Introduction
3 John, the shortest New Testament book, is attributed to John the Apostle. This book focuses on faithful hospitality and truth, prioritizing love and fellowship in Christianity. Its main characters are Gaius and Diotrephes, two opposing heroes whose personality traits are either commended or condemned. The central idea of this text is to draw a clear line between people of God and evil to justify that the former demonstrate hospitality and kindness towards others to ensure Christian growth.
Writer of 3 John
The authorship of the Epistles of John remains a debatable question for Christian congregations. Traditionally, the apostle John – the youngest disciple of Jesus Christ – is considered the author of 3 John. However, the text does not explicitly recognize his name, meaning that some scholars attribute these writings to the Johannine group – a community of early Christians with established leadership and theological beliefs. Nevertheless, this presbyter or Christian clergy composed the text during John’s late life, around 90 AD in the Mediterranean region (Smalley, 2018).
The original recipient of 3 John might be Gaius, a hospitable and generous character (The King James Bible, 2004, p. 709). As with any other New Testament teaching, this text is crucial for the larger audience, including local churches and Christian communities, to cultivate faithfulness and love. This background information implies that 3 John shapes the Christian mindset of obedient service and hospitality.
Cultural and Theological Context
Identifying the historical and religious context is necessary to understand the narrative in the Epistle of John and its importance for Christians throughout the centuries. The text was composed during the early Christian development when the church faced historical challenges and opposition. At that time, many false teachers advocated for religious plurality and division in Christianity (Méndez, 2020, p. 359). Although they contacted each other through constant visits and personal letters, they were always in rivalry. Hence, frequent complications between religious divisions forced disciples to focus on love and generosity.
Meanwhile, cultural and theological contexts highlight the reason for touching on hospitality in the epistles. As an illustration, Lorencin (2019) recognizes hospitality as an essential custom in antiquity, pointing to the delicate process of assigning the status of guests to strangers (p. 148). This statement justifies that cultural norms in the ancient Greco-Roman world valued hospitality, spreading it through gospels and epistles.
On the other hand, the former letters in the Gospel of John create the theological context of the cosmological relation between good and evil, humanity and God (Reynolds, 2018, p. 3). Previous Bible texts, such as the Fourth Gospel, note that sin distinguishes children of evil and good, correlating with the idea of hospitable God followers and their antagonists in 3 John (Reynolds, 2018, p. 12). Therefore, the former emphasis on obedience and hospitality sets the context for developing 3 John.
Background
The idea behind Johannine’s letters underlines the importance of hospitality. In other words, its purpose is to affirm Gaius’s behavior of welcoming all missionaries who traveled in the early Christian era. The author emphasizes Gaius’s hospitality in 3 John 1:5: “Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers” (The King James Bible, 2004, p. 709).
Additionally, the text aims to discourage Diotrephes’s behavior, who spreads malicious nonsense about other Christians. The letter comprises three main parts: appreciation of Gaius (1:1-1:8), criticism of Diotrephes (1:9-1:11), and closing remarks. Although the author is not mentioned explicitly, the text is written in a letter genre, addressing critical social and religious issues.
Structure of 3 John
The structure of 3 John considers the message from the Elder to Gaius. It introduces the author as an Elder and commends Gaius for faithfulness. Paley (2021) mentions that missionaries are worthy of Gaius’s support as they seek the actual path (p. 423). Later, verses 9-10 focus on Diotrephes’s accusation of not welcoming guests and spreading rumors about them.
The next two verses urge the audience through Gaius to follow good, while the last lines show the Elder’s eagerness to meet the letter’s recipients. This structure revolves around the central claim that Christianity should encourage faithful hospitality. Similarly, this division marks the primary claim that opposition to religion and pride should be eliminated, as people with such traits never bring prosperity.
Like any Biblical narrative, the text’s grammatical composition has many difficult-to-comprehend words. Even the author, possibly pseudepigraphic or falsely attributed, styles himself as “the Elder” – a word denoting distinct connotations (Méndez, 2020, p. 366). The letter also includes archaic terms such as forbiddeth, which are not currently used.
The text is written in the present tense to create a sense of relevance and urgency, while the narrator’s moods fluctuate. Johannine starts affectionately, appealing to Gaius as beloved, but continues with a denouncing and exhorting mood toward Diotrephes. Persons in the text also cover Gentiles, the unfamiliar term for non-Jewish individuals (Paley, 2021, p. 423). Nevertheless, the letter’s shortness facilitates the audience’s understanding of such terms and fluctuations.
In 3 John, several vital figures describe and underline the behavior of the Christian community. The most prominent example is Gaius, who illustrates the hospitality and generosity promoted by the text. This protagonist is beloved by the author, who addresses himself as the Elder throughout the narrative (Méndez, 2020, p. 366).
Another name briefly mentioned in John’s third epistle is Demetrius, whose description lacks deep characterization, but he is mainly presented as a positive and credible character. Meanwhile, Diotrephes becomes the story’s antagonist due to being preeminent and arrogant, rejecting any Christian guests. This group of heroes protects the Elder’s positive testimony about Gaius and opposition toward Diotrephes.
Logic and Argument
Regarding the text’s logical flow, the author uses a comprehensive and transparent way of delivering his message. Initially, 3 John introduces their love for Gaius, positioning him as a loyal and faithful Christian follower. It is reasonable that the author explicitly elaborates on Gaius’s actions that prove his hospitality, openness, and obedience. As a grateful response to Gaius’s acts of service, 3 John includes wishes for health and wellness, presenting his smooth reasoning (The King James Bible, 2004, p. 709). This part is prominent for the narrator’s admiration of Gaius for his hospitality toward Christian brothers and strangers.
However, this narrative’s logic concerns the division between the children of God and evil. That is why the Johannine community continues condemning Diotrephes (Reynolds, 2018, p. 12). In this case, he implicitly juxtaposes two heroes: Gaius and Diotrephes.
While the former complies with God’s rule, the latter refuses to follow God. Diotrephes demonstrates his preeminence, as a result of which he refuses to welcome any guests and follow the Christian order. This disobedience forces Johannine’s group to condemn Diotrephes and ask the audience to follow Gaius’s model instead of the antagonist’s example.
Interestingly, such a logical juxtaposition concludes with closing remarks to Gaius, the original recipient of 3 John. It seems disruptive that the author hopes to meet Gaius face-to-face after condemning evil. Despite unexpected closing remarks, the structure is clear and persuasive, with a central argument based on comparing two heroes.
The Central Message
The central message of John’s third epistle is crucial since it highlights the fundamental Christian values of hospitality and truthfulness. Emphasizing the necessity of faithful action correlates with early Christian battles mentioned in the New Testament. However, this battle persists as evil and good continue to fight (Reynolds, 2018, p. 13). Thus, the primary idea of following God’s rule genuinely and showing acts of love to co-religionists teaches the audience to support those who live for the sake of Jesus. This idea facilitates the support of Christian followers, thus growing their number and unity.
3 John also believes that some harmful acts should be stopped immediately. It includes Diotrephes’s feeling of superiority over others, which forces him to act arrogantly and refuse to welcome those on a mission for Christ. His prating against faithful religious followers positions him as an antithesis of Gaius, meaning that the epistle urges the audience never to follow his model (The King James Bible, 2004, p. 709). Those who want to promote the advancement of Christianity should ultimately reject any model against God. Thus, the central message highlights the belief that those who have never felt God’s presence will always be contrary to Christians, meaning that they will not welcome God’s people.
Application for the Modern World
For the modern world’s readers, this epistle should serve as a role model for the most preferred treatment of Christian followers. Indeed, the 21st century lacks reception, generosity, and cordiality due to the increased concentration on capital accumulation. As everybody develops egoistic and self-centered approaches, they must learn to show others they are welcomed and valued. Carman (2020) fairly judges this assertion by stating that the two heroes in this story are wealthy enough to share their resources with others, which opposes the idea that everybody should be hospitable (p. 35). It hints that less privileged people have fewer opportunities to be generous to others.
However, modernity can be used for its sake by forcing people to help vulnerable societies and support humanitarian missions globally. For example, refugees fleeing their homelands need people’s support, as Gaius demonstrated. Regardless of one’s financial position, one should assist others according to Christianity.
Conclusion
John’s third epistle might be attributed to the community of authors concerned with the religious followers and Christianity’s prosperity. Even though the ownership of this message remains unknown, it still establishes a valid, persuasive, and solid idea that good should be praised while evil should be condemned. Commendation of faithful hospitality is facilitated by a clear text structure with the introduction of two main characters: Gaius and Diotrephes. The author draws on the juxtaposition between the two, urging the audience to value Gaius for his hospitality. This way, 3 John emphasizes the importance of humility, kindness, and cordiality in Christianity.
References
Carman, J. M. (2020). Scaling Gaius and Diotrephes: Socio-Economic Stratification in 1 and 3 John. Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 43(1), 28-43. Web.
King James Bible. (2004). Holy Books. Web.
Lorencin, I. (2019). Hospitality as a ritual liminal-stage relationship with transformative power: social dynamics of hospitality and patronage in the third epistle of John. Biblical Theology Bulletin, 49(3), 146-155. Web.
Méndez, H. (2020). Did the Johannine Community exist?Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 42(3), 350-374. Web.
Paley, J. (2021). Reading 3 John within a Jewish framework: and overdue reconsideration of the text. SagePub Journals, 132(10), 421-425. Web.
Reynolds, B. E. (2018). The anthropology of John and the Johannine epistles: A relational anthropology. In Anthropology and New Testament Theology (Edited by Clark, pp. 1-20). Web.
Smalley, S. S. (2018). 1, 2, and 3 John, volume 51: Revised. Zondervan Academic.