What do you think it would take to make Jesus sick? No, I’m not trying to be irreverent. What I’m referring to has to do with the next and final church in seven churches of Asia that we’re studying. The next church was in such a condition that apparently it made Jesus sick to His stomach and He was about to vomit it out.

"You make me sick!"

Have you ever said those words in an effort to make a strong point?

When someone says he or she has a "weak stomach," what is it that they mean? (I don’t need an answer here, please. I just want you to think about what I’m saying.)

Have you ever seen or heard or smelled something that was so disgusting it made you want to… ah… vomit? (Again, please don’t answer.)

What do you think it would take to make Jesus sick?

No, I’m not trying to be irreverent. What I’m referring to has to do with the next and final church in seven churches of Asia that we’re studying. The next church was in such a condition that apparently it made Jesus sick to His stomach and He was about to vomit it out.

Seven Messages to Seven Churches is the name of the series we’re in. We’re studying the first three chapters of Revelation. Today’s lesson, part 8, will complete the series. I’m calling this one, Laodicea: The Church that Made Jesus Sick. Let’s begin by reading the text in Revelation 3:14-22.

Yet one more time, in this final message in the series, we’ll use our familiar outline to help us track our progress. We’ll look at: 1) The Correspondent, 2) The Church, 3) The Commendation, 4) The Criticism, and 5) The Counsel.

In each of these messages to the seven churches of Asia we’ve seen that the Risen Christ gave a unique description of Himself as it pertained to that church’s particular circumstance and need. Here, to Laodicea, Jesus introduced Himself as "The Amen." That seems like a strange title to use for Himself but perhaps you’ve realized as I have that Jesus never chose His words carelessly. Our English word "amen" actually derives from the Hebrew word amane. It means "proper, firm, trustworthy, sure, or true." We often say the word at the conclusion of a prayer. In that context it means "May it be so," "Let it be true." Sometimes in the course of things said in the Christian assembly someone will say aloud, "Amen!" What that means in that context is "I am in full agreement!" or "That is true and right!" But there is more here than just the meaning of the word. In the Old Testament, in Isaiah 65:16, this same word appears where it is translated, "Because he who is blessed in the earth shall be blessed by the God of truth…." The word "truth" there is the Hebrew word amain. God is the God of Amen, and in using the phrase here in our text in Revelation 3, Jesus is again made a statement that equated Himself with God.

Jesus, "The Amen" also referred to Himself in our text in Revelation 3:14 as "the faithful and true witness." Since He is the very Son of God who existed from eternity, He indeed is "the faithful and true witness." When He speaks and tells of God, He knows exactly what He is talking about. In fact, only He can testify fully to the nature of God. As John said in John 1:18: "No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him."(1) Jesus is "the faithful and true witness" because only He can explain God accurately from first hand experience.

The next phrase is one that has confused some. In fact, some groups like the Jehovah’s Witnesses who teach that Jesus is a created being love this verse. Jesus calls Himself, "the Beginning of the creation of God." That English phrase could mean several things. It could mean that Jesus was the first being ever created. If that is the case then the Jehovah’s Witnesses are right - Jesus could not be equal to the eternal God. Or the statement could mean that Jesus is the beginning cause of the creation of God. Said another way, He is the source of the creation. The creation was started by Him.

So which is it? The key word here is "beginning." It is the Greek word arkay?. According to Thayer’s Lexicon the word in this place means "that by which anything begins to be, the origin, the active cause." In other words, Jesus in saying that He is the beginning cause or source of creation. That harmonizes perfectly with what Paul said about Him in Colossians 1:16: "For by Him [Jesus] all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things have been created by Him and for Him." Jesus is "the Beginning of the creation of God." He is the one who created – the source of the creation. Thus again, we see a statement where Jesus actively equated Himself with God.

Why would Jesus point these things out to the Laodicean church? As we go through His letter to them I think you’ll see that the Christians at Laodicea had ceased to take Him seriously. So smug were they in their feeling of self-sufficiency that perhaps they had forgotten that they were dealing with their Creator who, as "The Amen," held their ultimate destiny in His hand.

There are some facts known from archeology about the town of Laodicea and its people that greatly illuminate the words Jesus spoke to the church there. The church at Laodicea was, by the way, the only church about which Jesus had nothing good to say.

The city of Laodicea was built on a high plateau that made it very difficult to invade. However, it had a glaring vulnerability in its defense. The residents of the city had to pipe their water supply through an aqueduct system from several miles away. If invaded, the attackers could simply block off the aqueduct and force the city to surrender. This vulnerability was very real until the Romans conquered the area and enforced "Pax Romana," peace under Roman rule. With the protection of the Roman military the city, which was located at a prime business crossroad, prospered wildly. Several aspects of the city’s affluence figure in to Jesus’ message to the church there.

First, because of its economic prosperity and security, Laodicea became a great banking and financial center - one of the richest cities in the ancient world. Laodicea was so rich that when it was devastated by an earthquake in A.D. 61, the citizens refused aid from the Roman Government to rebuild, preferring to do it themselves. No wonder Jesus represented the Laodiceans as saying in verse 17: "I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing." Their wealth had brought them earthly security, but it had actually imperiled their spiritual lives. The Laodiceans were so rich they felt they didn’t even need God!

May I stop there and make an observation? Wealth and financial independence are things that probably all of us would like to attain. After all, it’s the "American Dream." What a great position to be in not to have to worry about money! But would it be a great place? The thought should, at the very least, give us reason to pause and think it through. I encourage you to do so as we continue through this letter and see what wealth brought to the Laodiceans.

Second, Laodicea was famous for the manufacture of clothing – in particular, garments made from a type of soft, black wool produced in the area. This wool was woven into clothing and rugs which were sought all over the Roman world. How appropriate then for Jesus to say to the complacent Christians there, again in verse 17, "you are… poor and blind and naked." They possessed some of the finest clothing in the world in that day - yet Jesus told them they were naked. There is more to proper clothing than what we hang on our bodies.

Third, Laodicea was a well-known medical center in ancient times. A temple stood thirteen miles to the west of the city which housed a famous medical school. The doctors who worked there were so renowned, their faces appear on the ancient coinage of Laodicea. Eventually this medical school was moved into the city. The school was famous all over the empire for a salve or ointment for the eyes. How ironic then, that the Risen Christ, speaking to the church there, would say, "you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind." Though their eye salve did wonders for their physical eyes, it did nothing for their spiritual sight.

Again, if I may pause and offer a bit of practical application, there are treatments and medicines for the body which have absolutely no effect upon the spirit or soul. While a person’s physical well-being can be affected by the effort of someone adept in the healing arts and science, along with the latest discoveries in medicine, none of these have even the tiniest effect upon a person’s spiritual condition or destination. For that you need the word of God. Precaution based solely on physical means then is at best an incomplete security. And since all physical life is temporary, it is really no lasting security at all. People will spend tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars on expensive medical treatments which, at their very best, can only postpone the inevitable. Yet those same people see no need to spend a penny or a moment on the condition of their spirits, which will live somewhere forever. As we shall see, that was the mindset of the church at Laodicea.

Amazing isn’t it, how things that are side by side can be so different? We studied the church at Philadelphia last Sunday, about which Jesus had nothing bad to say. Now we see the church at Laodicea about which Jesus had nothing good to say. That’s right. There is no commendation for Laodicea in the nine verses written to this church. Even in the letter to the sleeping church at Sardis that we’ve already studied, at least there were a few people who had not soiled their garments – a tiny ember of hope that remained that could, with the right response, be fanned into a bright flame of faith once again. But nothing of this nature is said about Laodicea. No wonder Jesus’ words about vomiting the church out were so graphic. The blindness and smug self-sufficiency of the Laodiceans literally made Him sick.

"I know your deeds," says Jesus in verses 15 and 16, "that you are neither cold nor hot; I would that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth."

Laodicea was located in a volcanic region. Just across the river, nearby Hierapolis was famous for its mineral hot springs. If you’ve ever been in a volcanic region you know how that smells. The mineral laden water supply for Laodicea had to be brought through an aqueduct from several miles away. I saw pictures on the Internet this past week of the actual pipe that carried water to the city of Laodicea. Its inner sides were heavily encrusted with mineral deposits. That being the case you might imagine what the water would taste like with various combinations of calcium, sulfur, and other impurities. Having to be piped several miles from its source where the water could be hot or cold, the temperature would moderate just enough to make it tepid – tepid and smelly – kind of nauseating. Was this the backdrop for Jesus’ words here?

Lukewarm is not hot. It is not cold. It is that indifferent zone somewhere in the middle. In fact, Jesus implies here that in the spiritual realm it is the very worst of the three conditions. He would rather see us either on fire for Him or stone cold against Him than see us in the middle. Those who are spiritually cold or hot have strong feelings about where they stand. You never have to wonder about their position. They feel intently enough that even if they are on the cold side, at least you know what they believe. Someone in the middle does not send out a strong signal in either direction.

"I would that you were cold or hot" Jesus says. Probably the biggest problem the church has faced since its beginning has not been hostility from those outside Christianity, as bad as that might seem. The biggest problem has been those who fall into the halfhearted middle – that majority of people who call themselves Christians but they don’t live their faith. They attend church. Perhaps they claim to be saved and on their way to heaven. But they don’t live for Christ. Their attitude is one of indifference. They have little concern for the word of God. Their lackadaisical hearts are far, far away from Him. If you meet such people in everyday life you would never guess that they are Christians. Their trust is in other things besides the Lord. Their interests run contrary to His. They live like the world. Their language is no different. Their lives are no different. Their concerns are no different than those of the world. Such people do more to limit the spread of the faith than all the other enemies of the cross put together. Someone comes near to Christ and begins to investigate and guess who they run into? A lukewarm, halfhearted "Christian." Soon they conclude on the basis of this false witness that there is really no difference between Christians and the rest of the world. So they turn away, having never encountered a credible witness for the faith. Indifferent "Christians" are some of the devil’s best tools.

If the loyalty to Christ that you once had has turned to indifference, if you have come to love the things of this world - the property, the passbooks, the pastimes, the perks - more than you love the Lord, if you just don’t care for the things of God anymore, you are damaging Christ’s cause and making Him sick. How long will it be before He vomits you out?

"I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire,’ Jesus says in verse 18, "that you may become rich, and white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see."

Why was Jesus so rough on these people? Why wasn’t He afraid that He would hurt someone’s feelings?

Christ speaks bluntly here because He cares. Those today who point out His words as a warning have the same motives. We care more for the souls of men than the popularity that comes from telling people only what they want to hear. As rich as the Laodiceans were, the value of their wealth would never translate into the next world. In the New Heaven and New Earth, they use gold in place of asphalt for building roads. The currency of this world doesn’t spend in the next. You wouldn’t expect to be able to buy anything in the United States today with a bill that was stamped with the insignia of "The Confederate States of America," would you? Neither should you think you have anything ready for the world to come if all of your stock is only in the currency of this world. Thus Jesus says here, "I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich…."

The other day I heard one of those commercials on TV where they employ actors to get you to buy gold as an investment. A part of the pitch was that "gold has never been worth zero." Perhaps it never has been worth zero in this life but one second after you take your last breath the value of this world’s gold will indeed go to "zero" for you. If you have only done business with the brokers of this world you are going to be, as Jesus says here, "wretched and miserable and poor." And on top of that, you will be "spat out" of His love and concern.

Jesus also said in the counsel part of this passage, "I advise you to buy from Me… white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed;

He refers here to the garments of His righteousness, the garments that cover up our sinfulness. Galatians 3:27 says, "For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ." We put on the garments He offers when we become Christians. But the Laodiceans would already have done this, as baptism was a part of their conversion experience. He must have meant something more.

The pure, white garments we receive at baptism can be "soiled." I know this because of what Jesus said to the church at Sardis in Revelation 3:4: "You have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments." There is an ongoing need to keep our spiritual garments white. The Christians at Laodicea did not care enough to do this. They needed to come to Christ in confession of their sin and repent once again to get these garments of righteousness to cover their exposure. This is something every Christian must do continually. Paul wrote to the Roman Christians in Roman 13:14, "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts."

Perhaps what is said in this passage speaks to you. Are you one who at one time "put on Christ" in baptism, but now, because of your indifference, have allowed your garments to become "soiled"? If you do not come to Him for white garments you will be exposed at judgment and be condemned. Furthermore, we’ve learned from this passage that those who allow this to happen literally make Jesus sick.

The Lord closes this letter with what I believe is a tender plea – a last, patient, loving offer before there was the ultimate rejection of the Laodicean church and the people who made it up. It is a verse that many of us have heard.

These words depict the tender mercy that the Lord wants to give to all people. Though He could easily break down the door and force His will, or yank open the door and invite Himself in, He does neither. Instead, He patiently stands outside and offers us His very best through a closed door that we fully control. That door can be answered – or it can be ignored. If we answer it, we will find peace with Him. If we ignore it, eventually He will cease knocking and go away and leave us to our own ways. If that happens we will die in our sins and be banished from His presence forever in a fiery, Christless hell. Have you answered that door? Are you ignoring it? Do you even care?

William Holman Hunt painted what has become a very famous portrait of Christ in Britain. It is called, The Light of the World.(2) In it the artist painted Jesus standing outside an overgrown and long unopened door, symbolic of the human heart. The door has no handle on the outside. It can only be opened from the inside. That is the case with Jesus. You can have Him with all the benefits He carries, even if the door has been closed for many years, but you are the one who controls the door. He offers, but you must open. If you refuse or neglect, one day He goes away and never returns.

Why don’t you open that door today? Give your heart fully to Him. If you are sincere, you won’t regret it.

Footnotes: Please use your back button to return to your place.

1. See also John 3:11
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Light_of_the_World

Dave Redick is Minister of the Hwy 20 Church of Christ in Sweet Home, Oregon and Editor of The Preacher's Study. He may be reached at pstudysupport@comcast.net.

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All Scripture quotations and references are from the New American Standard Version unless otherwise stated.

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