Sermon notes, Seventh Sunday After Epiphany

INTRODUCTION
2 John is written into a crisis situation. As Jesus predicted, antichrists have “gone into the world” (v. 7), deceiving those who are not on guard. John writes to warn about the deceivers, and to tell the church how to respond to them.

THE TEXT
“The Elder, to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all those who have known the truth, because of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever . . . .” (2 John 1-13).

AUTHOR
2 John covers many of the same themes as 1 John: the “new commandment” to love (vv. 5-6; 1 John 2:7-11); the danger from “deceivers” and “antichrist” (v. 7; 1 John 2:18-19; 4:1-6); an emphasis on the confession that “Jesus Christ came in the flesh” (v. 7; 1 John 4:2); instructions about how to treat apostates (vv. 10-11; 1 John 5:15-17). Many of these themes are also emphasized in John’s gospel, which indicates that the author of this letter is John, the apostle of Jesus and the author of the Fourth Gospel.

ELDER AND LADY
Unlike 1 John, John identifies himself in 2 John, not by name but by office: He is an “elder” (v. 1; cf. 3 John 1). Would an apostle identify himself as an “elder”? Peter does (1 Peter 5:1), and so it’s consistent that John does as well. As apostle, John is commissioned with the authority of Jesus to preach and act in Jesus’ name; as elder, John is a respected older man in the Christian community. John might be writing to a specific lady, but since John uses plural verbs (vv. 6, 8, 10), it’s clear he’s using the word “lady” to refer to a church. The church is the “elect” or chosen (v. 1) bride of the Lord Jesus (Ephesians 5:22-33), the mother of believers (Galatians 5:26). It’s fitting for John to address a church as “Lady,” using the feminine form of the word “Lord” (Greek, kuria ). The “sister” (v. 13) is another church. The church is the Lady of the Lord’s house, and her children are the members of the church.

WALKING IN THE COMMANDMENTS
John reiterates the points he made about obeying the commandments of God in his first letter. The chief commandment is the command to love one another (v. 5), and John is happy to know that the church’s children are doing just this (v. 4). The command to love is pathway for life, and we are called to walk on the pathway set out from the beginning (v. 6).

DECEIVERS
Along this pathway of loving obedience and obedient love are brigands, the deceivers who threaten to plot to waylay the children who travel on it. The threat doesn’t come from individuals who hold false beliefs, but from false teachers who propagate heresy (v. 1). If the children are going to receive a reward, they can’t squander what’s already been given (v. 8) and have to guard themselves from these teachers (v. 8). Specifically, they have to keep their distance from the deceivers. John forbids the Lady from welcoming false teachers into the “house” of the church (v. 10) and from giving these teachers a blessing and greeting (v. 11). This isn’t inconsistent with the command to love: True love guards the beloved from error.