Letters From God: to the Church in Laodicea
Laodicea: Revelation 3:14-22
The second and third chapters of
Revelation contain seven letters to the seven churches in Asia. We have looked
in-depth at each letter, and we have heard again and again: He who has an ear,
let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. We have seen the reminder to
return to our first love, to persevere in the face of suffering and
persecution, to hold fast to solid Christian doctrine, to keep free from moral
compromise, to remain spiritually alive, and to hold on. Today we hear a harsh
warning to those who are lukewarm Christians.
This letter is from the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation, the reliable witness with true testimony. Because he is the firstborn of God’s creation and in him all things were created, he rules over it all.
This letter comes to the church in
Laodicea, the wealthiest city in its region. It was famous for its fertile
ground for grazing sheep, especially a breed with a luxurious black wool. They
had a well-known banking industry and a famous medical school.
But Laodicea had one major weakness.
They had a lack of fresh water. The city’s location had been determined by the
road system rather than by natural resources. Thus water had to be brought in
from springs ten kilometers away through a system of stone pipes approximately one
meter in diameter.
In this context, we hear the familiar
“I know your deeds,” deeds that are neither hot nor cold. We have to understand
this saying within its physical context. Remember I said that the city of
Laodicea had no water supply of its own? But only 10 km north, was the city of
Hierapolis, which was famous for its hot springs. They were said to have
medicinal value, and people would come from all over for their healing powers.
Meanwhile, nearby in Colossae, there
was cold, pure water, perfect for drinking. But in Laodicea, they had neither.
So here, in this letter, Jesus is making a contrast. The church in Laodicea
“was providing neither refreshment for the spiritually weary, nor healing for
the spiritually sick. It was totally ineffective, and thus distasteful to its
Lord.” Jesus’ response shows more than just distaste. He wanted to spit them
out, to spew them from his mouth. They made him want to vomit.
They see themselves as wealthy and
self-sufficient. They look at their beautiful church buildings, their ornate
sanctuaries, their fabulous choir robes, and they congratulate themselves on
what a wonderful church they are. The church meetings are where people go to be
noticed. People in these situations love their titles, love their positions,
love the accolades… But Jesus sees them instead as “wretched, pitiful, poor,
blind, and naked.” What they see as their strengths are really their greatest
weaknesses! Contrast that with Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 12:9: But he said to me, “My grace is
sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Jesus responds to their supposed
strength by telling them that since they are poor, they need to buy, from
Christ, gold refined in the fire. By this, he means spiritual wealth. Stop
relying on your money, and focus on Christ. Matthew 6:24 and Luke 16:13 both
record Jesus’ words: You cannot serve
both God and money.
Jesus also tells them they need white
clothes as well to cover the shame of their nakedness. This was a subtle dig at
the famous Laodicean black wool, but it was also the symbol of righteousness
used all over the book of Revelation. Listen to how it is put in Isaiah 61:10 I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul
rejoices in my God. For he has clothed
me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns
his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
While Laodicea was known for its
famous medical school and exported a medicinal eye salve. They were confident
of their clear vision into spiritual matters, but they needed their own eye
salve to restore sight. This is a reminder of Jesus’ words from John 9:39, “For judgment I have come into this world,
so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”
But Christ isn’t finished with these
wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked Laodiceans. Jesus reminds them that Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline.
Proverbs 3:11–12 states, My son, do not
despise the Lord’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord
disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in. Jesus is
not rejecting Laodicea. This is important. Though their deeds make him want to
vomit, he is not rejecting them! He tells them to be earnest and repent.
He stands at the door, knocking,
waiting for their earnest repentance. Many times we interpret this as
evangelistic – reaching outside the church, but this message is directed to the
church, to the self-deluded church members. In their own blind
self-sufficiency, they have, in effect, driven Jesus out of their congregation!
So Jesus requests permission to enter and reestablish fellowship.[1]
If they do, Jesus offers a double
reward. First, in the here and now, Jesus will re-enter the congregation and
fellowship with them. He also offers an eternal reward, where he invites the
overcomer to rule with him. This is what Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy
2:12: If we endure, we will also reign
with him.
Jesus then
finishes the letter with a familiar exhortation: He who has ears, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
If we merely read this or listen to it and don’t let the Spirit transform us
through it, we are as bad as the church in Laodicea, who thought they could do
it all without Christ.
[1]
Mounce, R. H. (1997). The Book of
Revelation (p. 113). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
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