Lessons Seven

1. Background of Laodicea (3:14-22)

a. City lay on a southern plateau in a valley between two streams (the Asopus and the Capsus).

b. It first became an administrative and judicial centre for the region in 50 BC. It eventually became a bank centre and an increasingly wealthy city.

c. The city was also famous for its school of medicine with the temple of Men Karou (“god of the valley”), the god of healing.

d. The region was prone to earthquakes but had the financial strength to rebuilt the city with little outside help.

e. Judaism was prominent but the Church experience very little persecution from the Jewish oppositions. This is because the religious fervor had been compromised by syncretism.

f. The church like the city itself had grown fat and complacent satisfied with its wealth but quite devoid of any spiritual depth.

2. Strength (3:15-16)

a. The best thing to say about the church is that “it is neither hot or cold.” This metaphor stems from Laodicea’s water supply.

b. Hierapolis’ hot streams is know for their healing qualities, while the cold life giving water of Colosse may account for its original settlement.

c. Laodicea had no water supply of its own.

d. When it was piped in its water from the hot spring, the water did not have enough time to cool in the aqueducts. So it arrived “lukewarm.” This along with its minerals made the water undrinkable

e. This speaks of their barren works. Jesus says: “I know your works.”

f. Jesus says, “I wish you were hot or cold.” The church should not have matched its water supply. The Laodiceans should have been know for their spiritual healing (Like Hierapolis) or their refreshing, life-giving ministry (like Colosse). Instead, as Jesus statement reads, they were “lukewarm.” They were devoid of works and useless to the Lord.

g. Jesus was about to vomit them out of his mouth. This speaks how this is making Jesus sick. This disturbs Jesus to the point of wanting to reject these works of the church and the church itself. This speaks of pending judgment.

3. The Problem and Its Solution (3:17-18):

a. The cause of their lukewarm is not given. But God’s judgment is now given.

b. The Laodicea’s were immensely wealthy and this led to self-sufficiency and complacency, a deadly combination for the Christian. Because they were materially rich they assumed that they were also spiritually rich.

c. Thought: “I have wealth; I need nothing.” This was the culture of the city who felt the same when experience earthquakes, needing no help from Rome to rebuild it.

d. The problem was, the city had no perceived need for help from Rome, and the church had not perceived need for help from God. They do not realize they are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.

e. With no external pressure from pagan (like Sardis) or Jewish (like Smyrna or Philadelphia) persecutions, with no internal threat from heretical movement (like Ephesus, Pergamum Thyatira), they had succumbed to their own affluent lifestyle, and they did not even know it.

f. Poor, blind, and naked is elaborated in 3:18. Read Luke 16:1-8 about the manager. Firstly, they bought everything from earthly merchants and so went to the wrong store. They purchased the wrong things. God is sending trails to help purify them into pure gold from personal suffering, but they refused this. Secondly, the city was famed for its glossy black wool, but these wealthy Christians were actually naked in the eyes of God. They were a disgraced before the Lord (shame)—divine judgment in contrast to righteous clothed in white garments. Thirdly, earthly accomplishments in the city were meaningless in light of the church’s spiritual blindness. Read John 9 to see the sight of the blind man and the blindness of the seeing Pharisees. The church needs to be anointed with God’s eye salve.”

g. Wretched = to be miserable of filled with distress, grieve, mourn, and wail.

h. Pitied – a person who has no hope of resurrection, miserable rather than powerful.

4. Solution Developed Further (3:19-20)

a. For the victorious, discipline is a purifying process (John 15:2b); for the weak, it is a wake up call.

b. Read Prov 3:11-12

c. Describes God as a loving father who must discipline his children (Heb 12:6, 7, 10)

d. The only possible response is to be zealous and repent. Zeal precedes the repentance. A seal or eagerness to get right with God must replace the lukewarm spirituality that characterized the church. The zeal will be seen in repentance. The Laodiceans had been blind to their own indifferent spirituality. They had apparently listened to their worldly affluence rather than Christ and had through material success meant they were right with God.

e. The invitation (v. 20): This verse often has been misunderstood as an evangelistic call to the unsaved to become Christian. However, it is a call to a weak church to repent. At the same time, it is a challenge to every individual in that church to open themselves up to Christ and invite into their lives. Finally, it is a promised that if they will do so, Christ will “enter” into deep fellowship with them.”

f. Christ does not force entry but rather makes himself available. Condition: “if any hear my voice and open the door.” The individual must make a decision to allow him to enter. Christ identifies himself at the door and calls for response. The person then response in repentance and opens the door to Christ. Repentance is opening doors that Jesus is knocking on.

g. The end result is table fellowship. Christ first will come in and then will dine with them. Table fellowship = ancient near eastern practice—a meal invitation open the way to reconciliation.

h. Everyday meals were highly complex for people to get access to high dignitaries. Jesus broke many of those boundaries by sharing meals with sinners in order to tell the religious establishment that in God’s kingdom all were welcome on the grounds not of acceptability but of response to God’s call. Jesus is a friend of sinners. This points to the messianic banquet.

5. Challenge to Overcome and Call to listen (3:21-22)