The apostle John was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, the son of Zebedee, and the brother of James. Before his call by Jesus, John was a fisherman on the Sea of Galilee, along with his father and brother (Matt. 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20). His mother was probably Salome (Matt. 27:56; Mark 15:40), who may have been a sister of Mary (John 19:25), the mother of Jesus.

Although it is not certain that Salome and Mary were sisters, if it were so it would make James and John cousins of Jesus. This would help explain Salome's forward request of Jesus on behalf of her sons (Matt. 20:20-28). The Zebedee family apparently lived in Capernaum on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee (Mark 1:21). The family must have been prosperous, because the father owned a boat and hired servants (Mark 1:19-20). Salome the mother provided for Jesus out of her substance (Mark 15:40-41; Luke 8:3). John must have been the younger of the two brothers, for he is always mentioned second to James in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

The brothers Zebedee were among the first disciples called by Jesus after His baptism (Mark 1:19-20). This happened immediately after the call of two other brothers, Simon Peter and Andrew (Mark 1:16-18), with whom they may have been in partnership (Luke 5:10). Three of the four - Peter, James, and John - eventually became Jesus' most intimate disciples. They were present when Jesus healed the daughter of Jairus (Mark 5:37; Luke 8:51). They witnessed His transfiguration (Matt. 17:1,2; Mark 9:2; Luke 9:28-29), as well as His agony in Gethsemane (Matt. 26:37; Mark 14:33). Along with Peter, John was entrusted by Jesus with preparations for the Passover supper (Luke 2:8). For more information, see The Apostles.

Author: The Apostle John

Date: Around the year 90 A.D.

Theme: Practice hospitality toward true Christian teachers.

Key Words: Love, truth

Author and Addressee: Just as in the 2nd epistle, the writer of the 3rd is identified as "the very old" suggesting that he was older than other Christians and that his personal knowledge of the faith was much older than theirs. The strongest evidence points out that these three epistles were written by the same person. See the Introduction to II John: Author and Addressee.

The only thing known about the "beloved Gaius" is the warm tribute John offers him in the dedication of this letter. The name Gaius was common in the Roman world and the New Testament mentions people with this name in Corinth (Rom. 16:23; I Cor. 1:14), in Macedonia (Acts 19:29) and in Derbe (Acts 20:4). There is nothing that associates this Gaius of III John with any of these people. Evidently, it deals with a leader of some church in Asia.

Date: John was an elder with much experience when he wrote this letter, along with the 2nd that bears his name, at the end of his life, around the year 90 A.D.

Occasion and Purpose: While II John alludes to itenerant teachers that propagated heresies and disturbed the faith of the Christians, this letter speaks of the genuine teachers of truth who travelled to the different churches. In the prior letter, John prohibited offering hospitality to false teachers; here, on the contrary, he encourages them to fraternize. Nevertheless, Diotrephes, an important leader of one of the churches, opposed John's authority. Furthermore, he refused hospitality to the missionaries that passed through there, and prohibited others from attending to them, excommunicating them when they did. John wrote to encourage Gaius for his generosity and to reject Diotrephes for his lack of charity.

Content: In order to get his point across, John describes the attitude of three people. The first is Gaius, who had demonstrated his Christian faith with his generous hospitality, even toward strangers. The second is Diotrephes, whose selfish pride was disturbing the harmony of the community. The third is Demetrias, whose life was an example of Christian faithfulness and a model to be imitated. These three people bore positive and negative testimonies about the relationships between Christians.

Personal Application: This letter describes the church as family united by the bonds of love, with its members offering hospitality to each other. However, selfish ambitions and fallacious jealousy threatened the fraternity of the church and its members should have kept themselves from such attitudes. Moreover, they should have endeavored to maintain affectionate relationships among themselves.

Christ Revealed: The apostle presents Jesus as the Truth in which we should walk. Devotion to the LORD motivates true teachers to develop an itinerant service (v. 7). The lives of Gaius and Demetrius harmonized with the teachings of Christ and gave strong testimony of the power of his love. On the other hand, Diotrephes' attitude shows a marked contrast with the true life in which Christ should be first in all things.

The Holy Spirit in Action: This epistle doesn't refer directly to the Holy Spirit, but his ministry is implicit throughout the message; in particular, permitting believers to "walk in truth", and strengthening itinerant missionaries in their ministry. The fruits of the Spirit are evident in the lives of Gaius and Demetrius.

Theological Contributions: See the Introduction to I John.

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