3rd JOHN
The Epistles of John
3rd John is personal, to the individual, about problems from inside his church.
2nd John was to “the elect lady” about false teachers from the outside who would appeal to love so that they might deny the truth.
1st John to the church at large about living out the love of God in a hostile world.
3 John: Introduction
The early Church in the 1st century was under attack from both the inside and the outside.
It should not surprise us that the Holy Spirit has anticipated every conceivable form of attack and diversion.
These three epistles are full of insights that are timely for each of us — at the personal level as well as at the corporate.
3 John: Background
Brother of James “the Greater” (Mt 4:21, 10:2; Mk 1:19, 3:17, 10:35).
The younger of the sons of Zebedee and Salome and was born at Bethsaida (Mt 4:21; 27:56; 15:40).
His father was apparently a man of some wealth (Mk 1:20; Lk 5:3; Jn 19:27).
He was doubtless trained in all that constituted the normal education of Jewish youth.
When he grew up he followed the occupation of a fisherman with his family on the Sea of Galilee.
When John the Baptist began his ministry in the wilderness of Judea, John, with many others, gathered around him and was deeply influenced by his teaching.
He heard the announcement, “Behold the Lamb of God,”
On the invitation of Jesus, John became a disciple and ranked among his followers for a time (Jn 1:36,37).
He and his brother then returned to their former avocation (it is uncertain for how long).
Jesus again called them and now they left all and permanently joined the company of his disciples (Mt 4:21; Lk 5:1-11).
For their zeal and intensity of character, Jesus named him and his brother “Boanerges” (“Sons of Thunder”; Mk 3:17).
This spirit of chutspahbroke out on a number of occasions (Mt 20:20-24; Mk 10:35-41; Lk 9:49, 54).
3 John: Insider Status
He became one of the innermost circle, and was with Jesus during private times as at:
- Raising Jairus’s daughter Mark 5:37
- Jesus’ 6 Jesus agony Matthew 26:37
He and Jesus formed a special relationship and he referred to himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (Jn 19:26; 20:2; 21:7; 21:20).
3 John: Jesus Final Week
•At the betrayal, he and Peter followed Christ afar off, while the others betook themselves to hasty flight (Jn 18:15).
•At the trial he followed Christ into the council chamber, and thence to the praetorium, and to the place of crucifixion (Jn 18:16,19,28; 19:26,27).
•Mary was consigned to John’s care at the Cross (rather than to her other sons!).
•To him and Peter, Mary Magdalene first conveyed tidings of the resurrection and they were the first to go and see what her strange words meant (Jn 20:2).
•After the resurrection he and Peter again returned to the Sea of Galilee, where the Lord revealed himself to them (Jn 21:1,7).
•Peter and John are frequently together after this (Ac 3:1; 4:13).
3 John: The Later Years
He suffered under persecution, and was banished to Patmos (Rev 1:9),
On his release, he again returned to Ephesus, where he stayed until he died.
This was probably about 98 AD, having outlived all (or nearly all) the friends and companions, even of his more mature years.
There are many interesting traditions regarding John’s residence at Ephesus, but these cannot claim the character of historical truth (their unsuccessful attempts at his being boiled in oil, etc.).
John remained, apparently, in Jerusalem among the leadership (Acts15:6; Gal 2:9).
He apparently was not there, however, at the time of Paul’s last visit (Acts 21:15-40).
His subsequent history is unrecorded.
He appears to have retired to Ephesus, but at what time is unknown.
His three epistles, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John were probably written from Ephesus.
There is some extra-Biblical evidence that he may have written his Gospel after the Patmos experience near the time he wrote the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
3 John: Consistency of Designations
•“Friend of God”: Abraham (Js 2:23; 2Ch 20:7; Is 41:8).
•“Shall I hide from him the what I am to do?” (Gen 18:17).
•Disciples: “Now my friends” (Jn 15:14, 15).
•Upper Room disclosures (Jn 13-17).
•“Beloved”: Daniel, John
• Apocalyptic Visions: The Apocalypse.
3 John: The Writings of John
•The Gospel of John: Distinctives.
•The Book of Revelation: Heptadic Structure.
•The Epistles of John:
- 3rd John (to Gaius);
- 2nd John (to “the Elect Lady”);
- 1st John (to the church at large),
The Design of the Gospels
•Matthew — The Promised One is here; see His Credentials.
•Mark — This is how He worked; see His Power.
•Luke — This is what He was like; see His Nature.
•John — This is who He really was; see His Godship.
Matthew Mark Luke John
Presents as: Messiah Servant Son of ManSon of God
Genealogy: Abraham Adam Eternal
(Legal) (Blood line)(Preexistence)
What Jesus Said Did Felt Was
To the: Jew Roman Greek Church
1st Miracle: Leper DemonDemonWater to
Cleansed expelled expelled Wine
(Jew = sin)
Ends with Resurrection Ascension Promise of Promise of Spirit: Acts Return:Revelation
Camp Side: East West South North
Ensign: Judah Ephraim Reuben Dan
Face: Lion Ox Man Eagle
Style: Groupings Snapshots Narrative Mystical
3 John:
3rd John is the shortest (in the original Greek)
It was written for the purpose of commending to Gaius some Christians who were strangers in the place where Gaius lived, and who had gone there for the purpose of preaching the Gospel (v. 7).
The 2nd and 3rd Epistles were probably written very near in time to the 1st from Ephesus. The exact order is not certain.
If John did write these letters after the Patmos vision that makes up the Book of Revelation, then these are his “swan song.”
If these letters were written from Ephesus then they were not directed to Ephesus – at least initially…
One of the key words is “witness”: “Testified” (3 Jn 3).
“Report, bear record, record” (3 Jn 6, 12)
...not just words, but by the life we lead.
Every Christian is a witness, either a good one or a bad one.
We are either helping the truth or hindering it (v. 8).
3 John:
• Gaius, the Encourager
– Service in Truth and Love vv. 2-8
• Diotrephes, the Dictator
– Five indictments vv. 9-11
• Demetrius, the Exemplar
– Commendation v. 12
3rd JOHN [ESV]
Greeting
1 The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.
2 Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.
3 For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth.
4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
Support and Opposition
5 Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, 6 who testified to your love before the church.
You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God.
7 For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles.
8 Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.
9 I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority.
10 So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us.
And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church.
11 Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.
12 Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself.
We also add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true.
Final Greetings
13 I had much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink.
14 I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.
15 Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends, every one of them.
THE TEACHER'S JOY (3Jn 1:1-4)
1:1-4 The Elder to Gaius, the beloved, whom I love in truth.
Beloved, I pray that everything is going well with you,and that you are in good health of body, as it goes well with your soul. It gave me great joy when certain brothers came and testified of the truth of your life, as indeed you do walk in the truth. No news brings me greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
No New Testament letter better shows that the Christian letters were exactly on the model which all letter-writers used in the time of the early church.
- There is first the greeting,
- Next the prayer for good health,
- After that the main body of the letter with its news,
- Then the final greetings.
The early Christian letters were not something remote and ecclesiastical; they were the kind of letters which people wrote to each other every day.
3 John 1:1
1] The elder unto the well beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth.
“...elder”: presbuteros:
1) elder, of age; the elder of two people; an elder, a senior;
2) a term of rank or office.
The NT uses the terms bishop, elders, and presbyters interchangeably.
[Cf. the twenty-four “elders” seated on thrones around the throne of God (Rev 4:4ff).
“...Gaius”: The 3rd epistle of John is addressed to Caius or Gaius,
John writes to a friend called Gaius.
There are three men in the NT with that name. Gaius was the commonest of all names; and there is no reason to identify our Gaius with any of these three.
Gaius, the Macedonian who, along with Aristarchus, was with Paul at the riot in Ephesus (Ac 19:29).
Gaius of Derbe, who was the delegate of his church to convey the collection for the poor to Jerusalem (Ac 20:4).
Gaius of Corinth who had been Paul's host,
who was such a hospitable soul that he could be called the host of the whole church (Rom 16:23),
who was one of the very few people whom Paul had personally baptized (1Cor 1:14),
who, according to tradition, became the first Bishop of Thessalonica.
According to tradition he was made the Bishop of Pergamum by John himself.
Gaius was a man with an open house and an open heart.
3 John 1:2
2] Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.
John uses the word beloved twice in the first two verses
well-beloved and beloved as in the KJV, translate the same Greek word, agapetos, <G27>.)
John uses agapetos (<G27>) in his 3 epistles no fewer than ten times.
These letters are letters of warning and rebuke; and yet their accent is the accent of love.
Even if he has to rebuke, John never speaks with irritation.
The whole atmosphere of his writing is that of love.
“Beloved”: John loved this man; “beloved” occurs four times (3 Jn. 1, 2, 5, 11).
John is interested both in the physical and the spiritual health of Gaius.
John like Jesus never forgot that men have bodies as well as souls and that they matter, too.
Gaius was sound in doctrine.
Note the inversion: “may your physical health be as sound as your spiritual (devotional) health.”
To have excellent physical health, one must have
Nutrition, Exercise, Cleanliness, Proper Rest, and the Discipline of a Balanced Life.
Spiritual Health
•Nourishment: Word of God (Mt 4:4).
What digestion is to the body, meditation is to the soul.
•Exercise: a Godly work-out (1 Tim 4:6, 7).
Gaius read it, meditated on it, delighted in it, and then practiced it daily.
•Cleanliness (2 Cor 7:1).
Avoiding the contamination and pollution of the world (2 Pet 1:4; James 1:27).
•Rest in the Lord,
Fellowship with Him (Mt 11:18-30; Rev 2:4).
•Discipline of a Balanced Life (Phil 4:5).
Meditate H1897 הגה hâgâh haw-gaw'
Total KJV Occurrences: 24
meditate, 6 Jos_1:8, Ps_1:2, Ps_63:6, Ps_77:12, Ps_143:5, Is_33:18
mourn, 4 Isa_16:7, Isa_38:14, Isa_59:11, Jer_48:31
speak, 3 Psa_35:28, Pro_8:7 (2)
imagine, 2 Psa_2:1, Psa_38:12
studieth, 2 Pro_15:28, Pro_24:2
mutter, 1 Isa_8:19
muttered, 1 Isa_59:3
roaring, 1 Isa_31:3-4 (2)
speaketh, 1 Psa_37:30
talk, 1 Psa_71:24
utter, 1 Job_27:4
uttering, 1 Isa_59:13
A primitive root (compare H1901); to murmur (in pleasure or anger); by implication to ponder: - imagine, meditate, mourn, mutter, roar, X sore, speak, study, talk, utter.
Meditate G3191 μελετάω meletaō
1) to care for, attend to carefully, practise
2) to meditate, i.e. to devise, contrive
2a) used of the Greeks of the meditative pondering and the practice of orators and rhetoricians
Part of Speech: verb
A Related Word by Thayer’s/Strong’s Number: from a presumed derivative of G3199
Total KJV Occurrences: 3
imagine, 1Act_4:25
meditate, 11Ti_4:15
premeditate, 1Mar_13:11
3 John 1:3
3] For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth.
We each have a reputation that precedes us!
We create it by the way we walk: act, talk, and think.
“As thou walkest in the truth”;
Ps 1:1-3 1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. 3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers..
A “doer,” not just a hearer.
Jas 1:22-27 22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; 24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. 25 But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does. 26 If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless. 27 Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
True living comes from the Living Truth and living the Truth
3 John 1:4
4] I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
John tells us of the teacher's greatest joy - to see his pupils walking in the truth.
The truth is not simply something to be intellectually assimilated;
It is the knowledge which fills a man's mind and the charity which clothes his life.
The truth is what makes a man think and act like God.
John had a pastor’s heart… John cared for all of them.
He “followed-up” from the heart!
He was concerned for and kept track of his spiritual children.
JOHN'S MAIN OBJECT IN WRITING,CHRISTIAN HOSPITALITY (3Jn 1:5-8)
1:5-8 Beloved, whatever service you render to the brothers, strangers as they are, is an act of true faith and they testify to your love before the church. It will be a further kindness, if you send them on their way worthily of God. For they have gone out for the sake of the Name and they take no assistance from pagans. It is a duty to support such men, that we may show ourselves fellow-workers with the truth.
A group of travelling missionaries was on its way to the church of which Gaius is a member
John urges him to receive them, to give them every support and to send them on their way in a truly Christian manner.
In the ancient world hospitality was a sacred duty.
Strangers were under the protection of Zeus the god of strangers (Xenos, <G3581>, is the Greek for a stranger).
The Greek had an instinctive dislike of taking money for the giving of hospitality; therefore, the profession of innkeeper ranked very low.
In the ancient world inns were notoriously dirty and flea-infested.
Innkeepers were notoriously rapacious
Plato compared them to pirates who hold their guests to ransom before they allow them to escape.
The ancient world had a system of guest-friendships whereby families in different parts of the country undertook to give each other's members hospitality when the occasion arose.
This connection between families lasted throughout the generations and when it was claimed, the claimant brought with him a sumbolon, or token, which identified him to his hosts.
Some cities kept an official called the Proxenos in the larger cities to whom their citizens, when travelling, might appeal for shelter and for help.
If the heathen world accepted the obligation of hospitality, it was expected that the Christians would take it even more seriously.
"Practice hospitality ungrudgingly to one another" (1Pet 4:9).
"Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers for thereby some have entertained angels unawares" (Heb 13:2).
A Christian widow is to be honored if she has "shown hospitality" (1Tim 5:9).
Paul bids the Romans to "practice hospitality" (Rom 12:13).
Hospitality was to be specially a characteristic of the leaders of the church.
A bishop must be a man given to hospitality (1Tim 3:2).
Titus is told to be "hospitable" (Tit 1:8).
When we come down to the time of Justin Martyr, (A.D. 170) we find that on the Lord's Day the well-to-do contributed as they would and it was the duty of the president of the congregation
"to succour the orphans and the widows, and those who through sickness or any other cause are in want, and those who are in bonds, and the strangers sojourning amongst us" (Justin Martyr: First Apology 1: 67).
In the early church the Christian home was the place of the open door and the loving welcome.
There can be few nobler works than to give a fellow Christian, even though a stranger, the right of entry to a Christian home.
3 John 1:5-6
5] Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers;G3581
6] Which have borne witness of thy charity before the church: whom if thou bring forward on their journey after a godly sort, thou shalt do well: