Revelation 3:14-22 Is Jesus Locked Out or Is the Church Locked In?
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· 12 viewsWhen the church becomes self sufficient it is useless to the Kingdom of God
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Revelation 3:14-22
Revelation 3:14-22
Revelation 3:14-22 Is Jesus Locked Out or Are We Locked In?
In 2 Chronicles 26 we find the story of King Uzziah. I know we are studying Revelation but bear with me there is a connection. Uzziah became king at the age of 16 when his father was assassinated because he wouldn’t follow God and got Judah defeated by Israel the Northern Kingdom. Uzziah is listed among the good kings of Judah. He subdued all of his enemies around him and had a mighty name all the way to Egypt. After he defeated all the enemies around he began to do domestic projects like building towers and strengthening the walls of Jerusalem and building other cities up. He had engineers who built machines of war to cast huge stones and arrows from the top of the walls of Jerusalem. His fame spread far and wide because he was helped by God until he became very, very strong. But…verses 16 16But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the Lord his God by entering the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. He became so self sufficient, so complacent that he did not feel he needed a mediator between him and God. He was sufficient within himself. That is what we will see concerning this last church, Laodicea. We will be looking at Revelation 3:14-22. Most of you know this church as the lukewarm church but I think a better description is the self sufficient church. Let’s pray then we will get started.
Oh by the way God did not let Uzziah get by with his self sufficiency. The priests tried to run him out of the Temple and he got mad. But God turned Uzziah into a leper and for the rest of his life he had to lock himself away from everyone else he was useless to the kingdom. God does not allow His people self sufficiency. He corrects them. So now let me give you some background on the city of Laodicea. The city is located in the Lycus Valley on the Lycus River. This river was one that would dry up each summer so it was not a reliable water source. There are remnants of aqueducts that supply water from a nearby city. The excavation of these water mains have found that many of them were completely clogged with mineral deposits, so the water that came into the city was not of the highest quality. There were two well known cities near to Laodicea that are mentioned in Scripture to the Southeast was Colossae and to the North was Hierapolis. Of course Colossae is the city that Paul wrote the letter to the Colossians to and in that letter he mentions Hierapolis. From Laodicea if one looked to the north into the mountains it looked as if snow had collected on the mountainside. But in fact it was mineral deposits from the medicinal hot springs in Hierapolis. People from all over Asia Minor and as far away as Rome would come there for the famous hot springs. To the Southeast Colossae was recognized for a spring that ran from the mountains into the city that was known to be a cold spring that soothed and refreshed the people of Colossae and weary travelers. There were three things that made Laodicea an extremely wealthy city besides the fact that it was at the intersection of three major roads. First it was known for its banking system that minted its own coins that were circulated all over the Empire. There was a specific breed of sheep that was bred in that area that was glossy black with very soft wool. That wool was transported all over the Roman Empire. There were three schools of medicine around Laodicea, one being in town. There was a particular Phyrgian stone that was ground up into a powder and used as an eye salve and eye makeup. The location of Laodicea was Southeast of Philadelphia and if you head east out of the city of Laodicea you will arrive in Ephesus where our journey began. That is the background concerning the city; now let’s see what Jesus says about Himself and to His church.
Revelation 3:14-22 14 “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: 15 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. 21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. 22 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’ ”[1]
Like Jesus’ letter to the church at Philadelphia He does not use the description John used from the vision in chapter 1. Jesus calls Himself the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God. There is a lot to discuss in those 3 or 4 statements concerning Jesus and we could take all day on them but instead we will briefly discuss them and move on. The word amen has been transliterated from the Hebrew into the Greek and into English and almost every other language, in that respect it is like the word Halleluiah; it is the same in almost every language. The word Amen literally means “believe” or “truth”. If it is used at the beginning of a sentence it is usually translated “verily” meaning “truthfully” or “trustworthy”. By saying that He is The Amen He is stating clearly that He is God because God alone is always trustworthy. I am the Believable One. Then He goes on and sort of repeats that when He says that He is the Faithful and True Witness. Something similar is said about Him in Revelation 19:11 when He comes on His white horse to do battle and judge His enemies: 11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.[2] If He is not faithful to complete what He has begun in you and me and if His word is not a true witness of Himself then we have no hope. I think He is encouraging this church in Laodicea, since He is correcting them, that He has the authority and the power to correct them in love.
The last statement He says about Himself is a bit trickier and the trickiness lies in the meaning of the word “beginning” or the Greek “arche”. The word can mean the first person or thing in a series of things. Or it can mean “that by which anything begins, the cause, or the first place. I know that was a lot of dictionary stuff so let me put it this way. If you follow the Arian heresy like the Jehovah’s Witnesses or the Mormons then you will believe that Jesus was the first person or thing created by God. But if you follow the biblical orthodox view of say Paul in Colossians 1:16-18 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.[3] Or The Apostle John in John 1:3 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.[4] Or the writer of Hebrew who in Hebrews 1:2 says that through Him all the world was made. Then you will believe that Jesus is the Originator of creation and as the Creator of the church He has the right and authority to critique the church, particularly in this case Laodicea. As for me, I choose to go with orthodox Christian view. Jesus is the Ruler of God’s creation.
Jesus has a very strong complaint or critique of this church. It is often difficult from such a long ways away (historically and regionally) to make sense of what is said in these passages especially here. I have long thought and even taught that when Jesus told this church that He wished that they were hot or cold rather than lukewarm I thought He was talking about their zeal or dedication to Him. I thought that Jesus was saying; “I would rather have you an atheist and against Me completely (cold) or have a zeal to follow Me and obey Me above all else (hot) than to have you somewhere in the middle, lukewarm.” If you think about that for a moment you realize how foolish that sounds. Jesus would rather you be an atheist? I don’t think so. So this must mean something else altogether. As I researched this passage and the facts about the city and the surrounding cities I came to a conclusion. Cold water like from the cold springs in Colossae has a lot of uses: It is refreshing, it can be used to preserve things, and it would relieve swelling in an injury. We could come up with more but the point is cold water is useful. Hot water like the hot medicinal springs in Hierapolis had a lot of uses as well. The hot springs would give one a sense of well being, it can sooth achy joints, the water if drunk could be used as a purgative if the mineral content is high enough. There are many uses for the cold water and the hot water but name a use for lukewarm water. The point is lukewarm water is basically useless and if you drink it then you really want to spit it out. The water in Laodicea was piped in from miles away through less than quality aqueducts and stored in water storage facilities. This water would become tepid and stagnant and it would make one sick. But when the river dried in the summer that is what they had in Laodicea. Jesus is telling this church that if they were like the cold water they would be useful. If they were like the hot water they would be useful. But since they are lukewarm they are useless to Him.
Now comes the part where Jesus tells them why they are useless to Him, this is also where Uzziah comes in. Verse 17: 17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. Uzziah had become self reliant and felt he had no need of anyone and was capable of going before God on his own. This church in Laodicea had done the same thing. “I am rich and I did it on my own. I pulled myself up by my bootstraps and I made my fortune in banking, in wool industry, in making eye medicine and I can do Christ’s business on my own. Jesus just take a break I got this.” Like Uzziah this church was full of self made men. They had no need of anything. Or at least that is what they thought. But notice what Jesus tells them (these are my words but I think they convey the thought well): “Because of your useless self reliance you do not even know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked.” You see the heart of man, even believers, are useless to God where it is self centered and self sufficient. When we measure our worth to God, our effectiveness in the kingdom by worldly standards we are useless and worthy of being spewed out of the mouth of our Lord. You think you’re rich and can please Jesus by your standards but really you are in constant tribulation and trouble, you are pitiable, destitute of honor, mentally blind, and your sin is exposed for all to see. That’s what Jesus says about His self reliant church and her members.
Due to their true condition Jesus says that they need to buy from Him gold refined in fire. They need to be rich in His discipline and maturing, not in the world wealth, that way they will truly be rich. They were wealthy and had the best of the black wool Laodicea could afford but they were naked in God’s eyes so they needed to get their righteousness from Him and wear the white garments of His righteousness to cover their sin. They had the salve of Laodicea but they needed the salve of the Holy Spirit to open their eyes to their own sin so that they could really see. But what does He mean by “buy from Me”? He already said that they were poor, wretched and miserable, how could they possibly purchase anything? The word “buy” does not have to mean purchase, it can mean “do business with”. That is why Jesus said in verse 19-20: 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. Jesus has not told them that they were so self sufficient that they were useless, that they were wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked to drive them away or to hurt them. He told them because He loves them and He wants them to repent and be zealous for Him not for themselves. The letter to the church of Laodicea is a clear rebuke for the ineffectual and impotent behavior of the church due to its own self-reliance. The church’s self-perception is the opposite of their reality as described by God, and yet an offer is made for reconciliation. The letter concludes with a call for the church to accept complete reliance on Jesus who offers an invitation for a restored relationship producing a powerful outcome.[5] In verse 20 He tells His church that because of their supposed self sufficiency they have locked Him outside the door. They see no need in Him. But He is there knocking saying you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked and there is nothing you can do about it. But if you will open the door then we will have that same glorious relationship that we had in the beginning. I will come in and dine with you and you with Me. People of the church it is up to you.
I want to make this very clear. This is not an evangelistic call by Christ for unbelievers to open the door of their heart and let Him in. This is the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness the Creator of the World and His church calling on them to cease counting on their skills, their riches, their talents, their sufficiency, quit being useless in the kingdom and open the door and rely on Him to advance His Kingdom.
Then in verses 21 Jesus gives His promise to the overcomer and His challenge to those who have an ear to hear. 21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. 22 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’ ”[6] Before we go any further let me ask you; what did Jesus overcome and how did He overcome it? We don’t have time for each of you to answer that question so let me go ahead and give you the answer. Jesus overcame sin and death. He overcame sin by living the perfect sinless life that we cannot live. He obeyed the law perfectly on our behalf overcoming sin. He overcame death by rising from the grave on the third day. The penalty of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life. He took our penalty and gave us life. How did He overcome sin and death? He was obedient unto death. He was our substitution. Due to His work on the cross and His resurrection we are more than conquerors, we are overcomers and He grants us the right to reign with Him. Just as He overcame sin and death we overcame sin and death. In Christ we are purged of sin and are made alive and we rule and reign with Him. If you are His then use your ears to hear Him and obey Him.
Uzziah was sure of himself. Uzziah believed he had earned the right to go before God under his own power. Because of his self reliance he was useless in the kingdom because he was locked in his room basically for the rest of his life. The church in Laodicea was sure of itself. The church, the members of that church, believed they had made themselves rich, they had amassed some wealth had earned the right to be special in Jesus’ kingdom. But in reality they were useless. They were lukewarm and Jesus, the Ruler of His church, made sure these self sufficient people knew that even though they had locked Him outside He was calling them to repent. It was their responsibility to be zealous and repent, open the door.
People of the church, have we not done the same thing that Laodicea and Uzziah has done? Have we not become sure of ourselves in serving our Lord? Not that one of us would ever really come out and say it but don’t we live our lives as if to say “take a break Jesus, I got this”? Folks when our wealth, skills, abilities, talents and yes our routines take the place of reliance on Jesus then it is as if we have locked the door. As I consider that idea, and I’ll close with this, when Jesus told them that He was outside the door knocking it wasn’t really Jesus locked out it was the church locked in. They had locked themselves in and were just doing their thing calling it serving God. Folks have we locked ourselves inside? People of the church, it is up to you. Let’s pray.
[1] The New King James Version. (1982). (Re 3:14–22). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[2] The New King James Version. (1982). (Re 19:11). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[3] The New King James Version. (1982). (Col 1:16–18). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[4] The New King James Version. (1982). (Jn 1:3). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[5] Parker, C. (2019). The Social and Geographical World of Laodicea (Revelation 3:14–22). In B. J. Beitzel, J. Parks, & D. Mangum (Eds.), Lexham Geographic Commentary on Acts through Revelation (p. 695). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[6] The New King James Version. (1982). (Re 3:14–22). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.