The letter to the church in Laodicea
The letter to the church of Laodicea is the Revelation letter that is preached about most often, so we all know about the problem of being lukewarm. But do we really know the context of this text? Especially as Laodicea is the only church that gets no praise at all, not even a little bit!
The historical background
Laodicea is at the crossroads of several trade routes and is a very wealthy city. They
- are like the Swiss Bank of Asia Minor
- have sheep farming that gives them valuable black wool
- have a medical center known for eye ointments
Jesus’s view
Jesus comes to this church as the “True Witness” and the “Amen” because Laodicea is a counterfeit church. Their main problem is lack of self-awareness. They think they are “God’s gift to the world,” but in fact they are failing exactly in the very ways they think they are good.
The Problem
Jesus approaches them as a merchant, someone they can relate to, and offers them free goods. The same goods they think they already have the best version of. They believe that living a “good” life is enough to be a great church (no big sins; tithing; reading the Bible; etc.).
The problem is that they are lukewarm. The verse is refering to the temperature of water.
In those days, water was good in two states:
- Hot: it could be used for healing purposes such as at a hot spring.
- Cold: it was refreshing to drink
But Laodicea had neither — only lukewarm water that you spat out when you drank it.
There are many ways to be an effective church: evangelism, prayer, healing, ministering to the poor, or other ministries. These all have a purpose, but the Laodicea concregation did none of these things and was useless as lukewarm water.
The solution
Jesus calls them out of their complacency and knocks at their door. This is not an altar call for the unbeliever, but the call of the lover to the beloved.
And if they listen, they will SIT with Him on the throne in the throne room of God.
Now wait a minute: No one sits in the throne room, everyone stands! What does that mean for Laodicea? Is this enough motivation to change the way they think?