Annotations for 3 John
1 The elder. See Introduction: Author. Gaius. People with this common Roman name are referred to in Acts 19:29; 20:4; Rom 16:23; 1 Cor 1:14; but it is uncertain if any of them are the Gaius addressed here. whom I love in the truth. Either an idiom meaning “whom I truly love” or a statement meaning “whom I love as one who, like me, is in the truth,” i.e., as one who remains faithful to the gospel.
2 good health . . . all may go well with you. Wishes for recipients’ good health are common in ancient Greek letters, reinforced here with John’s affirmation that this is his prayer for Gaius. even as your soul is getting along well. Evidence that Gaius is faithful to the truth of the gospel.
4 my children. While John’s readers are children of God (cf. 1 John 3:1–2, 10; 5:2; see note on 1 John 3:1, 2), they are also John’s children, perhaps because they are his converts or because he acts as their spiritual father (cf. 1 Tim 1:2, 18; Titus 1:4; Phlm 10).
5 what you are doing. Providing hospitality to faithful itinerant preachers. See note on 2 John 10.
6 They have told the church. When people received hospitality it was incumbent upon them to report positively about their hosts to their own community, as these preachers did when they told their church about Gaius’s love. send them on their way. A technical term for providing material support (cf. Rom 15:24; 1 Cor 16:6, 11; 2 Cor 1:16; Titus 3:13).
7 for the sake of the Name. For the sake of Christ. Paul uses the same expression in Rom 1:5, where it clearly refers to Christ (cf. Acts 5:41; 9:16; 15:26; 21:13).
8 We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people. John provides three reasons why Gaius ought to do so: (1) These preachers had gone out “for the sake of the Name” (v. 7). (2) These preachers depended on the Christian community for hospitality because they received no help from the pagans (v. 7). (3) By so doing Gaius will be working together with these preachers for the truth of the gospel (here).
9 I wrote to the church. A previous letter asking that hospitality be provided for faithful preachers. Diotrephes. We know little about him except what may be gleaned from this letter. who loves to be first. One who loves prominence and to exercise authority in the church (a tendency that sadly was found even among Jesus’ disciples, cf. Mark 10:35–37). will not welcome us. Probably means that Diotrephes rejected John’s request to provide hospitality and so did not welcome those John commended (cf. v. 10).
10 when I come, I will call attention to what he is doing. John will publicly expose and rebuke Diotrephes for “spreading malicious nonsense about [John and those John commended].” John must show that he did not accept the shame that Diotrephes had heaped upon him.
11 do . . . what is good. A general exhortation to do good (cf. Rom 12:21; Gal 6:10) and in particular to provide appropriate hospitality. do not imitate what is evil. Probably an exhortation not to follow Diotrephes’ bad example in regard to hospitality or his shameful “politics.”
12 Demetrius. The only other reference to a Demetrius in the NT is to the silversmith of Ephesus (Acts 19:24, 38); we do not know if this is the same person. The fact that Demetrius is commended at the end of the letter suggests that he was the courier who conveyed it to Gaius (cf. Col 4:7–9; 1 Pet 5:12). By his commendation of Demetrius, John implies Gaius should provide Demetrius with hospitality. well spoken of . . . by the truth itself. Could mean either that Jesus, as the truth (cf. John 14:6), bears testimony to Demetrius (perhaps through the testimony of “everyone”) or that Demetrius’s commitment to the truth of the gospel speaks well of him.
14 friends. An unusual but attractive expression to describe believers, dependent perhaps upon Jesus’ description of his disciples as his “friends” (John 15:13–15). With the possible exceptions of Acts 19:31 and 27:3, such a designation is found only here in the NT.