Verse 14 – Jesus introduces Himself to the congregation at Laodicea by three titles:
(1) “The Amen” which is a reminder that the Lord – by His death on the Cross – is the living confirmation of the New Covenant with its promises. 2 Corinthians 1:19-20, “For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, Who was preached among you by us...was not yea and nay, but in him was yea. For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in Him Amen, unto the glory of God.”
(2) “The Faithful and True Witness” is a declaration that Jesus accurately delivers Divine truth and, therefore, His word is both authoritative and dependable.
(3) “The Beginning of the creation of God” which means that He is both the Origin and Ruler of all creation. This is not the first time that the Laodiceans had been taught that Jesus is the Creator and Ruler of the Universe. Paul's Letter to the Colossians was meant to be read to the Laodiceans (Colossians 4:16), and in that Letter Paul wrote of Jesus in these terms - “He is the image of the invisible God, the Firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also Head of the body, the Church; and He is the Beginning, the Firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything” (Colossians 1:15-18).
In summation, the One who speaks in this Letter is the Amen, the great Guarantor of the Covenant, the infallible Witness Who is Truth Himself, with all the authority possessed by the Creator and King of the universe. And He has come to bear testimony against His congregation at Laodicea.
Verses 15-16 - Jesus addresses the congregation's leadership and members saying that their actions were so disgusting that He wanted to spit them out of His mouth. It's not that they had bad doctrine nor that their actions were wicked. The problem was that they were totally worthless in making an impact upon their local community. Jesus tells them that they “are neither cold nor hot” but “lukewarm.”
Now, there are some who teach that the terms “cold” and “hot” refer to degrees of zeal. In this view, “cold” means acting like a non-convert, void of any desire and interest in serving the Lord while being “hot” means being 'on fire' for the Lord, being zealous in serving the Lord. Thus, being “lukewarm” means a state of indifference and mediocrity.
However, there is a better explanation of Jesus' analogy that is better grounded in the history and geography of Laodicea. The city of Laodicea was located between the cities of Hieropolis and Colosse. Hieropolis was widely-known for its abundant and healing hot mineral springs. On the other hand, Colosse was well-known in that region for its clear, refreshing cold water that flowed from the melting snow and ice of surrounding mountains. Laodicea's water primarily came from the Lycus river and it was lukewarm, putrid, and nauseating. So, Hieropolis benefited society by its healing hot, mineral-laden pools. Colossae benefited society by offering refreshment to the thirsty with its clear, cold, invigorating drinking water. But, Laodicea's waters offered no benefit to society since it was neither hot (for health) nor cold (for drinking).
With that in mind, we can more accurately understand Jesus' message. The basic indictment against the Laodicean congregation is that it was of no benefit to society. With righteous indignation, Jesus says to them: “I wish that you were cold or hot.” 'In your community, you provide neither refreshment for the spiritually weary, nor healing for the spiritually sick. For My Cause, you are good for nothing. You do not have any influence or impact upon society.'
If a congregation is not transforming its society, if it is not Christianizing the culture, what good is it? Matthew 5:13-16, “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father Who is in heaven.”
If a person were to go door-to-door within just a five block radius of our church building and ask the residents about what they know about us, what do you suppose our neighbors would be able to say? If they were asked what does our congregation believe on how to be saved and why, how many of our neighbors could answer that? I have yet to come across a commandment or even a suggestion that says we are to sit-back and let the lost come to us to find-out about the Gospel. On the contrary, we are commanded to go to them.
If they were asked what positions does our congregation take on the serious issues of our day (e.g., abortion, the creation/evolution debate, the permanence of marriage, sex outside of marriage, homosexuality/lesbianism and their rights, legalization of the recreational use of marijuana), would they know? Or, a better question, could they know? If our neighbors are speechless in responding to those questions, the fault does not lie with them but with us!
We are commanded, in Ephesians 5:11, “Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them.” If you read the context in which this command is found, you discover that this 'exposing' is not speaking of pulpit preaching but educating the community out in the community.
We are commanded that, as we have opportunity, do good to all men, especially to those in the Church (Galatians 6:10). We might score well on doing good toward our brothers and sisters in Christ. But, again, if our neighbors were asked, to your knowledge, in what ways has our congregation reached-out to the non-Christian community and done good? What out-reach projects could they cite?
In Matthew 25:34-40, “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’ When we read this, do we not realize that Jesus is admonishing His Church to be involved in the community with emergency needs ministry (the Church is to be the true Red Cross in society), homeless ministry, hospital chaplain ministry, and prison ministry? And, in just a few verses further down, Jesus sends to Hell those of His people who failed to perform these ministries?
The bottom line is that Jesus created His Church to be actively impacting our community in both spiritual and temporal ways. Those congregations that fail to influence and impact their communities are an abomination to Christ and He will not tolerate them but will spew them out like vomit.
Verses 17-18 – The truly tragic situation in Laodicea is that the entire congregation thought they were doing pretty good as Christians. Not for a moment did they think that they were failing their Lord and being negligent in any way shape or form. They were blind in two ways: (1) They thought that merely 'holding down the fort' was sufficient to please Christ, and (2) They mistakenly thought that their enjoyment of worldly wealth and physical health was an indication that they were pleasing to Christ. 'Look at all the blessings I have in my life...I must be doing something right in the eyes of the Lord.'
Jesus now deals with that second and equally fatal blind-spot or delusion that worldly blessings are based upon spiritual standing. Or, in other words, if you are right with God, God will show you by giving you excellent physical health and economic prosperity. The popular “Health and Wealth Gospel” of our day (also referred to as 'Prosperity Theology', the 'Prosperity Gospel', the 'Gospel of Success', and the 'Name It and Claim It' movement) is not new. The Laodicean brethren believed a form of it. The Laodiceans had the attitude: “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing.”
It seems that these brethren forgot a couple facts about temporal or physical blessings: (1) Matthew 5:45, “Your Father Who is in heaven...causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” Therefore, just because you are blessed by the Father in worldly things does not mean you are necessarily good and righteous before God. (2) Romans 2:4, “Do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?” Rather than thinking God's blessings are proof of your good standing with Him, God's blessings are to be motivation to examine more closely one's standing with God and, if need be, REPENT!
Jesus tells them, 'you say you have need of nothing, but the truth is you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.” Luke 12:21, “So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."
Before we examine Jesus' counsel for them, I want to share a few facts about the city of Laodicea:
(A) It was a very wealthy city as it was a major banking and financial center, plus it was on a major trade route. The city's residents were so prosperous that when the city was demolished by an earthquake in AD 60, the civic leaders rejected the Emperor's and Senate's offer of financial aid to rebuild. The city was able to rebuild itself with improvements in only two years (Tacitus, Annals, 14:27).
(B) One unique industry in Laodicea dealt with textiles. The sheep in that region provided a very fine quality of world-famous black, glossy wool. Thus, it was fashionable in Laodicea to wear clothing made from this black wool.
(C) Within the city was a prestigious medical school and one of its specialized departments was ophthalmology, the treatment of eye diseases. For hundreds of years, it was the source of a remarkably effective eye-salve called “Phrygian Powder”.
With those facts in mind, now consider Jesus' admonition: “I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.” The gold refined by fire refers to publicly standing-up for truth and godly standards which will inevitably bring persecution (1 Peter 1:7). The white garments refers to righteous actions that are expected of Christians (Revelation 19:8). The eye-salve is the enlightenment that comes from the Holy Spirit as He shows us in the written word what we are and what we should be (1 Corinthians 2:14; James 1:22-25).
Verses 19 – Jesus has been unrelenting in His condemnation of this congregation. Not one compliment or word of praise has been delivered. This being so, Jesus wants them to know why He has been so stern, why He has been so harsh. Everything He has said has flowed from the love He has for them. “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline.” Hebrews 12:7-8, 10-11, “God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons...He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”
Jesus says, 'I love you enough to be direct...I love you enough to be forthright...I love you enough to be straightforward...I love you enough to be unequivocal...so that you would fully know that you need to share in My holiness and bear the fruits of righteousness. “Therefore, be zealous and repent.”
All congregations and all Christians need reproof and correction at times, and some more than others. What is important is whether or not we heed the warning, and mend our ways. As far as Laodicea had fallen, it could still be restored if it renewed its obedience and becomes faithful to Christ’s Word: “Be zealous therefore, and repent!”
Verses 20-21 – Jesus closes His Letter to the leadership and members of the congregation with a couple of very gracious promises:
Restored Communion and Fellowship. The Laodicean congregation had pushed Jesus aside with their attitude of spiritual self-sufficiency. They had shut the door leaving the Lord outside. They were the Church of Christ without the Christ. Jesus, says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.” Every congregation should yearn for the intimate Presence of Christ in their worship and in their community out-reach.
Spiritual Dominion. Jesus promises that if the congregation and its members progressively overcome their faults and weaknesses, He “will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” This is not a future hope but is to be a present reality. Ephesians 1:20-21 says of what the Father did with Christ that “He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion.” Let's not overlook Ephesians 2:4-6, “God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places.” The more we detach ourselves from this world, the more we will realize that we are seated in the heavenly places with Christ and we will conquer this world with Christ and for Christ.
