To the angel of the church in Laodicea, write this: “‘The Amen, the faithful and true witness, the source of God’s creation, says this: 15 “I know your works; I know that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot. 16 So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you say, ‘I am rich and affluent and have no need of anything,’ and yet do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18 I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich, and white garments to put on so that your shameful nakedness may not be exposed, and buy ointment to smear on your eyes so that you may see. 19 Those whom I love, I reprove and chastise. Be earnest, therefore, and repent. 20 “‘“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, [then] I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me. 21 I will give the victor the right to sit with me on my throne, as I myself first won the victory and sit with my Father on his throne. 22 “‘“Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’”
Laodicea was a wealthy industrial and commercial center famous for banks and gold traffic and had a renowned medical school. It was self-sufficient and exported fine glossy black wool and woolen garments, and was also renowned for “Phrygian powder” used in its eye salves.
Christ is the “God of Amen,” a divine title for the “God of truth (Is. 65:16),” the source of all creation (Jn. 1:3). Although no specific fault is mentioned, Christ tells the Laodiceans that they are lukewarm in their faith, and he will reject them. Because they are wealthy and enjoy high social status, they have become complacent and lukewarm in the faith. Christ tells them that in his eyes they are spiritually “wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked (v. 17). Christ advises them to become rich in the Christian faith and boldly testify to the Gospel in his name. They should trade the violet tunics that are the source of their wealth for the white robe of baptism so that they may be clothed in righteousness and not be found lacking before Christ. If they listen to his warning their eyes will be opened so that they will have true spiritual perception.
The Christians at Laodicea were aware that testifying to their Christian faith could lead to social alienation and the real possibility of persecution and execution. The risen Christ is rebuking them out of love and inviting them to repent and turn back to him with sincere and profound faith and be able to share in the Messianic Banquet in the heavenly kingdom. Christ will knock on the doors to their hearts and wait for them to open. He will build them into himself, and they will sit with Christ on his throne in the same way that Christ sits with his Father on his Father’s throne. They will share in Jesus’ glory and the glory of the Father, receiving the new name for the new person won through Christ’s victory over death and will rule with Christ in the new age over the new creation.
Almighty God, we pray that you set our hearts on fire so that we can walk in your ways with fervent faith. We ask that you let us not become complacent if we have all that we need because it is out of your abundance, O Lord, that we lack nothing physically or spiritually. We lift our prayers to you in Jesus’ name. Amen!
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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