Generosity and Hospitality (3 John)

Poland was under martial law in 1988, and two American families were driving south from Warsaw to the mining town of Wadowice.

One family had two school-aged children, and we had our five-month-old baby. It was a little nerve-racking.

We were scheduled to lead training for Sunday School teachers at a church where we knew no one. It was dark when we arrived in Wadowice, and we were met by two families.

Marla and I went with one family to their 500 square foot apartment. We had Brittany and all her five-month-old baby gear in tow. The parents gave us their bedroom and fed us a warm meal. They took us in like family and showed us amazing hospitality.

The next morning, I peeked in the very small fridge, and it contained a small bottle of what looked like yogurt… nothing else. That was our introduction to Polish hospitality.

We will never forget their generosity and connected with that host family when we moved to Poland three years later. That was the first of many such experiences where God’s people extended warm hospitality and generosity.

In many cases, I had never met them before, and we were total strangers. Over my ministry life, I have spent countless nights living under the roofs of generous and hospitable Christians around the world.

This kind of generous hospitality appears in John’s third letter. In fact, in some ways, hospitality is the theme of the letter.

Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church about your love. Please send them on their way in a manner that honors God. It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth. (3 Jn. 1:5-8 NIV)

We immediately note that two issues are raised in the passage, and before we look at the actual meaning, we should understand a bit about “strangers” and “hospitality” in the first-century Roman world.

1. Strangers

In the Roman world, “strangers” were those traveling across the Empire with no previous relationship with residents in a given community.

Strangers had no legal standing and were often viewed as a potential threat to a community. Within the culture, there was no sense of obligation to strangers, and there was no sense of “universal brotherhood” or global village.

Strangers were viewed with skepticism and in some cases considered subhuman. In order to be accepted into a community and offered hospitality, a sponsor or patron was needed.

In John’s letter, the “strangers” are identified as “brothers and sisters (vs. 5) who went out for the “sake of the Name”.

From this, we can be confident that they were Christians and members of God’s people. We can also surmise that they were traveling and had arrived in Gauis’ community. Their purpose appears to be proclaiming the name of Jesus Christ (vs. 7).

Taken together, it is reasonable to conclude that these were missionaries traveling for the purpose of declaring good news about Jesus Christ.

While we do not know the details regarding their ministry work, it seems clear that they were missionaries following in the tradition set by Jesus when he sent out the disciples to proclaim the Kingdom (Luke 9:1-6).

As was the case with the disciples, these missionaries were to rely on the hospitality and generosity of others.

2. Hospitality

Hospitality was the process by which a stranger became a guest. Hospitality was not something that was provided for family or friends, but rather for strangers, making them guests.

It was how a community “outsider” became a guest of the community. Hospitality was typically offered to those who came with recommendations or a referral from a third party.

When hospitality was shared, the recipient was obligated to provide a favorable report to the third-party referent.

Generous Hospitality as a Ministry to Strangers in Service to Christ

With “strangers” and “hospitality” understood in first-century Rome, we can see the theme of John’s short letter.

Apparently, itinerant missionaries were sent out from the church community where John served. Upon arriving in Gaius’ city, the church refused them hospitality under the leadership of Diotrephes (vv. 9-10).

Diotrephes had led the church to refuse a visit from John (vs. 9), spread “malicious nonsense” about John (vs. 10), and had expelled church members who offered hospitality to other believers (vs. 10).

John commends Gauis for rejecting Diotrephes leadership and showing hospitality to strangers, such as the itinerant missionaries from John’s church (vs. 5). Those same missionaries had reported back to John and the sending church community (vs. 6).

John encourages Gauis in his gracious hospitality and urges him to send the missionaries on in a God honoring fashion. The implication is that in addition to the hospitality, they are to provide materially for the continued ministry of the itinerant missionaries.

John concludes with a broader statement that Christian communities should offer generous hospitality to those who are traveling to share the message of the gospel.

This is the theme of the short letter penned by John to Gaius and lived out by the church over the centuries. I have experienced this kind of generous hospitality throughout my entire ministry life.

We can draw two simple conclusions for application in our Christian lives today.

1. Generous hospitality should be offered to “strangers” who are traveling in the service of Christ and His Kingdom.
2. Our generous hospitality should include the material support of those “strangers” as they continue on in God’s service. 

One of my yearly ministry highlights was to travel to Uganda to invest in the development of our EGM-Uganda ministry and spend time with Bishop Cranmer Mugisha.

I had transitioned from being a stranger to a warmly welcomed guest. On one visit, Bishop Cranmer asked me to travel with him to a small village church for a special service, confirming membership for new congregants.  

When we arrived, the church community had gathered, and we were shown generous hospitality with a small meal. After the service, a feast was served, including a young goat and tasty lamb.

During the service, I preached a message, and when I sat down next to the Bishop and the altar boy came and gave me an envelope. On the envelope was written “preacher”. Inside I found 5,000 Ugandan shillings. This was about two dollars at that time.

To this day, it remains the sweetest speaking gift I have ever received. The small village church showed us generous hospitality and sent us on our way with the material support John celebrates. 

We often think of generosity only in terms of giving to our church, funding various Christian ministry projects, and supporting missionaries serving in various regions of the world.

John reminds us that generosity and hospitality to those that God brings into our midst can be a rich and rewarding way of giving back to God.

Opening your home and giving to those traveling in service to Christ is a wonderful way to advance God’s Kingdom and build relationships that will be remembered forever.