Intro: Welcome to the Spoken Gospel Podcast. Spoken Gospel is a ministry that's dedicated to speaking the gospel out of every corner of scripture. In Luke 24, Jesus told his disciples that every part of the Bible was about him. So each week, hosts David and Seth work through a passage of scripture to see how it's all about Jesus and his good news. Let's jump in.
David: Well, welcome everyone to the Spoken Gospel Podcast. Thank you so much for joining us. We are finishing out the letters of John today. We are in 3 John. Seth, how are you?
Seth: I'm doing great. I'm ready to talk about 3 John.
David: Yeah, you are.
Seth: 3 John is really interesting because it takes a turn that I didn't expect.
David: Oh, what's that?
Seth: It just talks about the I'll just say it as bluntly as I can, like the primacy of hospitality in our— in how hospitality is like mixed in with the gospel.
David: Yeah, that is interesting.
Seth: And I was just not expecting that from 3 John, even on my first reading. It took me a second to be like, oh wait, hospitality is something that Jesus talks about. It's how we determine who's true and false teachers. Like there's a whole bunch of scripture about sharing meals with people and how that's a picture of the gospel. And Third John talks about it.
David: That is really interesting. Yeah. And I think for me, it's, it's also a little like, and I love playing host. I really do.
Seth: Yeah.
David: Uh, but I think for me, it's a, it's a good challenge. Uh, cause I, I don't think most people have this problem. I think this is my problem, but I tend to want to like go and over-spiritualize the meals with sinners, you know, that Jesus had and like, and talk about how it's a picture of the gospel going to the undeserving and a picture of the gospel going to the Gentiles. And, you know, and it's like, and it is, yeah. But it's also, he's, it's based in love. Like he was showing his love by being hospitable around food with people. And it was like, there's just something Christian about that. I mean, I mean, you know, it's like we were told that as often as we come together, to eat a meal together. Yeah. The Lord's Supper. And so it's just like, anyway, I'm just, I don't want to jump the shark there.
Seth: Well, that's where we're going. Yeah, I know we're going there, but anyway, so the letter opens not with a, like a, just a general introduction to a large swath of communities, not to a specific church, but to a specific person, which only happens like what, like 4 times in the New Testament.
David: You've got like Paul's letter to Timothy, you've got Philemon and Onesimus, you know, and then Gaius here in 3 John. I'm going to sound like an idiot.
Seth: I'm missing someone.
David: Oh, to Theophilus.
Seth: Theophilus. But it's pretty rare.
David: It's rare. So it's kind of cool that we get an intimate look behind the doors of a first century church.
Seth: Yeah. And this is how it starts. The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health as it goes.
David: Well, he says love so much.
Seth: The apostle of love.
David: He's the beloved disciple.
Seth: The apostle of love.
David: Beloved Gaius, whom I love.
Seth: Beloved, beloved, love, love, love, love.
David: I love it.
Seth: Uh, yes. And so who is Gaius? Yeah, probably the elder of a church.
David: Oh, okay.
Seth: Uh, because in the second he's going to assume that Gaius has some level of authority in his church about who is welcomed and when and how. Right. Um, that's—
David: he's a leader in this church, probably kind of all we know.
Seth: Yeah, that's kind of all we know. So what is happening in 3 John that's distinct from 2 John? Besides the fact that it's written to Gaius, and that we're talking about hospitality in a second?
David: Yeah, well, what's happening here is, you know, 2 John was telling us to like, put up walls, you know, and like to guard the borders of truth. And here, it's like, you can almost, you can almost see it playing out, you know, in chronological order, if it, if it went this way, I don't know that it did. But it's like, oh, they got 2 John, and it's like, oh, we need to put up really firm borders around the church to make sure we were not hospitable to an antichrist. And then John hears that people are being inhospitable to good people and good teachers. And so he writes 3 John to be like, but don't forget to show hospitality. Not you guys, you're doing a great job. But there's another guy we'll talk about and he's not doing that. I don't— we can't prove that that's how that happened. It probably did not happen that way. But it's just like, that's, that's the difference is, is whereas people were in 2 John might have been hospitable to antichrists, you know, and so it's like, you guys need to not be. Now, the problem in 3 John is people are not being hospitable, especially one person in particular is not being hospitable to good, faithful Christians.
Seth: John's missionaries.
David: John's missionaries. Yeah. So that's the difference, right?
Seth: Yep, that's right. So verse 5, beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, referring to the missionaries that are being sent out, strangers as they are. They have testified to your love before the church, assuming John's church, and you will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God, because they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore, we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.
David: Seth just read half the letter.
Seth: I read half the letter.
David: That's, that's how short, short it is.
Seth: It's amazing.
David: There's a lot there that I want to jump on. One thing that's really just interesting is he uses this language, those who went out from us is also used in both of his other letters. It's used in 2 John to talk about many deceivers have gone out. And then it's used in 1 John to talk about they were with us, but now they've gone out from us. Yeah, about the deceivers, about the deceivers again. But now the same word is used for good missionaries. And so it's like the— I think he's pulling on those familiar strings, that language, because those— the went out ones is probably even a title that was used for these.
Seth: Well, I mean, it's apostle, right?
David: It's a different word. It's not the sent one. It's not apostoloi. I wonder, like, it's ekainos. It's the— they go, they went. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But, but anyway, it was, it was probably a loose title for these people. And I think he's intentionally doing that and saying these are our went out ones. And so what's it going to take? It's going to take some discernment. To know who it is. You know, it's just showing the people that you're— that people in your congregation are refusing hospitality to can also be good. Yeah. You know, the problem— the shoe's on the other foot, as it were.
Seth: Yeah.
David: Yeah. So that's interesting.
Seth: That's super interesting.
David: The other thing we talked about in the 2 John podcast, kind of the historical background being like, there was no travel industry and the Appian Way opened up and the Pax Romana and all that stuff, and people were traveling but didn't have anywhere to stay. And so they depended on local hospitality, right? Well, here he's talking about traveling missionaries really specifically. And, and there was— I read about this, was really interesting. There were the— there were like this, this profession of like the traveling spiritual vagrant.
Seth: Okay. Okay.
David: And they would go around all around the Appian Way and go through cities and they would peddle the name and message of their god.
Seth: Okay.
David: And his teaching. And as they did, they would go out and they would share the news about their false god. And they would collect offerings that they would receive and they were called bags.
Seth: Okay.
David: And so there's, there's some like historical recording of this activity from like the 1st and 2nd century. And it says that one person was able to make 70 bags in one day as a spiritual vagrant going around. Okay. Bags of like money, right? Which is really interesting. Why then Jesus said, right, don't take any bag or purse with you. When he sent the 12 and the 70 to go out on their missionary journey. Yeah, yeah, right.
Seth: Yeah.
David: Because why? They would be provided for by Christians who would receive their message. So in the same way, these Christian teachers are not going out there and peddling the name of Jesus for money, right? But they would be provided for nonetheless because of the hospitality of the church. So he's creating a separation when he says that they're not depending on pagans here. He's making a separation between the spiritual vagrants of the day, the traveling missionaries of the pagan gods, and saying that Christian missionaries are different from pagan missionaries, that they make their money by going out and peddling the name of their god. We don't. The gospel is free. We give it away for free, and our missionaries survive on the hospitality of the local church. Ah, just really interesting.
Seth: Well, I mean, that's exactly what Jesus says in Matthew 10, like, don't take silver or gold. Do not take an extra shirt.
David: Right.
Seth: And if— and as you enter a home, give it your greeting. And if the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it.
David: Yep.
Seth: If not, let the peace return to you. And if anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. And it will be worse for Sodom and Gomorrah. Right.
David: Hospitality was a picture of accepting the gospel or not. Yeah, you know, exactly.
Seth: And yeah, well, accepting Jesus.
David: Yeah, accepting Jesus.
Seth: How you accepted one of Jesus's missionaries. Was equivalent to accepting or denying Jesus.
David: Yeah. There's a theory out there that the parable of the sheep and goats and the whatever you've done for the least of these. Yeah, there's a, there's a thread of theologians who believe he was talking about his missionaries.
Seth: Well, I was going to bring up Matthew 25.
David: Oh, well, right now as well. You go.
Seth: I mean, I mean, you've already said it, like this theme of accepting missionaries and your acceptance or your denial of missionaries. Depending on your state of judgment. If you accept one of Jesus's disciples, peace. If not, Sodom and Gomorrah, right? If you accept one of the least of these and treat this brother, it is as if you are accepting Jesus, me. And that is the difference between a sheep and a goat, between God's people and not God's people, which goes all the way back to 1 John, where it is like, how do you test if you are in Christ or not?
David: Are you showing love to your brother? Yeah. Are you accepting me by accepting your brother?
Seth: Yes.
David: Yeah.
Seth: And I thought it was interesting in that vein. Therefore, we ought to support people like these.
David: Yes.
Seth: That we may be fellow workers for the truth. That—
David: this is crazy.
Seth: Hospitality is co-working.
David: Yes.
Seth: With missionaries.
David: Yes. It's like when you financially support, have a missionary in your home, you know, like pray for, partner with, show hospitality to people who are advancing the cause, the Christian, the Christian cause, you know?
Seth: Yeah.
David: You are co-laboring in that. You are doing the work with them. Yes. And it's like, I was really struck by that. I think I've just read over that every time because like, you know, we're a nonprofit here at Spoken Gospel, you know? And then I also like in my, in my former life as a, like a speaker, I would often speak at Christian fundraising events. Yeah.. And I remember talking about and hearing people talk about co-laboring with us. Like, yeah, your giving is just as important as what we're doing. And honestly, I always thought it was like a platitude. I always thought it was like a clever way to like get people to give, you know, like, and, uh, I was just really convicted by this that it's like, no, it's like this biblical thing that I actually can collaborate with different causes of the gospel by financially supporting, being hospitable to these people. And I was like, man, this is like really encouraging. And like really encouraging too, that like we can encourage— I'm making it personal for me.
Seth: Yeah.
David: But like that we can also encourage all of our donors that make Spoken Gospel possible. Some of the people listening to this make— made the podcast possible, right? They gave to like— they give even monthly to help make the podcast possible. And I'm just like, That's just so cool. And I like don't have to feel guilty to actually say you are co-laborers with us in this. I just— I'm like, that's—
Seth: yeah, you're co-working with us just as much as we're co-working, right, with each other right now.
David: Because what we do would not be possible without that. And it feels like I'm trying to co-opt the text to make a fundraising pitch. I'm not. I'm talking about my own problems here. It's like I've— what I've always viewed as a platitude or a fundraising tactic is actually just good truth. And I'm just like convicted by that.
Seth: Yeah.
David: So anyway, that's cool. Um, yeah.
Seth: And then I think too, it goes back to what we've been saying about the unity of the Christian with Christ.
David: Okay.
David: Yeah.
Seth: Like when we pray for our brother in sin, our prayers can save him from death.
David: Yeah.
Seth: And our, as Christians, our money given to those who are proclaiming the gospel, co-work with that missionary to win souls for Christ. Like As Christians, everything we do is just infused with God's grace and power. Our money is, our prayers are, our presence is. Like, there is something profoundly powerful about a Christian stepping into what God is doing, and particularly here, hospitality.
David: Yeah.
Seth: A Christian host is a powerful witness to the gospel and a coworker of God's mission in the world.
David: Yeah, I think you nailed it there. I'm just like, I don't think I've ever seen hospitality as that high of a calling.
Seth: Mm-hmm.
David: That like hospitality, like showing kindness to anybody, but especially a Christian worker, you know, is just like advancing the cause of the gospel.
Seth: Well, think about when Jesus died and only the women at the tomb believed that he rose from the dead because they saw him. None of Jesus's other disciples And then Jesus shows up on the road to Emmaus with these two disciples, and he spends all this time explaining the gospel to them, and they never once recognize Jesus, right? The more he talks, they're like, "Oh, that sounds like what Jesus said." They don't do that. When do they see Jesus for who he is?
David: Whenever he breaks bread with them.
Seth: Whenever he acts like a host, breaks the bread, and gives it to them, right?
David: Which he's like flipping a cultural script on its head there, right? They were the travelers. They said, "Here's the restaurant. Let's go over here." Yes, they should have paid. Acted as host, broken the bread, but Jesus servantly, hospitably, like in a moment of hospitality, Jesus reveals himself. Yeah, it's amazing.
Seth: And the same is true for us. That's what we do now.
David: It's also just amazing too, that it's just like, that's like the cross is the ultimate act of hospitality. And he bids us to come to him and do what? Let him play host. Yes. At the host.
Seth: Right.
David: Which is what the Lord's Supper is called in other threads of Christianity. It's just like the, like the, the way we interact with the gospel is to let Jesus be the host.
Seth: Yes. And how do we respond to God's hospitality? We show hospitality to others.
David: Right.
Seth: That's like, that's hospitality is a natural outworking of having been, been hospitalized.
David: Hospitalized. I mean, given God's generosity, like being hospitable, which is why it's, It's so, it's so offensive that in the Corinthian church to whom Paul wrote, that the rich were getting drunk and fat off the Lord's Supper and not being hospitable to the poor in their church. Like they were using the consummate act of hospitality to be inhospitable to their brothers and sisters. Yeah. It's like, man, that's crazy.
Seth: So there's that.
David: And oh yeah, before we move on, uh, I just, a John Stott quote about the idea of co-laboring by being hospitable, by giving.
Seth: Okay.
David: So I just, I just thought this was an amazing quote. So an important principle lies here is what he's talking about, this co-laboring, namely that we Christians should finance Christian enterprises which the world will not or should not be expected to support. Indeed, we have an obligation to do so. There are many good causes which we may support, but we must support our brothers and sisters whom the world does not support. And I was just like, it's really interesting to think about like the economy of the kingdom of God, right? That it's like there's, there's lots of great causes to give to in the world, but it's like we must first and foremost, we have an ought, an obligation to give to things that the world will not give to.
Seth: Churches.
David: The world's going to pay for the pagans, the pagan preachers that are coming through the town. You know, it's the church's responsibility to grab the Christian missionary and be hospitable to him or her.
Seth: Yeah, that's good.
David: Anyway, John's not—
Seth: John's not. And now, which is interesting, it's a good segue. We did a whole bunch of unpacking on the idea of hospitality, how it's an extension of the gospel. And this is what John says next in John 3:9. I have written something to the church. Referring to— I've heard something about this— to the church already.
David: Oh yes, we don't, we don't have this letter.
Seth: We don't have this letter. Yeah, we have talk of like loving your brothers, like in a more general sense, but this idea of accepting Christian missionaries is not mentioned in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd John, right, until here. So most, many scholars believe that there is a 4th letter of John. Yep, was not preserved, right?
David: And this letter was probably commanding or even rebuking a certain person in this congregation.
Seth: Yes.
David: To care for Christian missionaries who wasn't.
Seth: Yep.
David: And he disregarded this letter. Some— there's so many fun theories out there of what he did with the letter.
Seth: Yeah.
David: It's, I mean, it's pointless to try to know that he burned it. Yeah. I think he like destroyed it. Some people said he just refused to read it publicly to the congregation. It doesn't matter. What matters is he disregarded the command.
Seth: Well, and this he is the person the next part of the sentence. I've written something to the church about this, but Diotrephes—
David: Diotrephes—
Seth: who likes to put himself first—
David: woo-hoo, shade—
Seth: does not acknowledge our authority.
David: Yeah.
Seth: So now we have, we have an antichrist.
David: We have an antichrist in the making.
Seth: An antichrist in the making.
David: Yes.
Seth: You have somebody who's rejecting the apostles' teaching.
David: Well, yeah, their command to be hospitable. Okay. Yeah.
Seth: I'm trying to be specific because He does not acknowledge the authority of the apostles. He goes on and talks wicked nonsense and spreads lies.
David: Wicked nonsense.
Seth: And deceit about the apostles. And on top of that, he refuses to love his brother.
David: Yes.
Seth: And stops those who want to.
David: There are people in his community who want to invite missionaries into their home. Mm-hmm. Take them out to lunch. Support them financially, and he goes and physically prohibits them from doing so.
Seth: So what that means is that Diotrephes was also probably a ruler or somebody with a degree of authority in the church to make it possible to prevent somebody from doing that. You, you wouldn't listen to Diotrephes unless he had some authority. That's right. It's church.
David: Yep.
Seth: So it's interesting about that. Like, I call him an antichrist. You call him an antichrist in the making. Yeah. Is all those are things that John has set up in his first letter.
David: That's right.
Seth: That an antichrist would do, right? He would reject the authority of the apostles. He would teach something contrary. He refused to show love to his brothers, and he would speak lies. He's a deceiver.
David: Yep.
Seth: Talking wicked nonsense. He doesn't call him an antichrist here, but he's doing all the things an antichrist does.
David: Yeah. It seems like he's like one step away from just denying the divinity of Jesus.
Seth: Right.
David: You know, because it's like, yes, yes. That's why I'm not calling you an antichrist, because we were really specific to say what is an antichrist. It's somebody who does that. But it's like, man, he's one step away.
Seth: Well, I mean, it's interesting. Verse 11: Beloved, do not imitate evil, but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God, and whoever does evil has not seen God.
David: Right. And in 1 John, he equated those who have not seen God or known God with the Antichrist.
Seth: That's exactly right. And even like more concretely with those who don't pass the ethical test of loving your brother. Right. So it's, it's, it's a step too far to call him an Antichrist.
David: Right. But he fulfills Every criteria except denying the divinity of Jesus.
Seth: Yeah, that, that John's warned us about. Um, so it's intense. That's what's on the line. So Gaius is accepting missionaries, being hospitable. Diotrephes is not.
David: Prohibiting that, in fact.
Seth: Yeah. And then John uses these two men as, um, a living, living examples of who to be and who not to be. He says, beloved, Do not imitate evil, diatres, but imitate the good, gaios. Like, so I'm assuming more than just Gaius would have read this letter.
David: Yes.
Seth: Because beloved, maybe he's just referring to Gaius there, but I think it's probably meant for a broader audience.
David: Oh yeah. Whenever an apostle's letter would come to a church, it would typically be read to the whole congregation. Uh, yes.
Seth: Yeah.
David: Especially when it's rebuking one person and commending another and then speaking to a third party, the beloved, possibly.
Seth: So, yeah, yeah, whoever does good is from God. That's, that's Gaius. Whoever does evil has not seen God. That's Diotrephes.
David: That's right. So yeah, it's interesting too that like what I, what I, what I find really interesting and almost haunting about this letter is that there are serious repercussions for disobeying the first and greatest commandment to love God and love your neighbor. You know, it's like, I mean, sure. I mean, but I believe all the right things and I give to my church and, you know, we have all these other criteria, you know, for Christianity. And it's like, man, if you don't— if you're not hospitable to your brother, you're one step away from being an antichrist. It's like really intense.
Seth: You have not seen God.
David: You've not seen God.
Seth: You and you've not seen the hospitality of God on the cross, right? By the fact that you will not show hospitality to your brother, it proves you have not seen the hospitality of Jesus.
David: This is the parable of the unmerciful servant. Lived out in real life.
Seth: That's right.
David: The unmerciful servant, uh, had a huge insurmountable debt, uh, and couldn't pay it. I mean, it would take him 20 lifetimes to pay off, and his master forgives the debt. Uh, and then after having this huge act of hospitality extended to him, he turns around and chokes out a brother of his for a meager debt, some small debt. And he clearly did not resonate with the hospitality shown to him because of the way he treated his brother. Yes. Refusing to show hospitality.
Seth: Forgiven much, right?
David: Yeah. Those who have been— yeah, yeah. I think that's about the, the woman who cried at Jesus' feet, but it might be at both. But I know it's also at the woman who cried at Jesus' feet. He says that, but, um, and he's thrown into prison forever, you know? Uh, and so it's, it's amazing to think about that 3 John as the parable of the unmerciful servant lived out in real life, that Diotrephes is the unmerciful servant that Jesus spoke of in flesh and blood.
Seth: Yep. So that's kind of the end of the letter almost. He ends, he has one little section here about another person named Demetrius. 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. Well, I don't know what's happening here.
David: I think Demetrius is one of the traveling missionaries that he's commending him to the church and saying he's gotten a good report from everybody else. We add our, our support to him. So treat him hospitably.
Seth: Yeah.
David: I think is what's— that's my guess.
Seth: Yeah. So like, okay guys, there's your, your, your anti-example and your example. Now Demetrius, do you know what to do with him? Treat him well. Got it.
David: Yeah. I mean, I think that's what's happening here.
Seth: And then he ends his letter very similar to how he ended the last letter. Right. To, I don't want to write with you, Panaenicus, anymore. I want to come see you face to face. Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends. Each by name, really personal, interpersonal end of the letter.
David: And we've already reflected on the gospel turn of meeting face to face. So if you, if you want to know that and you missed the 2 John podcast, go back.
Seth: And I think it's interesting that there are so many names in a book about hospitality.
David: Oh, I mean, yeah, it's very personal.
Seth: It's a very personal letter in a letter about hospitality and showing like John is embodying the hospitality as the elder.
David: Yeah.
Seth: To his community that he wants them to model.
David: Right. Which also makes sense why he's like, I don't want to write to you in paper and pen. I just want to come and be with you face to face and show my own hospitality to you. Yes. Yeah, that's cool.
Seth: Why is this letter good news?
David: Yeah. I mean, I think first off is that, man, what's interesting is if we can co-labor in the gospel going out by financially supporting and being hospitable to missionaries, Apparently we can also join with Christ in his actual work of the hospitable gospel, like that as what Jesus did for the world by dying on the cross and playing host to the world through his body and blood celebrated in, in the Lord's Supper, we can extend that to the rest of the world and be gospel bearers as we are hospitable to others. It's like, yes, It's just like, it's good news to be able to join in the work of the Son of God. Yes. Isn't it?
Seth: Like, enjoying the work of the Son of God, revealing himself.
David: Yeah, totally.
Seth: Whether that's through another missionary or I'm like, I'm super— our next podcast, by the way, is on the Emmaus Road story in Luke 24. And the fact that when Jesus breaks the bread is when his identity is revealed. So I think there's also something about the incarnational act of hospitality sharing a meal, inviting people into your home that reveals in itself, as you talk about Jesus, the incarnation of the Son of God, the revelation of the Son of God. There is an incarnational power to hospitality, a unique incarnational power to hospitality that allows us to join in and allow others to see God. Yeah. That makes me want to be a part of.
David: Yeah, it helps because like I said earlier, I like, I like love playing host. Like I love that. I know you do too. You're, you're an excellent host. And so often, I don't know if you've ever had this experience, like so often people come and they, they're not embarrassed by how much you're gushing over them or it's like because, you know, you and I are both chefs.
Seth: Yes.
David: So like we like to cook gourmet meals for people where it's just like, you made this?
Seth: I mean, homemade pasta noodles.
David: Yeah, it's like, yeah, yeah, crank, you know, kneaded and cut my own pasta noodles for tonight's meal.
Seth: Yeah.
David: And they're like, "Thank you so much," and they're almost embarrassed by the level of hospitality they've been shown. And I've never known how to respond to that, 'cause my brain is saying, like, "It's fine. Don't worry about it." Like, "This is... I'm excited you're here. I'm excited to be doing this. It's as much of a joy for me to make the pasta as it is for you to eat the pasta." And I just kinda thought I had, like, a mental disconnect. You know? But I was like, "Oh, I think I'm..." I wasn't processing the fact that, like, they're experiencing good news. Like, not that we're replacing the good news. No, no, no, we're not talking about that.
Seth: We're embodying—
David: we're embodying being a servant and being the hospitable Christ. And it's just like, man, I can like see them saying thank you to me and ultimately just know that I'm giving glory to God. And I don't have to deflect that thank you, but can be like, yes, like, thank you, God, that I was able to join you in being a good host. Yeah.
Seth: I keep thinking about the sheep and the goats. This is 37. Matthew 25:37. The righteous will answer, Lord, when do we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When do we see a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When do we see you sick in prison, go and visit you? And the king will reply, truly, I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. When we practice hospitality, it's not just us embodying Christ to somebody else. It is us reciprocating to Christ what Christ has done to us.
David: Yes.
Seth: Jesus has saved us by an act of hospitality. And when we serve others who are filled with Christ, we actually serve God back. Not that we need to know, but we serve him and reciprocate.
David: Right. It's like, uh, I mean, imagine if you could have some celebrity or person of power over to your home and you got to play host for them.
Seth: Mhm.
David: You know, like, I don't know, it's— everything feels too political to say. This used to be easy to say, but I'm just going to— whatever, you know what I mean? It's like, imagine you got to have the president over to your house, you know? And it's like, you got to play host to the president. You'd be like, that'd be good news for you. Like, you got to— you got to serve someone of great importance. It's like even in a non-honor-shame culture like the West, you know, we would still feel a great honor there.
Seth: Or shame outrage culture.
David: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And so that's really interesting is like we get to play host to the consummate host, to the biggest celebrity, to the person with the most power in the world. Yeah, the God of the universe, Jesus Christ. Like, that's amazing.
Seth: Yeah, it reminds me too of like what C.S. Lewis said, like, you've never met a mere mortal. Mm-hmm. You're staring in front of you when you have somebody at your table, somebody who would either be so blindingly beautiful you'd be tempted to worship them, or a demon so grotesque you'd hide in terror. Yeah, there's an eternal soul, and if they've been filled with Christ, they are with Christ in— and in a very real sense, Christ themselves. Yeah, in front of you.
David: It's amazing. I think there's also good news in— we kind of did this in the 2 John podcast, but I think there's a different kind of eschatological, future-oriented, second coming of Jesus way to talk about the good news of 3 John, that 3 John is telling us that in the body of Christ, in the church of Jesus, in the kingdom of God, there is hospitality for his servants, that they don't need to take a bag of money, they don't need to provide for themselves, but instead Christ's body will provide for them. Right? He will meet their needs. And it's like, well, in the here and now, that's really good news that like, as a, as a Christian, the consummate host of Jesus will provide for every need that you have. You don't need to bring your own bags of money.
Seth: You don't need to go out and peddle in the street.
David: You just need to simply come to the home of Christ, and he will be hospitable to you here and now. His body will play consummate host to you right now and give you everything that you need. And then I think there's also a future version of this, right? Which is the wedding supper of the Lamb.
Seth: There is. Like when Jesus describes himself, this is Luke 12:37. It will be good for the servants whose master finds them waiting, watching when, when he comes, because he, Jesus, God, the King, will dress himself to serve and will have his people, the servants, recline at the table. And will come and wait on them. Yeah. Part of the gospel is that on the last day, we'll still be served. We will be treated to God's hospitality once again.
David: Yeah. We get to sit down at Jesus's table and he will bring us the meal he's prepared.
Seth: Yeah. Yeah.
David: Which is amazing. And apparently Isaiah pictures that day too. And one of the, one of the main dishes on the table, you know what it's going to be?
Seth: Lamb?
David: Death itself. He will swallow up death forever on that day. I had a, I had an Old Testament professor for the major prophets.
Seth: Yeah.
David: And he, he, he had written this story, kind of like picturing that day. Yeah. And he talked all about how, you know, we'd come and sit down at this long table and we're all looking around for the host to come. And, and all of a sudden this bright light dawns and he enters the room and it's Jesus. I'm trying to do it fast. Yeah, he's coming in and He's holy and beautiful, and he comes around and serves each of us, giving us our own plate, pouring our wine, all that thing. And then he sits down and he motions to the side, and there's this huge silver plate that's brought out in front of him and put down. And the dome of the silver plate's lifted off, and underneath is this writhing, black, barbed mess of a writhing, bubbling creature, and it's death incarnate. And then in one like in-breathing gulp, Jesus just goes, oh, and swallows up death forever. And we all cheer and toast and eat with Jesus. And it's like he will come and he will play host for us. And what I love about it is where Diotrephes and the Antichrists and the deceivers and the liars want to build walls, Jesus has an open seat for us at the table.
Seth: Mm.
David: Like he is Gaius, not Diotrephes.
Seth: Yes.
David: Right. Like he is a good host.
Seth: I love that.
David: And he's like, there's an open seat for us at the table. It's like, that's good news.
Seth: Mm-hmm. Anyway. Well, amen. Amen.
David: Amen.
Seth: And that's the book of 3 John, I guess. 3 John.
David: So that was fun.
Seth: That was really fun.
David: That concludes the letters of John.
Seth: Yeah. All the letters are on and our first New Testament books to podcast.
David: Yeah. Super fun.
Seth: Next week we're going to do a special episode.
David: Yeah.
Seth: For specifically chosen by our podcast audience.
David: Oh, which is not only— no, not our podcast audience. It wasn't chosen by our podcast. Oh no, it was chosen by our monthly donors.
Seth: Oh, that's right.
David: Our co-laborers.
Seth: Our co-laborers.
David: It's so cool.
Seth: What divine providence.
David: Yeah. We had an event recently that was exclusive just for our co-laborers.
Seth: Our—
David: we call it— we call them our gospel patrons because they are patronizing the gospel going out., and we had an online event for them and we let them pick what podcast they want us to do out of a set of 4. We had like, what is it like? What, what's Psalm 23 all about? What— who are the Nephilim? Is it ever okay to lie? Yes. And then what really happened on the road to Emmaus?
Seth: Yeah.
David: And they chose what really happened on the road to Emmaus. So as a way to honor our co-laborers, our gospel patrons, our monthly donors, we're going to have a special podcast episode next week where we pick apart Luke 24,
Seth: which, as you hinted at today, is strangely connected to this idea of hospitality.
David: It really is,
Seth: which I'm super excited about.
David: And beyond that, it's also the central scripture for Spoken Gospel. It's our foundational passage. So we'll have a lot to say.
Seth: I'm sure we'll have a lot to say.
David: We'll bring our vigor to it. So you'll want to definitely check that out. So, but until then, thank you for listening to 3 John, and we will see you next week.
Outro: Thank you for listening to the Spoken Gospel Podcast. Spoken Gospel creates short films, devotionals, and podcasts like this one. Everything we make is free because of generous supporters like you. To see our resources, visit SpokenGospel.com or subscribe to our YouTube channel. Thanks for listening. See you next week.
