We all love a good whodunnit, especially when the detective gathers the cast of suspects in a room to slowly and methodically lay out the means, motive, and opportunity of the guilty party. What we love most about these types of movies or books is the sense of resolution. At the end of the story, we know exactly what happened, why it happened, and what the consequences were. In a sense, the mystery has been solved because everything that was hidden has been fully exposed and revealed.

The Greek language, which Paul used in his letters, had another very different view from our own of what a mystery was. In English, a mystery typically refers to something strange or unknown that has not yet been explained or understood. We think of something dark, obscure, secret, or puzzling. In our minds, a mystery is something no one could know, because when the mystery is solved, it is no longer a mystery. So in that sense, a mystery only exists until it is explained or revealed, then at that point, the mystery ceases to exist. The Greek word for mystery is mysterion, and yes, that's where our English word originated. It has a very different meaning and understanding from the English. Mysterion signifies something unknown in the past but now is revealed to certain people. However, even after being revealed, and no longer closely guarded, the mystery remains a mystery simply because it can only be accepted, but never fully understood or comprehended. Think about that in relation to the gospel. Your salvation can only be accepted, but it cannot be fully comprehended or understood. Even when it is shouted from the rooftops and explained in a hundred different ways, we simply cannot grasp the immense love, grace, and mercy of God in his dispensing of the gospel to us. Therefore, it remains a mystery, throughout all of church history and even to this day.

So what is this particular mystery that Paul is referring to in today's passage? Simply put, the mystery is the Gospel, but the greatest revealing of that mystery is that the gospel is not just for the Jew, but for the gentile as well, and for all people. Now the truth that had been hidden for thousands of years has now been revealed to any who has ears to hear and eyes to see. The mystery is that we can all be co-heirs with Christ and we are all members together of one body in Christ. We can all be adopted as children of God and sharers of the promises of God. We as Christians will never quite understand the fullness of what that means until we are together in heaven, but that doesn't mean it's not incredibly good news in the here and now! It was this mystery that drove Paul in his life and ministry. Every letter he wrote was an attempt to reveal or explain just a little more of this unfolding mystery. He was arrested because of this mystery. He had appealed to Caesar because of this mystery. And one day he would die because of this mystery. Paul refers to himself as a minister of the gospel. The word used for minister, 'diakonos' is a title of service, not exaltation. In classical literature of ancient Greece, the minister is like a table waiter who is always at the bidding of his customers. And that is a perfect description of Paul's daily life and the posture of his attitude. During the day, Paul was free to move around the house under the supervision of soldiers, but every night he was chained to a soldier to make sure he did not escape before his trial before Nero. Yet Paul did not see himself as a prisoner of Rome or Caesar. He saw himself as the prisoner of Jesus Christ and as a servant to whatever the Lord would have him do. He knew that Jesus was the Lord of his life, not the Roman government; so if he was a prisoner, he was Jesus’ prisoner. What an amazing mindset, and one that we all should carry. Each of us here to carry out the will of God, however mysterious that may be, and to step into the calling of sharing the gospel is to reveal the mystery one bit at a time, to every person brought into our lives.