Lesson #22 1, 2 & 3 John Part 2

Transcription

1 Lesson #22 1, 2 & 3 John Part 2 1

2 A"er the arrival of the Holy Spirit the gospel message spread throughout the Roman Empire through the missionary work of the Apostles and others. By the end of the 1 st century hundreds of church communibes had taken root throughout the Roman Empire in the very ferble soil of the gospel message. But the Roman Empire was an extraordinarily diverse populabon, incorporabng a mulbtude of cultures, languages, customs and religious beliefs. Consequently, although the core gospel message was the same, each community experienced and understood that message differently. DissenBon and conflict inevitably emerged, as autonomous communibes contrasted their understanding of the person and work of Christ with other autonomous communibes. Indeed, conflict erupted even within communibes, fracturing them into opposing facbons, each insisbng on the truth of their understanding. In Lesson #21 we explored 2 John, a leper from the Presbyter to the chosen Lady, in which John warns about teachers who are deceivers. 2

3 In Lesson #22 we examine 3 John, another leper from the Presbyter, this Bme to a man named Gaius, encouraging him to show hospitality to authenbc teachers and missionaries, while warning him about deceivers, in parbcular a man named Diotrephes, a staunch cribc of the Presbyter s teaching and leadership. Like 2 John, 3 John is a brief leper which gets straight to the point and closes by saying that the author hopes to visit soon and conbnue the conversabon. 3

4 In our previous study of 2 John we examined the conflict taking place within the Johannine community, the conflict that causes John to write his correspondence to begin with. We learned that opinions differed on a number of key theological issues, especially those concerning the person of Christ, of who he is and what he did. 4

5 Some, like the Apostle John the beloved disciple who carried the authority of an eyewitness to Jesus public ministry and who, as the last living Apostle, had considerable influence over the church communibes within his sphere, insisted that Jesus was, is and always will be, God. In John s gospel he wrote: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... and the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. (John 1: 1, 14) 5

6 To others this was absurd. GnosBcism and its more extreme form, DoceBsm, viewed reality through a bifurcated lens, arguing that the material world of maper, flesh and Bme is flawed, imperfect and evil, while associabng the spiritual world with God, the soul and perfecbon. In such a world view, God could not become flesh and live among us. Rather, those influenced by GnosBcism believed that Jesus was like any other man, but at his bapbsm Christ came upon him in the form of the Spirit and departed from him at the crucifixion. 6

7 Andrea del Verrocchio and Leonardo da Vinci. The BapGsm of Christ (oil on panel), c Uffizi Gallery, Florence. 7

8 DoceBsm went even farther. For them, the chasm between the material world and the spiritual world was so great that God could not possibly soil himself by becoming a man. Consequently, Christ s body could not have been human at all; rather, it was either pure celesbal substance or an illusion, a phantasm. For those who followed this line of thinking, Jesus only appeared to be human; only appeared to be nailed to the cross; only appeared to suffer. 8

9 In which case there was no lasbng union of the divine with the human in Jesus; no real, lasbng incarnabon Not me. as John s gospel clearly states! And it s why on the cross Jesus said, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 9

10 This is the teaching John warns about, calling those who proclaim these GnosBc and DoceBc views deceivers and anbchrists who spread not truth, but lies. For the Johannine community whose self idenbty is rooted in unity and love, such fundamental, divergent views were difficult to understand and impossible to assimilate. APempBng to do so would fracture the community, lead to spiritual schizophrenia and result in anger, hosblity and mutual excommunicabon. Hence, John is emphabc that such teaching not be tolerated in his communibes and that those who profess it not be welcomed. 10

11 In 3 John we witness the same concerns, and we find out who some of the key players are. 11

12 So once again, let s have a look at our text! 12

13 3 John The Presbyter to the beloved Gaius whom I love in truth. Beloved, I hope you are prospering in every respect and are in good health, just as your soul is prospering. I rejoiced greatly when some of the brothers came and testified to how truly you walk in the truth. Nothing gives me greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. Beloved, you are faithful in all you do for the brothers, especially for strangers; they have testified to your love before the church. Please help them in a way worthy of God to continue their journey. For they have set out for the sake of the Name and are accepting nothing from the pagans. Therefore, we ought to support such persons, so that we may be co-workers in the truth... 13

14 I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to dominate, does not acknowledge us. Therefore, if I come, I will draw attention to what he is doing, spreading evil nonsense about us. And not content with that, he will not receive the brothers, hindering those who wish to do so and expelling them from the church. Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does what is good is of God; whoever does what is evil has never seen God. Demetrius receives a good report from all, even from the truth itself. We give our testimonial as well, and you know our testimony is true. I have much to write to you, but I do not wish to write with pen and ink. Instead, I hope to see you soon, when we can talk face to face. Peace be with you. The friends greet you; greet the friends there each by name. 14

15 As with 2 John, we don t know to what church 3 John is addressed. It could be one of the 7 churches to whom lepers are wripen in RevelaBon. They are certainly within John s sphere of influence, and they are important churches in Asia Minor toward the end of the 1 st century. But that is only speculabon. 15

16 SEVEN CHURCHES OF REVELATION EPHESUS! PATMOS 16

17 As with his 2 nd leper, John composes his 3 rd leper in a 4-part, standard epistolary form: 1. Address and greebng (1-4) 2. Topic #1: Encouragement to support the brothers (5-10) 3. Topic #2: Encouragement to conbnue doing good (11-12) 4. Final words and greebngs (13-15) 17

18 1. Address and greebng (1-4) 2. Topic #1: Encouragement to support the brothers (5-10) 3. Topic #2: Encouragement to conbnue doing good (11-12) 4. Final words and greebngs (13-15) 18

19 3 John The Presbyter to the beloved Gaius whom I love in truth. Beloved, I hope you are prospering in every respect and are in good health, just as your soul is prospering. I rejoiced greatly when some of the brothers came and testified to how truly you walk in the truth. Nothing gives me greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. Beloved, you are faithful in all you do for the brothers, especially for strangers; they have testified to your love before the church. Please help them in a way worthy of God to continue their journey. For they have set out for the sake of the Name and are accepting nothing from the pagans. Therefore, we ought to support such persons, so that we may be co-workers in the truth... 19

20 Once again John begins, The Presbyter to the beloved Gaius whom I love in truth. This is very similar to his greebng in 2 John: The Presbyter to the beloved Gaius whom I love in truth... (3 John 1) The Presbyter to the chosen Lady and to her children whom I love in truth... (2 John 1). The presbyter, presbuvteroß [pres-bu - ter-os] is the elder, whose idenbty is well known to the Lady and to Gaius. And as with the Lady, the Presbyter loves Gaius [ajgapavw, ag-a-pa -o] in truth [ajlhvqeia, a-la -tha-a], the basic dichotomy that dominates 2 & 3 John: truth/decepbon. 20

21 But who is Gaius? That s a very common GenBle name in the 1st-century Not me. Roman Empire. I think I ve heard that name before in Scripture! 21

22 Yes, you have! There are 5 men named Gaius in Scripture: Acts 19: 29 menbons Gaius from Macedonia, one of St. Paul s traveling companions: Soon the whole city [of Ephesus] was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius and Aristarchus... and all of them rushed into the theater together. In Acts 20: 3-4, Gaius from Derbe is among 7 men who travel to Macedonia with Paul: [Paul] was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy also, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia. In 1 Corinthians 1: 14, Gaius of Corinth is one of two people bapbzed by Paul: I thank God that I did not bapgze any of you except Crispus and Gaius. 22

23 In Romans 16: 23 Paul sends personal greebngs to 29 people he knows personally in Rome, and he adds that Gaius [of Ephesus], whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy, sends you his greegngs, as well. And finally, it is Gaius to whom Paul addresses 3 John: The elder, to my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth. It is possible, of course, that some of these men named Gaius may be the same person. 23

24 3 John s greebng includes a convenbonal wish for good health, and as in 2 John our author emphasizes the good news he has heard concerning the recipient of his leper: I hope you are prospering in every respect and are in good health, just as your soul is prospering. I rejoiced greatly when some of the brothers came and tesgfied to how truly you walk in the truth. Nothing gives me greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. (3 John 2-4) And nobce once again John s emphasis on truth. 24

25 1. Address and greebng (1-4) 2. Topic #1: Encouragement to support the brothers (5-10) 3. Topic #2: Encouragement to conbnue doing good (11-12) 4. Final words and greebngs (13-15) 25

26 3 John The Presbyter to the beloved Gaius whom I love in truth. Beloved, I hope you are prospering in every respect and are in good health, just as your soul is prospering. I rejoiced greatly when some of the brothers came and testified to how truly you walk in the truth. Nothing gives me greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. Beloved, you are faithful in all you do for the brothers, especially for strangers; they have testified to your love before the church. Please help them in a way worthy of God to continue their journey. For they have set out for the sake of the Name and are accepting nothing from the pagans. Therefore, we ought to support such persons, so that we may be co-workers in the truth... 26

27 Gaius is well-known for his support of the brothers, as they travel throughout the Roman Empire delivering the gospel message. Indeed, many have tesbfied in John s hearing to Gaius generous acts of charitable love, and Paul urges Gaius to conbnue offering the traveling missionaries his support. The word pagans is ejqnikovß [eth-neekos ], perhaps beper translated outsiders. We get our word ethnic from ejqnikovß. In supporbng the traveling evangelists, one becomes a co-worker with them. 27

28 The traveling evangelists John menbons stand in sharp contrast to St. Paul, who as we learned in our study of the Acts of the Apostles, did not rely on support from local church communibes. Recall his argument in 1 Corinthians 9: 3-11, as he defends his apostleship: 28

29 My defense against those who would pass judgment on me is this. Do we not have the right to eat and drink? Do we not have the right to take along a Christian wife, as do the rest of the apostles, and the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas? Or is it only myself and Barnabas who do not have the right not to work? Who ever serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating its produce? Or who shepherds a flock without using some of the milk from the flock? Am I saying this on human authority, or does not the law also speak of these things? It is written in the law of Moses, You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain [Deuteronomy 25: 4]. Is God concerned about oxen, or is he not really speaking for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope, and the thresher in hope of receiving a share. If we have sown spiritual seed for you, is it a great thing that we reap a material harvest from you? If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we still more? Yet, we have not used this right. (1 Corinthians 9: 3-12) 29

30 I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to dominate, does not acknowledge us. Therefore, if I come, I will draw attention to what he is doing, spreading evil nonsense about us. And not content with that, he will not receive the brothers, hindering those who wish to do so and expelling them from the church. Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does what is good is of God; whoever does what is evil has never seen God. Demetrius receives a good report from all, even from the truth itself. We give our testimonial as well, and you know our testimony is true. I have much to write to you, but I do not wish to write with pen and ink. Instead, I hope to see you soon, when we can talk face to face. Peace be with you. The friends greet you; greet the friends there each by name. 30

31 The 2 nd secbon of Part 1 offers a sharp contrast to the acbve love and support of Gaius. Here, John targets Diotrephes, a member of the community who opposes John. Diotrephes name means nourished by Jupiter, a name that Raymond Brown observes is not a parbcularly common name (An IntroducGon to the New Testament, p. 403). In addibon to being ambibous, proud and disrespecsul, Diotrephes is spreading malicious gossip about John, refuses to welcome him and encourages others not to welcome him either. John says in no uncertain terms that when he arrives, he will openly confront Diotrephes. 31

32 This sounds like the flip side of 2 John, in which John encourages the Lady not to offer hospitality to false teachers, Not me. and not to even greet them! Wow! The early church was a contenbous place. Not much has changed! 32

33 1. Address and greebng (1-4) 2. Topic #1: Encouragement to support the brothers (5-10) 3. Topic #2: Encouragement to conbnue doing good (11-12) 4. Final words and greebngs (13-15) 33

34 I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to dominate, does not acknowledge us. Therefore, if I come, I will draw attention to what he is doing, spreading evil nonsense about us. And not content with that, he will not receive the brothers, hindering those who wish to do so and expelling them from the church. Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does what is good is of God; whoever does what is evil has never seen God. Demetrius receives a good report from all, even from the truth itself. We give our testimonial as well, and you know our testimony is true. I have much to write to you, but I do not wish to write with pen and ink. Instead, I hope to see you soon, when we can talk face to face. Peace be with you. The friends greet you; greet the friends there each by name. 34

35 Moving to John s 2 nd topic, he contrasts Gaius acbons with that of Diotrephes, and he urges Gaius not to imitate evil but imitate good, for those who do what is good are of God, while those who do evil do not know God. John then introduces Demetrius in contrast to Diotrephes. John has heard nothing but good things about Demetrius, another member of the community, and John adds his praise of Demetrius to that of others. So, once again John highlights the collision of opposites that we have seen throughout his gospel and his 2 nd leper. The Johannine world view is black & white: good/evil, truth/lies; love/wickedness. 35

36 1. Address and greebng (1-4) 2. Topic #1: Encouragement to support the brothers (5-10) 3. Topic #2: Encouragement to conbnue doing good (11-12) 4. Final words and greebngs (13-15) 36

37 I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to dominate, does not acknowledge us. Therefore, if I come, I will draw attention to what he is doing, spreading evil nonsense about us. And not content with that, he will not receive the brothers, hindering those who wish to do so and expelling them from the church. Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does what is good is of God; whoever does what is evil has never seen God. Demetrius receives a good report from all, even from the truth itself. We give our testimonial as well, and you know our testimony is true. I have much to write to you, but I do not wish to write with pen and ink. Instead, I hope to see you soon, when we can talk face to face. Peace be with you. The friends greet you; greet the friends there each by name. 37

38 That sounds familiar! 38

39 John closes his 3 rd leper in the same convenbonal fashion as he closed his 2 nd leper: I have much to write to you, but I do not wish to write with pen and ink. Instead, I hope to see you soon, when we can talk face to face. Peace be with you. The friends greet you; greet the friends there each by name. (3 John 13-14) Although I have much to write to you, I do not intend to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and to speak face to face so that our joy may be complete. The children of your chosen sister send you greegngs. (2 John 12-13) 39

40 2 and 3 John illustrate vividly the diversity of thought in the 1 st - century church, a diversity that o"en manifested itself not in construcbve discussion, but in anbpathy, condemnabon and exclusion. Only through the efforts of the ecumenical councils, beginning in A.D. 325 with the Council of Nicaea, did consensus begin to emerge. Today, the process conbnues. 40

41 1. In reading 2 and 3 John, do you spot any sense of irony in the two lepers? 2. What does Gaius do that elicits praise from John? 3. What factors play a role in Diotrephes anbpathy toward John? 4. What are some of the epistolary convenbons used by John in his two lepers? 5. What do John s two lepers suggest about the early church? 41

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