Lucius

Biblical Record

Lucius appears once, in the closing greetings of Romans. As Paul concludes his letter to the church in Rome, he passes along greetings from those who are with him. Romans 16:21 records: "Timotheus my workfellow, and Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen, salute you." ("Timotheus" is the KJV form of Timothy.) In the following verse, Tertius, who wrote down the letter, adds his own greeting (Romans 16:22).

This is all that Scripture says about Lucius. His origin, occupation, time of conversion, and later activities are not recorded.

Significance in Scripture

Lucius was with Paul when Romans was written and was connected with the believers in Rome. His presence shows that Paul's ministry was not a solitary undertaking but one carried out together with many coworkers. Scholars generally hold that Paul wrote Romans from Corinth, so Lucius is understood to have been associated with the church in Corinth at that time.

Interpretation and Debate

• The meaning of "kinsman": The Greek word translated "kinsman" (syngenēs) can refer either to a blood relative or to a member of the same Jewish nation, that is, a fellow countryman. In Romans 9:3 Paul uses the same word for his fellow Israelites. For this reason, many interpreters understand it to mean that Lucius was a Jewish Christian rather than a member of Paul's family.
• Identification with other figures: Acts 13:1 lists "Lucius of Cyrene" among the prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch. The Greek name is the same, but whether the two are the same person has not been established. Since ancient times, some have also identified Lucius with Luke, the Gospel writer. However, the two names have different Greek forms, and many scholars consider the evidence for this view insufficient.
• Later tradition: Eastern Orthodox tradition reportedly commemorates Lucius as one of the Seventy sent out by Jesus or as the bishop of a particular region. This is later tradition, not something stated in the biblical text.

In the Korean Church

In Korean churches, sermons or study materials devoted to Lucius alone are rare. He is usually mentioned alongside others in sermons on the greetings of Romans 16, as an example of the unsung coworkers who served with Paul. Both the Korean Revised Version and the New Korean Revised Version spell his name differently in the two passages, rendering it "Nugio" in Romans 16:21 and "Rugio" in Acts 13:1.