I broke bread with them after an introductory conversation
that took approximately thirty seconds, just long enough to discover what
I thought of Jesus Christ. I think very well of him indeed. That was sufficient cause for a hearty introduction, several good conversations and multiple invitations home for a bite of lunch.
Good for them, I say.
A Decent Reception
Not that a reasonable reception from Christians is all that hard
to come by; walk into any evangelical megachurch on a Sunday morning and you’ll
shortly be braced by smiling members of the greeting committee looking to make you
feel at home. In smaller churches, the fellow assigned to lead the singing may
ask visitors to put their hands up so they can be identified and welcomed. Back
in the day, they would even do it with a song.
All that procedural stuff is very nice, but it’s not the
same as really being received into the fellowship of the saints, which is kind
of what the shortest letter in the New Testament is all about.
One Sentence Summary: The apostle John writes a fellow believer about the importance of Christian
hospitality.
That would be 3 John, for anyone who doesn’t know. It’s 200 words in the original Greek. I have already surpassed that in this post without
saying anywhere near as much.
Background
The apostle John’s third letter is thought to be one of the
last few books of the New Testament, written somewhere between A.D. 65 and
90. It is addressed to a believer named Gaius, a member of an unidentified
congregation of what appear to be mostly-Gentile Christians. That could be the
same Gaius who hosted Paul while he was writing his letter to the Romans, most probably in Corinth, or it could
be the Macedonian Gaius who accompanied Paul to Ephesus, or someone else entirely. Gaius was a
very common first century name.
Content
John’s purpose is writing is not singular, but Christian
hospitality is the letter’s most obvious theme. Gaius is commended for his efforts on behalf of traveling brothers in Christ, and strikingly contrasted with a
church leader named Diotrephes, who not only refused to receive these men, but actually
put out of the church anyone who did, perhaps Gaius included. In case his commendation of Gaius and
his critique of Diotrephes are insufficient, the apostle makes it crystal
clear: all Christians ought to behave like Gaius and not like Diotrephes.
Here it is not simply a matter of allowing visitors to sit
in on a few church meetings. The brothers who commended Gaius to John testified
of his love, which seems to have been expressed to them tangibly. Perhaps he
fed or clothed them. Likely he brought them into his home. More importantly,
perhaps, Gaius was willing to identify himself with these men on the basis of
their common faith in Christ in a church environment where such practice was
being actively discouraged.
Value to Modern Readers
The reason for Diotrephes’ hostility to visitors is spelled
out: he liked to put himself first. It was his way or the highway. That is generally the problem with most inhospitable Christians, whether the
source of their reluctance to fellowship with travelers is a massive ego or something much more pedestrian, such as family responsibilities, a
full schedule, an obsession with football or some perceived deficiency in the quality of church visitors. Hospitality
is taught repeatedly throughout the New Testament, and there are very few valid
reasons given us to withhold it. It should be the default, not the exception.
At the most basic level, 3 John reinforces for modern
Christians the importance of putting very few restrictions on our generosity
and willingness to welcome others who know Christ. It also reminds us that apostolic
authority was resisted and countermanded from time to time even while the apostles were still alive.
If those who serve Christ today ever find themselves
unwelcome and unappreciated among God’s people, they may rest assured they are
in excellent company.
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