Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life… Greet also the church in their house.
—Romans 16:3-5
On Paul’s roster for Team Jesus, right after Phoebe, comes a couple, Priscilla and Aquila. They’re mentioned six times in the New Testament, and every mention shows the same thing: a marriage poured out fully for the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul calls them “my fellow workers,” and they were among his closest friends and ministry partners.
So, who were they? By trade they were tentmakers, just like Paul, which may have been part of their natural bond when they first met in Corinth. From there they served together in Ephesus, and eventually their journey with Jesus brought them to Rome. Wherever they went, they planted and hosted churches, opening their home to Jews and Gentiles, rich and poor, men and women alike.
Here’s a remarkable footnote to their story. They mentored one of the great preachers of the early church, a man named Apollos, known for his golden tongue. But when they first heard him, they noticed a few gaps in his theology. So, they took him into their home and lovingly filled in what was missing, helping him preach the Word of God more accurately. That’s the kind of quiet, world-shaping ministry that happens through ordinary believers committed to Christ.
Priscilla and Aquila weren’t spectators in the church; they were fully committed players. And this is a good place to ask a question about our own homes. The first-century church usually didn’t meet in big buildings; it spread from house to house. So, would your home be a good place for the church to meet? It should be, a place where Jesus is Lord and people are loved.
But the most striking thing Paul says about this couple is this: they “risked their necks” for his life. We don’t know exactly how it happened, but at some point Priscilla and Aquila put their own lives on the line to save Paul’s. Think about that, had they not done it, we might never have heard of the Apostle Paul at all. God used this faithful couple not only in Paul’s life, but in ours, and in the whole course of church history.
So, here’s the question their courage puts to us: for whom, or for what, are you willing to lay down your life? It’s easy to say we’d die for our spouse, our children, our grandchildren. But what about your neighbor you barely speak to? The politician who drives you crazy? The stranger who cut you off in traffic? That was the heart of these first-century Christians, willing to risk their lives even for people they didn’t know, for the sake of the gospel.
Near the end of his life, writing from a Roman prison, among Paul’s final words were “greet Priscilla and Aquila.” It was as if he were saying, “I’m going, but I’ll see you on the other side.” Because together they had shared Christ and the witness of the gospel.
WE ARE BETTER TOGETHER ON TEAM JESUS. MAKE YOUR HOME A PLACE WHERE CHRIST IS LORD, AND POUR YOUR LIFE INTO OTHERS.
