
Greet those in the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord.
Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord.
Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord.
Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too.
Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the other brothers and sisters with them.
Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas and all the Lord’s people who are with them.
Greet one another with a holy kiss.
All the churches of Christ send greetings.(Romans 16:1-16)
Over the last few weeks we have looked at the stories of the women who served in the early Church. I purposely saved Junia for the last post on women who were commended by Paul. The apostle Paul refers to Junia as an “apostle”. This is a high honor for a man or a woman. Why did Paul refer to Junias as an apostle?
In his epistle to the Romans Paul sends affectionate greetings to men and women. These believers all labored with him in the preaching and teaching of the Gospel. One couple is singled out for special mention – Andronicus and Junia, Paul’s “kinsmen and my fellow prisoners, who are outstanding among the apostles, who also were in Christ before I was.” (Romans 16:7) These are high praises for Andronicus and Junia. Why do they receive special commendation from the apostle Paul?
This passage is troublesome for those who believe that only men should be leaders in the Church. What should they do with Junia, whom Paul said was “outstanding among the apostles”?
There has been a tradition in ultra conservative circles that the person mentioned, Junia, could not be a woman because Paul calls her an apostle. Their reasoning goes as follows: “Women cannot be leaders in the church. Therefore the person referred to in Romans 16:7 is a man because women cannot be apostles or leaders.” But this is not letting the text speak for itself. This is bringing a prejudicial viewpoint to the Scriptures. This is letting one’s own bias make the Bible say what he wants it to say, not what the Bible actually says.
Andronicus and Junia are a couple and are described as Paul’s kinsmen and fellow prisoners. Another reason that some deny that Junias was a woman is that it is unlikely that he would be referring to a woman prisoner. But seriously, who should know better about female prisoners than the apostle Paul himself who imprisoned many female Christians? Paul admitted as much in his testimony before the Jews who had had him arrested when he went to Jerusalem. Paul said, “I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and putting both men and women into prison, as also the high priest and all the Council of the elders can testify” (Acts 22:4,5a).
Paul understood about men and women going to prison for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul understood that suffering for Christ was not just for men. Martyrdom is an equal opportunity employer. In the New Testament men and women served Christ and men and women paid the price for it.
The overly conservative Bible commentators not only violate hermeneutical principles when they insist that Junia is a man, but they also contradict the historical evidence. In ancient times the name, Junia is always referring to a woman. All early Christian sources regard Junia as female, even Jerome (340-420 A.D.) and John Chrysostom (345-407 A.D.). The evidence overwhelmingly points to the fact that Junia was a woman.
Really, the issue is – what does it mean to be an apostle?
Let’s get specific – Could Junia or any other woman be called an “apostle”?
The vast majority of Biblical scholars today concede that Junia was a woman. They point out that there were other 
husband and wife teams, like Priscilla and Aquila. Since Paul says that they were kinsmen, they may have been sister and brother. But either way they were a man and a woman.
Honestly, the difficultly is in the meaning of “apostle”.
In the New Testament the word “apostle” is used in several ways.
First, there are the original twelve apostles. These are the ones that Jesus chose to follow Him. Judas died. Then Matthias was chosen “and he was added to the eleven apostles” (Acts 1:26).
Secondly, Paul uses the term “apostle” about himself as a specially called person by Jesus to go as an emissary to preach the Gospel. God gave Paul the authority as an evangelist and as a preacher and teacher. He was in a unique position as a writer of many books in the New Testament.
Thirdly, the term “apostle” was used in a general way to mean a “missionary”. When Paul lists the gifts of the Holy Spirit in I Corinthians 12 and Ephesian 4, apostles are listed among them. Since the point Paul makes is that the Spirit gives many gifts as He wishes to all believers, apostleship is given as a gift to many believers. This includes men and women. Apostleship as a gift ranks highly in God’s church. Perhaps this is because those who have this gift are doing the very important work of taking the Gospel to the lost. They are missionaries.
Just as in the case of Phoebe, who was a deacon, it is not the most important thing to know how much authority or leadership was implied in the vocation of “deacon” or “apostle”. The most important thing is that Junia was faithful to her calling. Paul makes it very clear that Junia was “outstanding among the apostles”. Whatever this means, Junia spread the Gospel, Jesus became known as Savior to many, and God was greatly glorified through her ministry.
We will meet many in Heaven who will point to Junia as their witness for Christ. We should be encouraged by her example and strive to win others for Christ with the zeal of Junias.
