Repetition

Have you ever repeated a word over and over again to the point that it becomes completely meaningless? It’s an interesting experience.

I’ve recently decided to start reading 3rd John at least twice a day. You’d think based of what I just said that it’s losing it’s meaning, but actually I’m finding it has more and more meaning.

I’m finding that I disagree with many people who seem to think that it was written later, probably in the 90s, because it talks about not receiving help from the Gentiles.

The writer writes about how the missionaries went out not accepting aid from the Gentiles, which obviously implies that the writer thinks that Gentiles are not to be dealt with if it can be helped, however Peter made it very obvious in Acts 10 that non-Jewish converts were equal to Jewish converts in the eyes of God. This happened earlier than the 90s, probably about half way through the century. If I’m correct (and I admit that I might be wrong, there are many holes in this idea), 3 John is a very early manuscript.

That being said, Gaius is not a Jewish name, so he was most likely a non-Jewish convert himself.

The rest of the book is almost entirely devoted to instructions on hospitality. It is a challenging letter because the writer instructs Gaius to do things that simply aren’t done in our culture. Then again, when does the Bible not?