Laodicea - The Challenge of Complacency

Once upon a time there was a businessman who went to work in the city. Every day, just outside his office building, he would pass a blind man wearing dark glasses who sat on the sidewalk begging with a tin cup. Usually, the businessman would put a quarter into the blind man’s cup as he walked by.

But one day he didn’t have a quarter. All he had was a ten dollar bill. But he felt very generous that day, so he decided to put the ten dollar bill into the blind man’s tin cup. And that’s what he did. He walked away feeling very good about himself, when something made him turn back to look at the blind beggar again.

Here is what he saw. To his surprise, the blind man had his dark glasses pushed up on his forehead, and was eagerly examining the ten dollar bill. The businessman was irate, to say the least. He immediately went back and said “Hey, I thought you were a blind man.”

“Oh no, I’m not really a blind man at all.” said the beggar. “Actually, I’m just substituting for the regular blind man who usually sits here.”

“Well where in the world is he?” asked the businessman.

“Today’s his day off” said the beggar, “and he’s gone to the movies.”

Things are not always what they seem to be! And that can be true of churches as well. A church can look good on the outside but be spiritually dead on the inside. We come to just such a church today in the final week of our studies in the Seven Churches of Revelation—the church at Laodicea.

This is the only church about which Jesus had nothing good to say. He couldn’t find anything to commend them for—from the Lord’s perspective, not one positive thing was happening there. And yet that church thought that it was doing pretty well. They were quite satisfied with their performance. Their own perception of themselves was far from what the Lord thought of them.

The city of Laodicea was founded in 250 BC by Antiochus of Syria, who named the city after his wife Laodice. The city was located in the valley of the Lycus River, on a major trade route. At the west end of town, there was a gate called the Ephesian gate, because the road ran from there to Ephesus in the west. And on the east end of town there was a gate called the Syrian gate, because the road ran from there all the way east to Syria. And there was another north-south route than ran right through town as well.

So Laodicea was literally a “cross-roads” city, and because of that, it became a very wealthy, prosperous place. It was a commercial center; a thriving mecca of trade and travel. People traveling through central Asia Minor would inevitably pass through Laodicea. In fact, the great Roman orator Cicero came through here around 40 BC and cashed some letters of credit at the local Laodicean banks. So Laodicea was a wealthy city.

In fact, it was so wealthy, that in 61 AD, there was an earthquake. The city was badly damaged. But the city fathers actually refused government help from Rome, because they preferred to rebuild the city out of their own resources. (Imagine a modern day politician turning down federal assistance!) Laodicean prided themselves on their affluence and their independence.

Laodicea was never a military stronghold. It was not a fortress city like Sardis was, high up on a rocky citadel. An important geographical fact prevented Laodicea from ever being a fortress—it had no internal water supply. All the water of Laodicea had to be brought in from outside. So obviously, Laodicea could never withstand a siege.

There was a major spring in the hills about six miles south of the city. The citizens of Laodicea built an aqueduct from that spring into the city. But the cold water which gushed out of the spring in the mountains arrived in the city lukewarm after a lazy six-mile journey under the hot sun.

Laodicea was noted for a couple of other things. First, it had a thriving textile industry. In the fields around the city were lots of sheep—black sheep. Laodicea was noted all over the ancient world for its glossy jet-black wool, which local craftsmen wove into fine clothing and even carpets.

Second, Laodicea was a center of medicine and healing. In fact, archaeologists have found coins with the names and images of prominent Laodicean doctors on them. (Imagine having Don Munnings and Vlad Sluzar on our loonies and toonies!)

Laodicea was particularly noted for an eye-salve that was produced here—they called it Phrygian powder and they made it into a paste which was helpful in curing diseases of the eye.

So this was Laodicea:

• a wealthy, self-sufficient city

• a city where the drinking water was always lukewarm

• a city which produced beautiful clothing

• a city where people went to get their eyesight restored

Let’s keep these things in mind as we read what Jesus had to say to the church of Laodicea. I’m reading from Revelation 3:14ff…

To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.

I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Jesus begins this letter by reminding them of who He is. He is the “Amen”. The word “amen” means “so be it.” The statements of Jesus are certain and definite. And they are reliable and true because he is the faithful and true witness.

He is the ruler of God’s creation. The word “ruler” there is the word “arche”, which means the beginning, the source, the origin. We read in the Gospel of John that Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

So this is the one who is addressing the church. And this is what he says (v. 150…

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

These are perhaps the most sobering words of rebuke that Jesus ever spoke in Scripture to anyone. And He spoke them to His church!

We need to be precise in our understanding of what Jesus is talking about here. When Jesus says that he is about to spit them out of his mouth, He is not talking about their spiritual destiny. They are not about to lose their salvation. He is not rejecting them. He loves them, as he says later in v. 19.

No, he is talking about their spiritual impact as a church. He is talking about the effect of their ministry. He says “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot.”

There were two other cities that were located near Laodicea. One of them, Colossae, was about 10 miles away. This was the city to which Paul wrote the letter of Colossians. Colossae was noted for its cold spring water which was especially pure and refreshing to the weary traveler. If you were thirsty and wanted a drink, Colossae was a good place to get one.

Then there was the city of Hierapolis, which was about 6 miles north of Laodicea. Hierapolis had some hot sulfur springs which were noted for their healing value. If you were sick or hurting and needed a hot mineral bath, you would go to Hierapolis.

But if you were in Laodicea and you wanted water, all you could get was that tepid, lukewarm stuff that came in by aqueduct.

Jesus is saying to the church: “Your ministry is like that. It isn’t hot and healing. It isn’t cold and refreshing. It is lukewarm and it makes me sick. The expression “to spit you out of my mouth” actually means to vomit, to throw up. Imagine a church getting to the place where Jesus himself says “You make me sick”. How did they get that way?

It got that way because it was complacent. Look at verse 17…

You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.

The Laodicean Christians thought that they were doing quite well, thank you very much. But they had lost their spiritual vigor. They had a sickening, lukewarm ministry that wasn’t doing anybody and spiritual good.

They had lost their values. They were measuring the health of their church in terms of their financial bottom line. They said “Hey, we’re rich. We don’t need a thing.” They had lost their dependency on Christ. They had become self-sufficient; confident in their own resources.

But Jesus rebukes them in verse 18…I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich

Jesus is talking about spiritual values here—values that we read about elsewhere in the Bible. In 1 Peter 1, we read about the value of faith in Christ, which is of far greater worth than even gold. We read about a spiritual inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade because it’s kept in heaven’s bank account for us.

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus tells us to lay up treasures in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where our treasure is, there our hearts will be also.

The church at Laodicea had lost sight of that. They had become so spiritually complacent that they were acting as though this world and this world’s wealth was all there was to life. They had lost their values.

And they had lost their vestments. Everyone knows the story of the Emperor’s new clothes. This is exactly what had happened in the church at Laodicea. They were parading around in their fine robes made of rich black Laodicean wool—the finest fashions that money could buy.

But Jesus says “Hello! You’re naked! Spiritually speaking, you don’t have a stitch on.” And unlike today, in the ancient world, nakedness was a symbol of ultimate humiliation. All through the Bible, nakedness is regarded to be the worst fate this side of death itself.

Jesus says to them in v. 18 you need white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness.

The idea of being reclothed in fine garments is a symbol of great honor and privilege in the Bible:

• When Pharaoh wanted to honor Joseph, he dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck.

• When the king of Babylon wanted to honor Daniel, he clothed him in purple, and placed a gold chain around his neck.

• When the Father wanted to honor his Prodigal Son who had returned, he brought out the best robe and put it on him, put a ring on his finger, and sandals on his feet.

• And when we come to Jesus for salvation, he takes off the filthy rags—the grave clothes of our own righteousness and clothes us with the “grace-clothes” of his righteousness.

The church at Laodicea had neglected their spiritual wardrobe. They had lost their vestments.

And they had lost their vision as well. In a city that was noted for its expertise in curing diseases of the eye, these Christians couldn’t see straight. They were blind. They needed Jesus to open their eyes—the same Jesus who made a salve of plain old mud and rubbed it on a man’s eyes and made him see.

• They had lost their vigor

• They had lost their values

• They had lost their vestments

• They had lost their vision

They were in pretty sad shape spiritually. But lest we think that Jesus has no use for this church, look at verse 19…

Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.

It may be that you are sitting here today thinking “My life is a lot like the church at Laodicea. I have really made a mess of things. I’ve made a fool of myself as a Christian and I haven’t been of much spiritual help to anyone else. My ministry impact has been almost nonexistent. Surely God must be fed up with me.”

And I point you to verse 19, where Jesus says “I love you. That’s why I rebuke you. That’s why I discipline you.” Jesus does not say “Those whom I love I reject…” God is not finished with us! It’s never too late to get serious and repent. What do we have to do?

We have to let Jesus back in!

In verse 20, we have one of the most amazing verses in the Bible, and one of the most taken-out-of-context verses as well. This verse is most often used in an evangelistic context, where Jesus is said to be knocking on the door of an unbeliever’s life.

But in actual fact, this is a Christian context—Jesus is standing outside the door of the church, and he’s trying to get back in! He says…

Here I am! I’m standing at the door and knocking.

Imagine a church where Jesus Christ is on the outside looking in! And although he is the Lord of the church, he humbly knocks to gain admittance once more. He has every right to kick the door down, but he stands outside patiently knocking.

I wonder, if we had eyes to see, how many churches there are like that. They have a cross on the steeple and the word “Christian” in their name. Jesus is mentioned prominently in their liturgy. They sing about him and talk about him, but he is really on the outside looking in. “Ladies and Gentlemen…Jesus has left the building.”

I wonder if our church is like that, or has ever been like that? A little while ago, I read a true story about a group of people in Cleveland, Ohio who decided to throw an elaborate surprise party for a friend who was retiring. They went to great lengths to rent a banquet hall, hire a band, purchase balloons, and gifts, and send out invitations.

On the day of the party, all the invited guests arrived and waited expectantly, but the guest of honor never showed up. It was only when the party organizers compared notes that they realized to their embarrassment that no one had been assigned to make sure that the guest of honor got there.

A hasty call to his home revealed that he had actually left town for the weekend and would not be available. So what did they do? They went ahead and had the party without him.

I wonder how many churches are having a party without Jesus there?

Jesus stands at the door of his church and knocks. And his knocking is…

1. Intentional - Jesus desires to have fellowship with His people. Even when we turn our backs on him, He never turns his back on us. Even if we are faithless, he remains faithful.

3. Insistent - the verb is in the present tense. He doesn’t knock once and give up. He keeps on knocking.

5. Individual - “if anyone hears my voice and opens the door”… Although he stands outside the church as a whole and knocks, the knocking can be heard by each individual. And each one must decide what to do with him.

   In the famous painting by Holman Hunt of Jesus Standing at the Door, the artist has intentionally left out a crucial detail. There is no handle on the outside of the door. The only handle is on the inside. It is my decision to let Jesus in.

7. Jesus’ knocking is aimed at intimacy. - “I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” People in ancient times ate three meals in a day. Breakfast was usually nothing more than a crust of bread. The noon meal was what we would call a bag lunch, usually eaten hastily while on the job. But the evening meal was the main meal of the day. It was eaten at home. It was prepared carefully and eaten leisurely, in the company of good friends, and seasoned with good conversation.

   This is the meal that Jesus is referring to here. He wants to sit down with us, to have fellowship with us, to get to know us. But it cannot happen if we marginalize him to a small corner of our lives.

The reward that he offers us is partnership with him (v. 21) to sit on his throne of authority and rule with him.

The church of Laodicea had become so complacent, so self-reliant and self-satisfied, that they had almost completely lost touch with the Savior who died for them.

I wonder if that is true of us today? Someone has said that an author can write a good book if he either loves his subject or hates it, for then he will write with passion. But if he is indifferent about his subject; if his interests are occupied elsewhere, if he truly doesn’t care, what he writes will not be worth reading.

What kind of book are you writing about Jesus? When people read your life, will they pick up a passion for the Lord? Will his character emerge from the pages of your personality to captivate them?

Or will you present a lukewarm, tepid tale about a Saviour who died for you, but for whom you’re not terribly excited?

It’s better to be antagonistic toward Christ than to be apathetic about him. But its best of all to be totally on fire for him. This morning, you may need to ask Jesus to light the fire again.