Read 2 John 12-13.
Focus on 2 John 12-13.
Knowledge
Answer the following
questions from the text:
v. 12 What does John have to write?
How does he not wish to communicate?
What does he hope to do instead? (2 actions)
With what purpose/result?
v. 13 Who greets the letter’s recipient?
Understanding & Knowledge
Today we wrap up John’s tiny second epistle. We’ve studied his
greeting and the intersection of truth, love, grace, mercy, and peace. We’ve
examined the old command to love one another. We’ve grappled with how to handle
deceivers.
This brings us to the final two verse of the letter, which
contains John’s closing notes.
Final Salutations
Like the opening
greeting, it is easy to skim past the final salutations of a letter. Yet this
too has been included for our instruction. So what can we learn from these
final two verses in 2 John?
1. We don’t have to
address everything at once. John makes it clear that what he has written in
his letter is not all he has to say. It isn’t even the majority of what he
wants to say. But instead of cramming everything into one space (as I would be
tempted to do), John exercises restraint. He recognizes that while it all might
be important—and if must have been important if it was worth a physical trip to
say it—he also knew not all the matters were urgent. So instead of requesting
more parchment, he chooses to delay whatever else he had to say, merely letting
the reader know that there was more to come.
Question to ponder: How
do we delineate between the important which is urgent and the simply important?
2. In-person
communication is preferable. Texting is convenient. Emails are nice.
Handwritten letters carry a personal touch to be treasured. Telephone calls can
delight, while Zoom often permits us to connect in ways that would otherwise be
impossible. But in the end, there is something special about inhabiting the
same place at the same time with another person. To be able to hear the voice, see
the face, and give a hug or touch a
hand. To be surrounded by the same environment, sharing the same sights,
smells, sounds, tastes, and textures. To
be with another in a way that technology, with all its benefits, cannot
duplicate.
So John expresses his strong desire to come to the chosen
lady and her family, to spend time with them, and talk face to face. Indeed, in
an era of growing layers of technology, with screens and touch-ups and filters
that can create a false reality, it may be that such in-person meetings are
more vital than ever.
Questions to ponder: What
are some of the unique advantages in-person visits can provide? How, both as
individuals and as churches, can we cultivate this more/better?
3. Christian
fellowship, at its best, produces full joy. This joy was one reason John
wanted to visit the chosen lady and her family. He knew such a visit would
bring joy—that is, delight, happiness, well-being, gladness—and that this joy
would be complete and full, as the anticipated became reality and the far away
drew near.
Questions to ponder: What
hampers our Christian fellowship so it lacks this fullness and joy?
4. We all want to be
remembered. John finishes his letter with greeting from the children of the
lady’s chosen sister. This was fairly typical, as a quick survey of the other
New Testament letters will show. However, this ordinariness doesn’t make such a
greeting insignificant. Rather, it reminds us of the common human desired to be
known. It doesn’t matter whether this refers to nieces and nephews greeting an
aunt or one church greeting a sister church. Both collectively and
individually, we want to be remembered by others—and collectively and
individually, we need to take the time to remember others.
Questions to ponder: Who
are some of the people we should especially take time to remember? What are
some of the ways we can remember others?
Wrap-up Thoughts
Thus ends our study of 2 John. But as we close this book, I
would like to invite you to pause and look back over the whole of the book one
last time:
- What
has surprised you about 2 John?
- What did you learn from 2 John?
- What will you take away from 2 John?
Make it personal
One truth learned:
One area of conviction:
One way to correct:
Written prayer:
