The book of 3rd John gives us a glimpse of who Jesus is in the New Testament (N.T).
The 3rd book of John is the second shortest book in the New Testament, second only to the 2nd book of John with 14 verses in total.
Two types of Christians are explicitly mentioned. One is Gaius who epitomized Hospitality with Humility and Selflessness and the other is Diotrepheus who epitomized Hostility with Pride and a quest for Preeminence in the Church. The book talks about the pride of Diotrepheus and praises the humility and hospitality of Gaius, who hosted God’s people not out of obligation but out of the overflow of his heart to serve. From the testimonies of the two mentioned, we can draw a parallel: Gaius, with Humility emulated the character of the Creator God, Jesus Christ, who humbled himself and made himself of no reputation (Philippians 2: 7) while Diotrepheus with pride emulated the character of the creature, Lucifer (or the devil) who sought to elevate himself above God (Ezekiel 28:2,15)
From the 3rd book of John, we learn that Hospitality is godly which implies that God is Hospitable (3rd John 1:5-6). Jesus is Hospitable. He accommodates each one of us into the place that he has gone ahead to prepare for us, as he stated (John 14:3). 3rd John 1:8, establishes that Jesus is also the Helper of those in need. The verse states that we are God’s fellow helpers (co-labourers) meaning he is the other one helping us.
In 3rd John, Jesus Christ is HOSPITABLE, He is the HELPER of those in need and the Model for HUMILITY.
Points to ponder:
Let us choose to follow the example of Jesus Christ, who is HOSPITABLE, the HELPER and the one who is the model of HUMILITY. He humbled himself unto death, even death on the Cross, who made Himself of no reputation and suffered, so that the splendor and the glory that God bestowed on Him was by giving Him a Name that is above all names, and at the Name of Jesus Christ, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord.
