And so he had come to the end of his journey. It seemed like a life time ago that he read the first letter to the church that was situated in the city of Ephesus. Since then he had travelled to five other cities and read to them the words of the risen Christ. Words of commendation and words of condemnation. Believers had basked in the praise and bristled at the reprimands. How many times had he had to say “Hey I’m just the messenger?”
The last letter that he had delivered had been a real joy, it had been read to the Christians in Philadelphia and Christ had nothing but praise for the church. The one that he was about to read was a little different. It was like the worst had been saved to the last. Just as there had been nothing bad to say about the Philadelphian church there was nothing good to say about the Laodicean church, nothing, zip, nada. And he really wasn’t looking forward to delivering this letter.
The city of Laodicea was neither the youngest nor oldest of the seven cities founded 300 years before the Revelation was written by Antiochus of Syria and named after his wife Laodice. Laodicea was on the of the greatest commercial centres of the day, it literally straddled the major trade route that lead from Ephesus to Syria which meant that the majority of east west trade had to pass through the city. Originally Laodicea had been designed as a fortress but it had a major liability in the fact that it had no internal supply of water and it’s only source of drinking water was a piped in supply from six miles away. The Roman Historian Pliny, referred to Laodicea as “A most distinguished city.”
On historian said that “It needed only peace to make Laodicea a great commercial and financial centre.” And that peace came in the form of the dominion of Rome. This was one of the richest cities in the known world. When devastated by an earthquake in 61 a.d. they refused any aid from the Roman Government and from their own resources rebuilt an even greater Laodicea.
If we pull up our map for the last time we discover that Laodicea completes the circular route this letter took. Situated here in what is now Turkey the city approximately 100 kms South East of Philadelphia. Which if you were here last week you’ll remember was the only one of the seven cities with an NHL team.
We’ve already mentioned that Laodicea was a city of great wealth and commerce. It was also known for clothing manufacturing. The sheep which razed round Laodicea were famous for their soft, black, glossy wool. The city was also famous for the mass production of inexpensive outer garments as well. It was also a centre of medicine, just thirteen miles to the west stood the temple of the Carian and this temple eventually became known for it’s school of medicine which had it’s administrative centre in Laodicea. The school and it’s physicians were so well known that they were honoured on some of the local coins. The medical school was famous for the eye and ear ointment that they produced which became famous throughout the known world.
It was a great city, a city of commerce, culture and science and all that remains of it today are ruins.
And so it was to the church in this great, wealthy city of commerce and medicine which
the Risen Christ addressed his most scathing letter.
The Rebuke
And again he begins with the words Revelation 3:15 “ I know all the things you do A frightening reminder that the church does not serve under a blind eye. Everything we do or don’t do is observed by Jesus. Every time we neglect to do the things of God it’s seen. Each one of us will be judged individually on our relationship with Christ, a relationship of “Grace based on faith.”
But the corporate entity known as the church will be judged as a corporation, and that judgment will be based on how well we represented Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world. If Jesus stood before us today as a church and said “I know all the things you do.” Would the words be words of praise or condemnation? The words to the Church in Laodicea were harsh because Jesus continues and says Revelation 3:15 “ I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish you were one or the other!” The words that Jesus uses here are extremes, the world “Cold” is the Greek word Psychros and it literally means cold to the point of freezing. This isn’t just a little cold this is teeth chilling, slurpee tumour cold. At the other extreme is the Greek word Zestos which Christ uses for hot, it means hot to the point of boiling. Metaphors and analogies, are great for those who were there. Kind of like inside jokes. People in Laodicea heard “Neither hot nor cold” and probably went “Ahhhh” while on the other hand we say “Huh?” So there are a couple of different view points as to what Jesus meant.
Remember we said that there was no internal supply of water into Laodicea? The water that their received came via aqueducts from the mountains surrounding Colosse, was about 15 kms from the city. The water came from the melting ice and snow high in the mountains and at it’s source it was psychros. But by the time it had travelled through the aqueducts it had become tepid and luke warm. Yuck. On the other side of the city was Hierapolis which was known for the hot thermal springs that bubbled out of the ground. These springs were viewed as therapeutic and people from all around came to get relief from their aches and pains. And so those who subscribe to this theory would say that the Jesus was saying to the church “You’re not providing refreshment for the spiritually weary, nor healing for the spiritually sick, you’re just kind of coasting and you’re ineffective in ministry.”
There are others who speculate that Christ was saying “You are neither on fire for me nor are you unknowing of me, instead you are just kind of so so, you’re bland and tasteless. You’re just average” Nobody likes to be average in anything; we strive to be above average in sports and academics. In business and self improvement nobody want to be just average, and yet way too many people in our churches today want to be just average Christians.
When I was at college one of my Proffs defined average in such a way that I decided that I wanted to be anything but average. I would strive to be better or worse then others but I would avoid the middle ground. Listen folks, my prof defined average this way “Average is the worst of the best and the best of the worst.” Is that were you want to be? That’s what the Laodicean church was, just average. There didn’t appear to be the heresy of Thyatira or Pergamum but on the other hand there wasn’t the love and faithfulness of Philadelphia or Smyrna either. These people claimed to know Christ, they called themselves Christians but somehow the fire had gone out.
The memories of yesterday were hotter then the reality of today. Now understand that Christ did not say “ I know all the things you do, that you are not hot but hey, at least you’re not cold.” No what he said was “ I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish you were one or the other!” Jesus was saying “At least if you were cold you’d have an excuse for not being hot. If you were an unbeliever then I wouldn’t have expected you to get excited about your faith.” And so Jesus tell them Revelation 3:16 But since you are like lukewarm water, I will spit you out of my mouth!
I love ice water. I probably drink anywhere from two to three litres at day. When I go into a restaurant the first thing I do is order a pitcher of water, but it has to be cold. While my great grandmother was still alive she’d drink hot water. No coffee or tea just hot water. And yet I have never met anyone who really enjoys a great big glass of tepid water. You know just take it out and let it sit on the counter for a couple of hours. Yumm.
When we were in Florida everyone drank iced tea. When I was 13 and 14 my Jr. high school had spit shifts and so during the winter I worked in the afternoon for a neighbour of ours. It was actually pretty good work, I was a pilot. You know Murray would cut the wood and then I’d pile it. And when the time came for a break Murray would break out home made ginger snaps and hot tea, and it was great. But never have I ever been in a restaurant and heard someone order lukewarm tea.
As many of you know I like the occasional cup of coffee. I love my coffee, hot coffee. The administrative wheels of BCC are lubricated with Tim Horton’s coffee. Angela likes iced coffee in the summer. Every once in awhile I’ll have a cup of Tims on the go at my desk and I’ll forget it and then after awhile I’ll remember it and reach over and take a big drink and yuck it’s stone cold, room temperature. And I have it in my mouth and have no idea what to do with it at that point I want to say “you are neither hot nor cold. I wish you were one or the other!” But since you are like lukewarm water, I will spit you out of my mouth!”
Jesus is saying “I would love it if you were on fire for me and I could accept it if you had rejected me but how can you profess to be a Christian and yet be as dead and cold as a corpse?” Friends like it or not the lukewarm Christian is nauseating, not only to God but to everyone else as well.
The scary thing is that prophetically the Laodicean church represents the church age between 1850 and the return of Christ. You only have to look around to see that we are in the middle of the most apathetic era the Christian church has ever stood in. In 2003 most Christians are content to do nothing more then occupy a pew and toss a loonie in the plate when it goes by. The Laodicean church was not lukewarm in one area and effective in many others, no it was totally ineffective across the board.
It was lukewarm in love, lukewarm in service, lukewarm in theology, lukewarm in evangelism. It was a lukewarm church. The Laodicean church was nauseatingly mediocre. It wasn’t that they were cold they just weren’t hot, it wasn’t that there were wrong it was they weren’t right, it wasn’t that they were doing evil things, they just weren’t doing good thing. As a matter of fact they weren’t doing anything they were just there.
When you fly, you know they do the safety thing? Where the safety exits are, how to fasten your seat belt, where to find your floatation device and then how to put it on. And then they tell you in the unlikely event that the cabin depressurizes that the oxygen mask will drop out of the ceiling. I think “Why? Instead of passing out from the lack of oxygen that will keep me awake so I can see the crash, no thanks.” Once I was sitting next to where the fight attendant was doing her thing and I noticed that on the side of the mask she was demonstrating with it said “Not for actual use, for demonstration purposes only.” That would be in case you grabbed it and didn’t notice that it wasn’t connected to anything.
Those words sum up the Laodicean church, they weren’t for actual use, they were just there. And Jesus said that’s not good enough.
Here’s the cool thing though people. The letter does not end with Jesus spewing the church out of His mouth. The next verse isn’t a great deal more helpful Revelation 3:17 You say, ‘ I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing! ’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. The Laodicean church was saying “We’ve got it made.” But Jesus was standing back saying “Oh no you don’t.”
Notice the comparison, the church in Laodicea was rich but Christ said they were poor, do you remember what he said to the church in Smyrna? Revelation 2:9 I know about your suffering and your poverty—but you are rich! Interesting. Now I’m not slamming material wealth, the desire to achieve makes the world go round, remember the bible doesn’t say money is the root of all evil, what it does say is 1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is at the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.
When we don’t need to depend on God because we can depend on our money, they we are poor. When our happiness is tied to our bank balance and what we have or don’t have then we are wretched and miserable. When we think that money is the solution to every problem and neglect the power of almighty God then we are blind. And when we think it’s enough to clothe ourselves in silks and jewels and furs and neglect the clothing of righteousness then we are buck naked. These revelations must have cut to the quick of the Laodiceans. Jesus always strikes a personal chord.
They thought they were wealthy, Jesus said they were poor. They were so proud of their medical school and the eye ointment that they produced, Jesus said they were blind. They were so proud of the black wool produced in the fields around the city and the clothing manufacture in the city and Jesus said they were naked. Christ words must have struck directly to the heart of people who thought they had so much that they felt they had no need for God.
Now if’n I was God, I would have closed the letter there. But thankfully I’m not God. Jesus didn’t leave it at that point instead he goes on to provide a solution, listen to the next verse Revelation 3:18 I advise you to buy gold from me—gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. And also buy white garments so you will not be shamed by your nakedness. And buy ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see. For every problem that Jesus identified he had a solution. It’s easy to spot the problems, but are we willing to provide a solution. Jesus isn’t going to give up on this church or these people. He says, are you poor? Here’s gold. are you naked? Here are clothes. Are you blind? Here’s medicine. But Jesus wasn’t going to force himself on them, that’s not the way that Jesus works. Wasn’t then, isn’t now. He says come and get it, make a decision it’s going to cost you something but here it is.
The Reason
And then he explains his correction to them Revelation 3:19 I am the one who corrects and disciplines everyone I love. Be diligent and turn from your indifference. The love of Christ wouldn’t be much of a love if he just allowed us to do what we want, even if it’s bad for us. When we have to correct or punish our children we tell them “I’m only doing this because I love you, I’m doing it for your sake.” And they will never understand until they have children of their own.
The correction and discipline that is being spoken of here is the kind that compels a person to see the error of his way not so much punishment as illumination. Remember the story of King David and his affair with Bathsheba? When the prophet Nathan confronted David with his sin it wasn’t so Nathan could gloat it was so David would repent. And that is what Jesus is calling on the church of Laodicea to do. To turn away from their indifference.
The Reward
And the rebuke and the reason are quickly followed by the greatest promise in the Bible. We are all familiar with Revelation 3:20 “ Look! Here I stand at the door and knock. If you hear me calling and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal as friends. This verse has been used as an evangelistic tool for hundred of years. But the verse was not originally an invitation to the non believer to become a believer, it was to the believer to repent.
Jesus wanted the church back. In all of the other major religions of the world, Buddhism, Confucianism , Hinduism and Islam we see man seeking God. But only in Christianity do we see God seeing man. Jesus wants to be a part of our life, not just an observer. In the culture of the day there were three meals, breakfast was usually just a piece of bread, lunch was more of a picnic lunch eaten on the side of the road or in the city square as a break from work but supper, this was a meal to be lingered over and enjoyed. And this is the meal that Christ speaks of here. He doesn’t want our relationship with him to be something we rush through, instead it is something to be savoured and enjoyed. But he needs to be invited in, he’s not going to push his way into our lives, it has to be our choice.
There have been a myriad of painting representing Revelation 3:20 through the years and the one thing they all seem to have in common, other then a European looking Christ, is that the door doesn’t have a handle on the outside, it has to be opened from inside.
So where are you at today? Is Jesus a part of your everyday life? Are you enjoying the friendship that he craves to have with you? You can have that, he is standing knocking and calling and all you have to do is invite him in.
Perhaps he’s never been a part of your life, in that case this is your opportunity, to ask him for forgiveness and turn your life over to him.
Or maybe you’ve already made the decision but he hasn’t become a part of everyday for you, your faith is just kind of lukewarm. He’s telling you today that it doesn’t have to stay that way.
What is your decision today? What will you do with Jesus. Behold he stands at the door and knocks.
Hope you enjoyed the message, PowerPoint may be available, email me at denn@bccnet.ca.
If you could build a church for a dollar. . .
Would you?
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