Paul sent Onesimus back to his owner, Philemon, with a letter asking Philemon to treat Onesimus as a brother in Christ and to forgive him for running away. Paul had no doubt been through Laodicea on his third missionary journey, as it lay on the main route to Ephesus, but he had never been to Colosse. Though a large city with a significant population, Colosse was smaller and less important than the nearby cities of Laodicea and Hierapolis.