THE THIRD LETTER OF SAINT JOHN
Heavenly Father,
Help us to live every day in imitation of the righteous
life of our Savior Jesus Christ. Give us the commitment to abandon pride and
arrogance in favor of humility and service to You and our brothers and sisters
in the covenant family of the Church and the human family of Adam. Help us to
discern between what is good and evil in the temptations we face and in the
people we meet. Give us, Lord, the heart of a faithful servant like Gaius so
that we may bear the good fruit of a righteous and holy life. We pray in the
name of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
+ + +
Who this Gaius
was and what he was like becomes apparent in the course of the letter. He was
a man who had believed in Christ and, as a result of that, was living a life of
good works. He was not a preacher himself, but he was happy to support the
preaching ministry out of his own pocket. He is probably to be identified with
the Gaius mentioned by Paul as his host. For Gaius was a host to the whole
church, who opened his doors to everyone who came along, whether they were the
preachers of the hearers of the Word.
St. Bede the Venerable, On Three John
The Church traditionally attributes the Three Letters of St. John to John son of Zebedee, a fisherman from the Galilee, one of Jesus' Twelve Apostles, and the brother of the Apostle James Zebedee. St. John Zebedee left Jerusalem with the other Apostles to fulfill Jesus' command to carry the Gospel to the "ends of the earth" (Mt 28:19-20). According to tradition, he became the Bishop of Ephesus in Asia Minor and the other churches in the Roman province of Asia mentioned in Revelation Chapters 2-3. It was at Ephesus that early Church historians record John wrote the Fourth Gospel and the three Letters. When organized Roman persecution against Christians began in A.D. 64, the Roman authorities arrested John. They imprisoned him on the island of Patmos, where, according to the testimony of the early Church Fathers, he wrote the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ to His Servant John.
The Gospel According to John and his three Letters were probably written from the city of Ephesus on the western coast of Asia Minor. St. John was the sumpresbuteros, the "chief elder" or bishop of the Ephesian Christian church with authority over the other churches in his district (the seven churches listed in Revelation chapters 2-3). In the Roman period, Ephesus was an important commercial center. Strabo, the Greek geographer and historian (64 BC-c. AD 21), wrote that Ephesus was second only to Rome in the Empire. Excavations conducted by the Austrian Archaeological Institute since 1895 have shown that the ancient city boasted a harbor, various civic structures, bath complexes, a theater, and the Temple of Artemis.
The construction of the Temple of Artemis was sponsored in part by Croesus, the wealthy king of the Lydian Empire. Under the direction of the Cretan architect Chersiphron and his son Megagenes, construction began around 550 BC. According to Roman historian Pliny the Elder, there were 36 columns decorated with magnificent relief carvings. The massive structure was 377 feet long and 151 feet wide, the size of a football field, and was supposedly the first Greek temple built of marble. All that remains of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus is rubble and one standing column. In John's time, the Temple of Artemis was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, drawing visitors from across the Roman Empire, allowing John and his congregation to give their witness of Christ to a diverse population.
Most Biblical scholars date John's Gospel and the three letters to the last part of the first century AD. However, the Fourth Gospel and none of the letters mention the period of intense Christian persecution begun by Roman Emperor Nero in A.D. 64. They also do not mention the Jewish revolt against the Roman Empire that started in A.D. 66 or the fulfillment of Jesus' prophecies concerning those events. The Romans sent four legions to crush the rebellious Jews. They destroyed Jerusalem, the Temple, and enslaved over ninety-seven thousand of the survivors in A.D. 70, while the number that perished in the siege was eleven hundred thousand (Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 6.9.3). For the Jews of the Sinai Covenant, it was the end of the world they knew. Jesus predicted those events before His crucifixion and Resurrection during His last week in Jerusalem (Mt 23:33-24:25; Mk 13:1-23; Lk 19:41-44; 21:5-24). That the Fourth Gospel and the Three Letters of John do not refer to the persecution of Christians by the Romans nor the fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, suggest John wrote his Gospel and the Letters before those significant events took place.
In the three Letters, like his Gospel, St. John never names himself as the writer, submerging his identity in his work. Perhaps this was because John did not want to take credit for what he knew were works inspired by the Holy Spirit. The similarities in themes and vocabulary in the Letters and the Fourth Gospel substantiate the testimony of many of the early Church Fathers that John was the inspired writer. In addition to historical tradition and the writings of the Church Fathers, there are many similarities in language and content between the letters and the Fourth Gospel. Also, the Second and Third Letters have greetings and endings, which are almost identical in wording and support having one author.
The Letters are closely linked, complimenting each other in promoting love for God and one another, walking in the truth, and warnings concerning the dangers of following false teachers who deny the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. All three Letters also testify to the earthly Jesus as the divine Son of God who came to offer God's gift of eternal salvation to humanity. The Letters encourage faithful adherence to God's truths and obedience to His commandments. St. John's Second Letter is very much like the First and has many thematic parallels. It also shows similarities to the Third Letter in its format and expressions, serving as a bridge between the First and Third Letters. The common phrases and themes in the three letters:
Besides St. Paul's letters to St. Timothy, St. Titus, and Philemon, John's Third Letter is the only other New Testament letter written to an individual. However, the letters to Philemon and the Third Letter of John are the only New Testament letters written to ordinary Christians. St. John writes to a man named Gaius, a model Christian who set an example of hospitality and encouragement to his faith community by opening his doors to visiting missionaries. It is also the shortest letter in the New Testament.
The Canon of Sacred Scripture includes the Letters of St. John among the seven Catholic Epistles of the New Testament along with the Letter of St. James, the two Letters of St. Peter, and the Letter of St Jude. The earliest Church councils in the West and the East accepted John's Letters into the official canon of inspired Scripture, beginning with the Council of Hippo in 393 and at the Councils of Carthage in 397 and 419. The Councils of Trent (16th century) and Vatican I (19th century) again confirmed the canonicity of the Letters.
The Third Letter provides insights into the organization and problems in the early Church. It opens a window for us to see how the early Church addressed questions of jurisdiction and authority among its bishops like St. John and the local pastors, as demonstrated by the dispute between John, the chief-shepherd, and Diotrephes, the local leader, who defied John's authority.
The Third Letter divides into four parts:
Part I: Greeting (verses 1-2)
Part II: The Godliness of Gaius (verses 3-8)
Part III: The Pride of Diotrephes (verses 9-12)
Part IV: Benediction (verses 13-14)
| BIBLICAL PERIOD | # 12 The Kingdom of the Church | |||
| FOCUS | Commendation | Condemnation | ||
| COVENANT | New and Eternal Covenant | |||
| SCRIPTURE |
1:1-----------3------------------------------9-----------------------------13------------14 |
|||
| DIVISION | Greeting | Godliness of Gaius | Pride of Diotrephes | Benediction |
| TOPIC | Servanthood | Selfishness | ||
| Praise for Gaius' Hospitality |
Diotrephes' Arrogance Contrasted with Praise for Demetrius |
|||
| LOCATION | Ephesus, the second most important city in the Roman Empire located on the western coast of Asia Minor | |||
| TIME | It was probably written in the mid-first-century AD after John wrote his Gospel and First and Second Letters but before the great Roman persecution that began in AD 64. Roman persecution resulted in John's imprisonment on the Island of Patmos before the Jewish Revolt of 66. The Jewish Revolt was the end of the world as they knew it for the Jews, and led to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in AD 70. The letter mentions none of those terrible events predicted by Jesus. | |||
This lesson will use the New American Bible's version of St. John's Second Letter. The abbreviations IBHE and IBGE stand for the Interlinear Bible Hebrew-English and the Interlinear Bible Greek-English, while NJB signifies the New Jerusalem Bible translation. The designation CCC stands for the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
THE THIRD LETTER OF SAINT JOHN
Part I: Greeting
1 The Presbyter to the beloved Gaius whom I love
in truth. 2 Beloved, I hope you are prospering in every respect and are
in good health, just as your soul is prospering.
In verse 1, the word "presbyter" is from the Greek word presbyteros, meaning "older man/elder" but referring to one in charge of a clan or tribe and a term of authority familiar to both Gentile and Jewish converts. St. Peter used the same designation in First Peter: Likewise, you younger members, be subject to the presbyters [presbuteros] (1 Pt 5:5; IBGE, vol. VI, page 631). In the Church, it came to be the term for an ordained shepherd of a community (1 Pt 5:10) or a priest (Acts 14:23). John was both an Apostle and elder, serving as the sumpresbuteros, "chief elder/presbyter" (2 Jn 1) of communities under his authority. Concerning John's use of the term, St. Jerome wrote: "Originally presbyters and bishops were the same. When later on, one was chosen to preside over the rest, this was done to avoid schism. For apart from ordination, what function is there which belongs to a bishop which does not also belong to a presbyter?" (Jerome, Letters, 146).
John addresses the letter to a man named Gaius, who he loves in the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the bond of the Christian covenant family. Gaius was a common name for Greeks and Romans in the first century AD, and there are four men named Gaius in the New Testament:
Twice in his greeting, John affectionately refers to Gaius as "beloved." He will call Gaius "beloved" four times in verses 1, 2, 5, and 11. The term expresses the paternal bond between the father figure of the bishop and a faithful child/children of his flock. Gaius is a Greek name, but it was also a typical Roman name. He is probably a Gentile convert to Christianity.
Part II: The Godliness of Gaius
3 I rejoiced greatly when some of the brothers [adelphoi]
came and testified to how truly you walk in the truth.
4 Nothing gives me
greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
5 Beloved, you are faithful in all you do for the
brother [adelphoi]s, especially for strangers;
6 they have testified to your
love before the church. Please help them in a way worthy of God to continue
their journey.
7 For they have set out for the sake of the Name and are
accepting nothing from the pagans.
8 Therefore, we ought to
support such persons so that we may be co-workers in the truth.
3 I rejoiced greatly when some of the brothers [adelphoi]
came and testified [martyreo] to how truly you walk in the truth. 4 Nothing
gives me greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
Some of the Christian envoys John sent to Gaius' faith
community earlier to deliver a letter to the pastor (verse 9) and probably to give
a true doctrine preaching to the congregation returned with news concerning the
problems in the community. They also came back complimenting Gaius for his
piety. John refers to them as "brothers" [adelphoi]. Adelphos is
a Greek word that literally means "brother from the womb," and adelphoi is
the plural, "brothers," referring to a blood link through one mother. It is
the only Greek word used for "brother/brothers" in the New Testament. One
source lists it uses 346 times in 319 New Testament verses.(1) The
New Testament writers used it in the same sense as the Hebrew word ah, "kinsmen,"
also translated as "brothers" in the Greek translation of the Old Testament (i.e.,
Num 8:23-26; 16:10; 1 Sam 30:23; 2 Sam 1:26; 1 Kng 9:13; 2 Chron 29:34, etc.).
The Hebrew concept is the way Gospel writers and Luke in Acts of Apostles used
the terms "brothers" and "sisters" to refer to Jesus' relatives
(Mt 12:46; 13:55;
Mk 3:31; 6:3;
Lk 8:19;
Jn 2:12; 7:3;
Acts 1:14; also Paul in
1 Cor 9:5 and
Gal 1:19). However, it can also be assumed the other New Testament
writers used it in the context of brothers and sisters united in the blood of
Christ and born from the womb of the Church in Christian baptism (i.e.,
Acts 1:16; Rom 1:13; 1 Cor 15:58; Phil 4:1, etc.).(2)
To "walk with God" is a typical Semitic phrase to describe Gaius' righteous life. St. John is an Israelite from the Galilee, versed in the Hebrew Old Testament, and, therefore, he uses Hebrew concepts like "brothers" who are kinsmen, meaning "countrymen" or "covenant kinsmen," and terms like "walking with God." The Old Testament texts praised the Patriarchs for "walking with God" (c.f., Gen 5:22, 24; 6:9), and the phrase continued throughout the Old and New Testaments for those who fulfilled what their covenant bond with God required. For example:
5 Beloved, you are faithful in all you do for the
brothers [adelphoi], especially for strangers; 6 they have testified [martyreo]
to your love before the church. Please help them in a way worthy of God to
continue their journey.
Evidently, some of John's envoys returned to give an
account of conditions in Gaius's community and a favorable report concerning
Gaius' hospitality to them, but others have remained with Gaius. Gaius' aid to
the missionaries who were strangers to him is a manifestation of his Christian
character. John asks him to help those others as they continue their mission
to visit other faith communities in the Name of Jesus (verse 7).
False teachers spreading false doctrines was a continuing threat to the Church in John's time as it is today. Most of the early Church Councils dealt with the problem of heresies and defined true Christian doctrines. John mentions these dangers in the two previous letters:
In these two passages, the problem is the denial of the Incarnation of the Christ, who came as fully man and God: "The first heresies denied not so much Christ's divinity as his true humanity (Gnostic Docetism). From apostolic times the Christian faith has insisted on the true incarnation of God's Son come in the flesh.' But already in the third century, the Church in a council at Antioch had to affirm against Paul of Samosata that Jesus Christ is Son of God by nature and not by adoption. The first ecumenical council of Nicaea in 325 confessed in its Creed that the Son of God is begotten, not made, of the same substance (homoousios) as the Father, "and condemned Arius, who had affirmed that the Son of God came to be from things that were not" and that he was from another substance "than that of the Father" (CCC 465 quoting 1 Jn 4:2-3; 2 Jn 7, Council of Nicaea I; also see, CCC 461-64, 466-69).(3)
7 For they have set out for the sake of the Name and
are accepting nothing from the pagans.
"The Name" is another Hebrewism and was the way Jews
referred to the Divine Name of God in Hebrew as HaShem ("the name") to
avoid using the Divine Name Yahweh. John is using the same term to refer to
the Divine Name of Jesus, God the Son.
John states the only mission of his emissaries is to preach the truth in the Name of Jesus. Evidently, John instructed his missionaries to only stay with Christians during their mission to visit faith communities to preach the Gospel. It is similar to Jesus' instructions to the Apostles and the disciples when He sent them out to preach the Gospel of salvation to the "lost sheep of the house of Israel in Matthew 10:5-6; Mark 4:10, 34; and Luke 6:13. Staying with pagans would compromise the missionary's message to Gentile-Christians that they must sever all ties with their pagan past.
8 Therefore, we ought to support such
persons so that we may be co-workers in the truth.
In the early years of the Church, the bishops were either
traveling themselves or continually sending out groups of missionaries, like
St. Paul and his missionary teams, to revisit the newly founded faith
communities. It was a necessary step to ensure the continuity of the truth for
the Christian Gospel and its doctrines concerning the nature of Christ. It was
also vital for John to encourage the local churches to adhere to the central
authority of the Church. When fellow Christians offered hospitality to these
servants of Christ, they became co-workers in spreading the Gospel of Jesus
Christ.
Part III: The Pride of Diotrephes
9 I wrote to the church, but
Diotrephes, who loves to dominate, does not acknowledge us. 10 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. 11 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. 12 Demetrius receives a good
report from all [has received testimony/martyreo from all], even from the truth
itself. We give our testimonial [martyria] as well, and you know our testimony
is true.
[...] = ILGE, vol. IV, page 651-52.
9 I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes,
who loves to dominate, does not acknowledge us. 10 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.
Diotrephes is probably the leader of the community.
Question: What five faults does John list
concerning Diotrephes?
Answer:
That he is "spreading evil nonsense about us" may not only refer to John personally but the teachings of the hierarchy of the Christian faith, meaning he was engaging in teaching heresy. Heresy is a doctrinal belief held in opposition to the recognized standards of the Church by a baptized Christian. We do not know if Diotrephes expelled Gaius from the community.
In his commentary, St. Bede wrote: "It seems that Diotrephes was a leading heretic of those times. He was proud and insolent, preferring to gain control of the church by preaching something new and different rather than by following humbly the old commandments which John had already given them" (On 3 John).
11 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.
Doing what is good and not evil is what defines us as
Christians obedient to the teachings of Jesus Christ. John warns Gaius, who he
has commended for his good works and faith, not to follow the evil works of
Diotrephes (verses 9-10). He wants to encourage Gaius to continue living in
imitation of Christ because "whoever does what is good is of God; whoever does
what is evil has never seen God (c.f., 1 Jn 3:14; 4:2).
John is using the moral categories of good and evil to
distinguish between those who belong to God from those who do not. In the
First Letter, he used the same message, writing: 4 Everyone
who commits sin commits lawlessness, for sin is lawlessness. 5 You know
that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him, there is no sin. 6 No
one who remains in him sins; no one who sins has seen him or known him. 7 Children,
let no one deceive you. The person who acts in righteousness is righteous, just
as he is righteous. 8 Whoever sins belongs to the devil because the devil
has sinned from the beginning. Indeed, the Son of God was revealed to destroy
the works of the devil. 9 No one who is begotten by God commits
sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot sin because he is begotten by
God. 10 In this way, the children of God and the children of
the devil are made plain; no one who fails to act in righteousness belongs to
God, nor anyone who does not love his brother.
(1 Jn 3:4-10).
Question: How is John establishing good and evil
actions as a test for discernment?
Answer: Diotrephes' wrong actions show that he is
not behaving as one who has "seen God." Gaius, however, demonstrates that he
is "of God" by showing concern and hospitality in the form of fraternal love to
covenant brothers sent by the Church.
Question: What did Jesus say about using a
similar test of right actions for determining the quality of one's character in
Matthew 7:16-20 when warning about false prophets who come in "sheep's
clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves" and comparing people to trees and
their actions to fruits?
Answer: Jesus said: "By their fruits, you will
know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Just
so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A
good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every
tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
So by their fruits, you will know them."
12 Demetrius receives a good report
from all [has received testimony from all], even
from the truth itself. We give our testimonial as well, and you know our
testimony is true.
Demetrius is probably one of the brothers John sent as one
of his emissaries to Gaius' community who has returned to give John a report on
their mission with the bad news about Diotrephes and the good about Gaius.
John commends Demetrius, who has received good comments from everyone,
contrasting him with Diotrephes. In the phrase
translated has received testimony from all, the Greek text uses the verb
martyreo, meaning "to bear witness," "to give
testimony." He also used the same word in verses 3 and 6. It is from the noun
martyria from which we derive the English word "martyr," which means
"testimony" or "witness" but came to mean one who "witnesses to Christ with his
death."
Part IV: Benediction
13 I have much to write to you, but I do not wish
to write with pen and ink. 14 Instead, I hope to see you soon, when we
can talk face to face [mouth to mouth]. 15 Peace be with you. The
friends greet you; greet the friends there each by name.
[...] = ILGE, vol. IV, page 652.
Unlike John's Gospel that ended in an epilogue (concluding statement) concerning the writer's testimony or the First Letter that ended in an epilogue, the Third Letter, like the Second Letter, ends with a promise to visit instead of delivering his message with "pen and ink" (2 Jn 12; 3 Jn 13-14). He also ends both the Second and Third Letters with a benediction. The word "benediction" is from the Latin bene, meaning "good," joined to dictio that means "to speak," making the word "to speak good" or "good-speaking;" some might even say a "well-wishing." In the Bible, it is a short statement in the form of a blessing offering a petition, assurance, or promise suggesting God's protection or comfort. In this letter, John's "good-speaking" is to bless Gaius with peace, referring to God's peace, which Paul wrote passes all human understanding (Philippians 4:7).
15 Peace be with you. The friends
greet you; greet the friends there each by name.
John gives a benediction of the "peace of God" to Gaius.
It is the standard Hebrew salutation that the Apostles and their successors
continued to use in their letters. However, they gave it a Christian meaning
as Jesus uttered the same blessing on the evening of Resurrection Sunday to the
Apostles (Jn 20:19), and the priest gives to the congregation (as Jesus'
representative) at the beginning of the Mass. Peter used the same blessing to
end his letter in 1 Peter 5:14. John includes that the "friends' of his
community send their greetings. He also makes the request for Gaius to give
greetings of peace to the Christians at his church, specifically to make the
greeting personal by using each of their names.
St. Bede wrote: "John sends the grace of peace and salvation to his friends in order to demonstrate that Diotrephes and other enemies of the truth have no part in their peace or salvation" (On 3 John). St. John also sends the same blessing of peace in Christ to us, along with the promise of Jesus' gift of eternal salvation for those who keep His commandments. Following in the path of Christ, our Savior and Redeemer, will assure us that one day we will meet St. John in Heaven and hear him call us "Beloved friends."
The names Gaius and Demetrius appear in a list of early Church bishops in the document "Apostolic Constitutions." Although it cannot be verified that the two early bishops of the same names were the two men John praised in his Third Letter. The "Apostolic Constitutions," also called "Ordinances of the Holy Apostles Through Clement," is the most extensive surviving collection of ecclesiastical law from the Church. The full title suggests that it contained regulations drawn up by the Apostles and transmitted to the Church by Pope St. Clement I of Rome (pope from AD 88-99), the third successor to St. Peter. Clement is considered the first Apostolic Father of the Church along with Saints Polycarp of Smyrna and Ignatius of Antioch. Contained in the document is an expanded copy of the Didache (Teaching of the Twelve Apostles), the Church's first catechism (see the study of the Didache on the website) and also a list of the Church's early bishops.
Questions for discussion or reflection: What can we apply to our lives in our relationship with the Church and our covenant brothers and sisters from the contrasts between the three men named in John's letter? What is the warning concerning relying on our own interpretation of Christian doctrine and resisting the authority of the Church like the arrogant Diotrephes? What are the qualities of Gaius and Demetrius that we should imitate? What did Paul and Peter write about the interpretation of Sacred Scripture in 2 Timothy 3:14-17 and 2 Peter 1:20-21?
Endnotes:
1. Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
2. See the document "Did Jesus Have Brothers and Sisters."
3. See the list of early heresies concerning Jesus.
Catechism references for this lesson (* indicates
Scripture quoted or paraphrased in the citation)
3 John 7 (CCC 432*)
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