This is Spoken Gospel.

We’re dedicated to seeing 
Jesus in all of scripture.

In each episode, we see what’s 
happening in a Biblical text

and how it sheds light
on Jesus and his gospel.

Let’s jump in.

John’s third letter is directed 
not to a group of churches,  

or even one church, but to 
Gaius, a man John deeply loves.

Gaius is a faithful Christian 
whose hospitality is well known.

Travelling missionaries
frequently stayed at Gaius’ house

and then told  their home churches
about his generosity and love.

John wants Gaius to keep
doing what he’s doing.

For John, hospitality towards missionaries is a
litmus test of inclusion in God’s Kingdom.

And people like Gaius are co-workers—
valuable partners in the mission of Jesus.

But not everyone in Gaius’s community 
is as humble and hospitable as he is.

Diotrephes refused to listen to John and 
other apostles' calls for hospitality.

He resents their authority, slanders their character, 
and refuses to welcome their missionaries.

Worse still, Diotrephes has some 
level of authority in Gaius’s church.

He both threatens and excommunicates
those willing to support John’s missionaries.

Knowing that Gaius would read
his letter to everyone in his church,

John tells them to imitate the good they see in Gaius
and reject the evil of Diotrephes and men like him.

John ends his third letter the 
same way he ended his last,  

with the hope of seeing his 
friends face to face soon.

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John has talked about loving one 
another in every one of his letters.

It’s the defining mark of those who know God.

And the failure to love your brothers and sisters 
is the defining mark of those who don’t know God.

Hospitality towards missionaries is a litmus
test of inclusion in God’s Kingdom.

And when Jesus first sent out his 
disciples, the hospitality shown  

by a town towards them determined whether 
God’s peace or God’s judgment would fall.

Near the end of Jesus’ life,
he said that whether or not

we show hospitality to “the least
of these” signals our eternal destiny.

That’s because hospitality isn’t just 
serving others—but Jesus himself.

To give or to withhold hospitality (especially
towards those sent to proclaim the way of Jesus)
is to accept or deny that Jesus was sent by God.

Fittingly, Jesus revealed himself 
through his own hospitality.

He gave wine to a wedding.
He hosted feasts in the desert.

He offered his body and 
blood as a meal to be eaten.

And when he finally convinced his disciples that 
he rose from the dead, it was over a shared meal.

Jesus is generous and hospitable to his people.

And when his people are hospitable in kind, God shows
up. Jesus reveals himself. And we become coworkers

and God’s chosen partners in the proclamation
of Jesus and his Gospel.

Don’t imitate the evil of Diotrephes.

Don’t invite the judgment Jesus warns against. 

Instead, love your brothers and
be hospitable to your sisters,

especially those who have been sent,
like Jesus, to proclaim good news.

May the Holy Spirit open your eyes 
to see the God who is generous.

And may you see Jesus as our hospitable host 
inviting us to a feast of his generosity and love.