The book of 2 John (v. 1) opens in an interesting fashion, addressed to a lady and her children.
Here is the NIV version:
“The elder,
To the lady chosen by God and to her children, whom I love in the truth- and not I only, but also all who know the truth- ”
Interestingly, John ends the letter with a similar statement: “The children of your sister, who is chosen by God, send their greetings.”
Wait… what?!
No other information is provided. Who is this special lady and her children? There isn’t any other detail. It isn’t often (ever) that we see letters written from key players in the Bible to female recipients and their offspring. So this lady must have been someone of great significance at the time, yet nothing more is offered as to who she is or what her contribution was to the cause during that moment. Nothing.
To try to get our heads around this, we have to travel back in time and discover the climate of the day, the cultural temperature surrounding the early Christian movement. We also need to look at 3 John to see what comparative relevance we can uncover. Let’s look at both, in that order.
So, the spiritual climate, post Jesus' resurrection, most of us are familiar with. It was not a safe time in history for Christians or the movement of Christ-centered faith. Persecution is the most descriptive word that comes to mind. Many of us understand what that means, but I’m not sure we truly grasp it in its entirety.
To be Christian meant beatings and floggings, sometimes until handicap, loss of business and status, severe repercussions, and even death. There were no light sentences when it came to opposing the religious standards of the time, because religion and the law were everything to that culture. To defy this went against everything the entire culture and society were centered around. Thus, the penalties were harsh.
Christians were hunted, tried, persecuted, executed... they were constantly under threat and could never let down their guard; the cost was too great and the loss could greatly impact the early Church.
During these highly volatile moments in history, communication was still very important, especially to the ever-growing movement of the Church. Letters were often sent by courier. It wasn't out of the question for messengers of the time to be stopped en route, searched, and questioned. The opposition would stop at nothing to squash this so-called heretical movement. And again… the stakes were real.
Let’s pause there and move on to 3 John.
While there may be some debate over the authorship of these books (some saying John the Apostle, others saying John the Evangelist), there is little debate that 2 John and 3 John were written by the same person- whichever John it was. So let’s take a quick look at this third epistle, specifically these three verses:
• “The elder, to my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth…”
• “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.”
• “I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not welcome us.”
Clearly the same author wrote both of these epistles, using the very same style of writing, even the same opening address in the first verse. He also references his “children” and mentions that he had written “the church” (perhaps several).
Are you tracking with me yet?
If not… this next paragraph brings it all into focus.
The Church was known descriptively as the Bride of Christ. And John was writing a letter to a church that was on the front lines of persecution. He couldn’t, in good conscience, simply write, “To the Church of Ephesus…” because if that message were intercepted, things would immediately escalate for the Christians in that area. He would be putting people in danger and lives at risk.
Instead, he addressed it to “the lady chosen by God” or, in other words, the Church, the Bride of Christ, and “her children,” the members of the church.
Oooh. So good.
John ends the letter in a similar way, obviously talking about a different yet inherently similar group of people. And this is further confirmation of the cultural climate:
“The children of your sister, who is chosen by God, send their greetings.”
In other words- the members of our sister church send their greetings.
To any outsider who might intercept this message, there would be nothing of value or interest, just someone sending greetings to “a lady and her children” from “her sister and children.” Brilliant!
These were desperate times requiring wise measures. Real, Christ-centered communication was happening- even underground- all for the glory of building God’s Kingdom. People were putting their lives on the line. People weren’t backing down from the fight, regardless of the stakes.
This is how Christianity grew like wildfire.
The Spirit of God was moving in people, and people were moving in the Spirit. They weren’t watching from the sidelines. They knew one hour a week wouldn’t accomplish anything for themselves or for others. They understood the stakes because they weren’t far removed from the reality of the story.
By the way, persecution has always been one of the biggest catalysts for growth and revival in the Christian faith worldwide. And this still holds true today. If you need an example, take a quick look at what’s happening right now in Iran (formerly Persia).
So just a few fun facts for today, I passed this scripture in my studies and thought I would share. I don't think I have seen or heard much mentioned of this in the past, and personally thought it was an interesting detail.
~ Devin
Devin Osborne