Third John
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
William Shakespeare has left a rich heritage
to those who speak the English language. It has only been in my
lifetime that this 17th century playwright has been
downgraded to “Dead White European Male.” So rich is this legacy
that a playwright of the 20th century could seize upon two of
the most obscure characters in Shakespeare’s Hamlet and
make them the title character of his play, Rosencrantz and
Guilderstern are Dead. Their very obscurity was the chief
literary device.
We meet in this small letter two such
characters as well: Gaius and Diotrophes. Nothing is known of
them outside this letter. But we can see enough of their
character in fourteen verses to gain some insight.
3 John 1:1-14 NASB The elder to the
beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. (2) Beloved, I pray that in
all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your
soul prospers. (3) For I was very glad when brethren came and
testified to your truth, that is, how you are walking in truth.
(4) I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children
walking in the truth. (5) Beloved, you are acting faithfully in
whatever you accomplish for the brethren, and especially when
they are strangers; (6) and they have testified to your love
before the church. You will do well to send them on their way in
a manner worthy of God. (7) For they went out for the sake of
the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. (8) Therefore we
ought to support such men, so that we may be fellow workers with
the truth. (9) I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes,
who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say.
(10) For this reason, if I come, I will call attention to his
deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words; and
not satisfied with this, he himself does not receive the
brethren, either, and he forbids those who desire to do so and
puts them out of the church. (11) Beloved, do not imitate what
is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the
one who does evil has not seen God. (12) Demetrius has received
a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself; and
we add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true.
(13) I had many things to write to you, but I am not willing to
write them to you with pen and ink; (14) but I hope to see you
shortly, and we will speak face to face. (1:15) Peace be to you.
The friends greet you. Greet the friends by name.
A Leader’s Prayer
There is a myth in modern Christianity. It
goes like this: those who are leaders in the church – the “real”
Christians – have some magic formula for their prayers that
makes them much more effective. I doubt this. Perhaps the
formula is found in their lives, not in their words. Why? Look
at John’s prayer for his friend Gaius:
·
First, he asks for his
physical well-being (“enjoy good health.”) God often
uses our physical suffering for our spiritual good – but
I will thank all of you to pray (as John does here) for
exactly the opposite.
·
Next, he asks for his
worldly well being (“things may go well.”) Sometimes we
think it “unspiritual” to pray for success in business.
(Try it; it works).
·
Finally, there is the
spiritual side. So it is that John prayers for the
entire person: body, worldly works and spirit.
No greater joy
John tells Gaius that he has “no greater joy”
than seeing his students succeed in the faith. In so saying, he
gives us the truth about real teachers.
·
First, the teacher is
measured by the success of his students. (I don’t want
to repeat the point too often – one of mine is Don, at
the state mental hospital).
·
Next, because this teaching
is for spiritual life (as opposed, say, to calculus),
the teacher’s joy is increased in that he sees his
students imitating him – as he imitates Christ.
·
But please note: It’s
“walking” in the truth, not just repeating it. No matter
how brilliantly phrased the lesson might be, if you’re
not walking it, the teacher was wasting his breath.
One Approved
John commends Gaius for being “faithful” in
what he is doing for the brothers. In this we learn two lessons:
·
First, we learn that what we
do for “the brothers” (probably itinerant preachers) is
not credited based on who they are – but on the one for
whom you do it. If for Christ, then great is your
reward. (Even the least of the brothers).
·
Next, we can see that the
good works of Gaius are spreading and reproducing in the
usual manner of the kingdom – the brothers cannot repay
him, so they pass the blessing on to others. Who knows
where this can lead?
The sake of the name
Modern Christians – perhaps most Christians –
have a little problem with this.
In the city of Los Angeles, the Roman
Catholic church has recently erected a new cathedral to be the
seat of Cardinal Mahony. It is, by all accounts, a magnificent
building, built with the finest materials to a striking design.
Such a cathedral is by no means rare; tourists to Europe flock
to them (seen Notre Dame?) Also common is the criticism; it is
known as “Taj Mahony.” The argument is made that the money could
have been better spent on the poor – of whom we have no
shortage.
It is an old argument – dating back to the
Apostles, in fact. Remember the woman who poured the perfume on
Jesus’ feet? The worldly do not understand an act of devotion –
it is extravagance to them, with no practical use. In fact, its
only use is to bring glory to God. It is solely to honor and
glorify the name of Christ. Consider too that what Gaius did had
no practical benefit to his local church. It went entirely for
the glory of the Name.
Is this wrong? I submit not. Indeed, I would
argue that we do this far too little. If we as Christians
devoted ourselves to the glory of the name of Christ, how many
more would come to know him as Lord and Savior? If your friends
know that you hold the name of Christ in the highest esteem, and
build your life around it – even to the point of extravagance –
what would that tell them? What would that do for Christian
evangelism?
Consider a poor man’s parallel. I
occasionally bring flowers to my wife. Sometimes for a
particular occasion; often for no such thing, other than the
fact that I love her. What do you conclude from that behavior?
Is it not something like, “John must really love that woman.”
(Indeed, it is so – he really does.)
Work together for the truth
It is the name of Christ that unites us.
Indeed, we all proclaim ourselves to be “Christians” – including
some who really aren’t (e.g., Mormons). I have far more in
common (in the eternal point of view) with a devout Catholic
than I do with a lukewarm member of my own church.
Often we see others doing evangelistic work,
we praise it – and then say that we have no ability to do it. We
may not be able to do it – but we can share in it. I share in
the evangelism of the Morse family in Southeast Asia – even
though I’ve never been there. How? Because they and I are united
in the Name, and I contribute to their upkeep. (Put your money
where your mouth is).
In the first century, this was expressed in
hospitality. What Gaius did here was not uncommon; indeed, it
was the common way to travel. No doubt he sent the brothers on
their way with such additional items as they might need. In such
simple things we can share in the work of the great names of the
faith.
One disapproved
It is sad that Diotrophes is mentioned only
here. For a man who wanted to be a big shot, he comes pictured
to us as an instance of the old saying: “Nothing is ever a total
loss. It can always be used as a bad example.”
What’s the problem?
Diotrophes and his like are still with us.
See if you can recognize any of the following behaviors in the
church:
·
Rejecting the truth.
Some of us are so enamored with our own abilities that
we give God a little help in rewriting the Bible. God
certainly didn’t mean what he said, so I’ll interpret it
for him. Here Diotrophes thought his version much better
than that of the Apostle.
·
Gossip. Undoubtedly
given in the form of a stern (and very public) warning
to the congregation. Evidently Diotrophes was a
prominent man in the church, and everyone got the
benefit of his opinions. Frequently.
·
Rejecting the unity of
the church. By refusing hospitality to itinerant
brothers – an act which the world of that time would
have considered very insulting – Diotrophes makes it
clear that he defines who is in, or out, of the church.
(May I suggest that you let Christ decide this?)
·
Misuse of authority.
To be able to do these things, Diotrophes must have had
some authority. Perhaps it was his wealth; perhaps he
was an elder – we do not know. But the misuse of
authority tends to divide the church. It’s one of the
signs of misuse.
Why?
We sometimes wonder why people would do such
a thing. After all, the motto of the church today is “get along,
go along.” We avoid church arguments by not insisting too much
on sound doctrine. Why would anyone want to abuse his authority
in this way?
·
Envy. Sometimes we
recognize a real Christian, and we know we just can’t
measure up. So we try to pull him down.
·
The Big Frog.
Sometimes we enjoy being the big frog in the small
puddle. One way to keep that enjoyment is to see to it
that the puddle remains small. This is not what God
wants.
·
Blossoms, not fruit.
The Scripture tells us that “by their fruit you will
know them.” Sometimes we see blossoms and mistake them
for fruit – a brilliant sermon, a moving concert – but
no real spiritual life behind them.
·
More complete power.
Diotrophes may have been motivated by the love of power.
Many of us make the mistake of saying that someone wants
more power. Most don’t. Most want more complete power.
There is something in the ego that rises when we can
completely dominate those around us.
John’s reaction
John does not react as we might expect. He
is, after all, the last living Apostle. You might think he would
come down and “straighten that guy out.” But that’s not what he
proposes to do:
·
Call attention to. In
order that all may learn, he will simply point out the
error. The weapons of God are so designed that there is
no defense for them in Satan’s arsenal.
·
Gentle restoration.
Should this be successful, John will gently restore him.
How do we know he would be so gentle? See how his Master
corrected him (Mark 10:35-40).
·
Imitate what is good.
“Do not overcome evil with evil, but overcome evil with
good.” It is the basic rule of Christian combat.
·
By their fruits you will
know them. John now counters the argument, “how can
we tell which of you is right?” Look at the fruit in
their lives; it is a sure sign.
Our actions
To end this little letter, we need to
consider just what this might mean to us. I will submit to you
two simple points:
·
The root of the problem is
found in pride. It is the sin of Satan; it is the most
troublesome sin in the church. Against this we must be
ever on our guard. But how do we defeat it?
·
Pride is putting ourselves
first. To defeat this, we must put someone else first.
But who is so pure that we could safely do that? Only
Jesus Christ.
A sincere personal devotion to Jesus Christ drives out pride
and secures you in the Rock of Ages. Lord, secure me even more.
