6. VALUE OF THE SHORTER EPISTLES
These last two epistles of John do not deserve the neglect which they have sometimes suffered. Despite their brevity—they are the shortest books of the New Testament—they are instructive in a number of ways.
(1) Historical.—It is exceedingly interesting, for example, to compare them with the private letters of the same period which have recently been discovered in Egypt—see Lesson III, Teacher's Manual, in this course. In form, the opening of the Third Epistle is very much in the manner of the papyrus letters. Compare, for example, with III John 1-4 the following opening of a letter of the second century after Christ: "Apion to Epimachus his father and lord heartiest greetings. First of all I pray that you are in health and continually prosper and fare well with my sister and daughter and my brother. I thank the lord Serapis...." (The translation is that of Professor Milligan. See p. 20 of Teacher's Manual, Part I, of this course.) The differences, however, are even more instructive than the resemblances. What was said in Lesson I about the epistles of Paul applies in full measure to the epistles of John. Even the epistolary forms are here modified so as to be the vehicle of a new message and a new spirit.
Furthermore, the two epistles, especially Third John, cast a flood of light upon the internal development of the Church. In one respect indeed the historical significance of the Third Epistle has sometimes been exaggerated. It is not true that we have here the emergence of the monarchical episcopate—that is, the preëminence of one presbyter, called a "bishop," over his brother presbyters. Diotrephes does not appear clearly as a bishop. At about A. D. 110 in the epistles of Ignatius the episcopate is very prominent; but Third John belongs to an earlier period.
Nevertheless, this concrete picture of the internal affairs of a late first-century church is absolutely unique. The period is very obscure; these few brief lines illumine it more than pages of narrative. The traveling preachers of Third John are particularly interesting. Similar missionaries appear also in the "Didache," a sort of church manual which may probably be dated in the early part of the second century. In that later period, however, care had to be taken lest the hospitality of the churches should be abused. "But let every apostle," says the writer—the word "apostle" is used in a very broad sense to designate wandering preachers—"who comes to you be received as the Lord. He shall remain, however, no more than one day, or if necessary two. If he remains three days he is a false prophet." Such precautions, we may be sure, were not needed in the case of Demetrius and his companions.
(2) Practical.—Despite its individual address and private character, the Third Epistle of John is not an ordinary private letter. Like all the books of the New Testament, it has a message for the entire Church. The devout reader rises from the perusal of it with a more steadfast devotion to the truth and a warmer glow of Christian love.
In the Library.—Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," pp. 272-274, 294-308. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": Purves (supplemented), article on "John, Epistles of." M'Clymont, "The New Testament and Its Writers," pp. 144-149. Ellicott, "A New Testament Commentary for English Readers," vol. iii, pp. 467-502: Sinclair, "The Epistles of St. John." Westcott, "The Epistles of St. John." Zahn, "Introduction to the New Testament," vol. iii, pp. 355-384. The two last-named works are intended primarily for those who have some knowledge of Greek, but can also be used by others.