Aristarchus my fellow prisoner saluteth you
This man was a man of Macedonia, and a Thessalonian; ( Acts 19:29 ) ( 20:4 ) which hinders not
but that he might be of the circumcision, or a Jew, as is
suggested in the following verse; for he might be born at
Thessalonica, and yet be of Jewish parents; nor is his Greek name
any objection to it, for the Jews themselves say, that the
greatest part of the Israelites that were out of the land, their
names are as the names of strangers F12: he was a constant
companion of the apostle, and one of his fellow labourers, as in
( Philemon
1:24 ) and now a prisoner with him at Rome; and who having
some knowledge of the members of the church at Colosse, takes
this opportunity of sending his Christian salutation to them:
and Marcus, sister's son to Barnabas;
the same with John Mark, whose mother's name was Mary, said here
to be sister to Barnabas, ( Acts 12:12 Acts 12:24 ) concerning
whom there was a difference between Paul and Barnabas, ( Acts 15:37 Acts 15:38 ) , and is
the same Mark that wrote the Gospel, and was converted by the
Apostle Peter, ( 1 Peter 5:13
) and who is said to have received his Gospel from him; he is
also mentioned ( 2 Timothy
4:11 ) ( Philemon 24 ) . The
Arabic version calls him here, the "brother's son of Barnabas":
and the Syriac version, (hdd
rb) , "his uncle's son": however, Barnabas being so great
a man as he was, and so well known, it added some credit to Mark,
that he was a relation of his:
touching whom ye received commandments;
not concerning Barnabas, but Mark, concerning whom they had had
letters of commendation, either from Barnabas or from Paul, to
this purpose:
if he come unto you, receive him;
for this was either the substance of those letters, or what the
apostle now adds of his own, for the further confirmation of
them; and that they might more readily and honourably receive
him, when he should come unto them.