The Message to Laodicea

Series: Revelation
Written By Pathway Church

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The Message to Laodicea

1. Good News and Bad News

When given the choice, most people want the bad news first. Studies show that receiving bad news before good can reduce anxiety, while saving the bad news for last can provoke greater life change. Revelation functions similarly. It confronts us with bad news to provoke repentance and transformation.

2. A Letter to Laodicea

Laodicea is the last of the seven churches addressed in Revelation. Each letter follows a structure: address, commendation, correction, solution, call to hear, and reward. But Laodicea stands apart—there is no commendation. It is the only church that receives no praise, only rebuke.

3. Historical Context

Laodicea was a rich, self-sufficient city known for:

Banking

A financial hub, the "Wall Street" of Asia Minor. After a devastating earthquake in 60 AD, they refused Roman aid, proudly rebuilding themselves.

Textiles

They produced glossy black wool used in expensive garments, a prized export.

Medicine

Home to a famous medical school, Laodicea developed a sought-after eye salve.

Their economic prosperity bred spiritual complacency. Jesus quotes them: "I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing." They were materially secure, but spiritually bankrupt.

4. The Danger of Wealth

Scripture repeatedly warns of wealth's spiritual dangers:

  • Hebrews 13:5 urges contentment over covetousness.

  • Matthew 6:24 says we cannot serve both God and money.

  • 1 Timothy 6:10 warns that the love of money leads many astray.

Wealth can cloud our need for Jesus. We begin to love the gifts more than the Giver. Laodicea was proud, self-sufficient, and blind to their true condition: wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

5. A Personal Contrast: Cambodia

Though extremely poor economically, the Cambodian Christians Steve served with were spiritually rich. They had little materially, but were overflowing with faith, character, and fruit. Their spiritual wealth far surpassed that of their financially rich but spiritually poor Western teammates. True wealth, Jesus teaches, is spiritual, not material.

6. What Jesus Offers

Jesus tells Laodicea to "buy" from Him:

Gold Refined by Fire

True character formed through trials. This is the only kind of gold that endures.

White Garments

Contrasting their black wool, these represent righteousness—something only Christ can give.

Salve for the Eyes

Spiritual sight, healing their blindness to God's kingdom.

Laodicea had material versions of all these things—gold, garments, medicine—but they lacked the spiritual realities behind them.

7. The Water Metaphor

Jesus famously says:

"I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm... I will spit you out of my mouth." (Revelation 3:15–16)

Laodicea’s water supply, brought in by aqueduct, arrived lukewarm—unlike the hot springs of Hierapolis (healing) or the cold mountain water of Colossae (refreshing). Jesus isn’t condemning passionless faith; He’s rebuking faith that is self-serving, ineffective, and unappealing. Their lukewarmness symbolizes a faith that brings neither healing nor refreshment.

8. Jesus Outside the Church

Despite the rebuke, Jesus gives hope:

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in..."

Even after being pushed out of His own church, Jesus stands patiently outside, knocking. He longs for fellowship and restoration. This is a letter to a church—not just individuals. Jesus is addressing a body that has excluded Him, and He's asking to be let back in.

9. Loving the Giver More Than the Gifts

Deuteronomy warns that prosperity can lead to forgetting God. Laodicea did just that. They attributed their success to themselves. But Scripture is clear:

"Both riches and honor come from you..." (1 Chronicles 29:12)

The best things in life come from Jesus. Nothing satisfies like Him. Our faith must keep Jesus at the center and self out of it.

10. A Call to Repentance

Jesus says, "Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline. So be zealous and repent."

This is good medicine. Hard to hear, but essential for healing. His invitation is open: "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." The bad news provokes the best kind of change when it drives us to Christ.

Benediction

May we be known as a church that loves the Giver more than the gifts. May people see the glow of Kingdom wealth—faithfulness, character, and spiritual fruit—in us. May we keep Jesus at the center and ourselves out of it, removing every trace of selfishness and self-sufficiency.

Thank you, Jesus, for the gift of this letter. May it bear fruit in our lives and in our church.

SERMON DETAILS

Speaker: Steve Pink
Series: Revelation
Sermon Title: The Message to Laodicea
Date: Mar 17, 2024


SCRIPTURE REFERENCES

  • Revelation 3:15–20

  • Hebrews 13:5

  • Matthew 6:24

  • 1 Timothy 6:10

  • Luke 6:20

  • Matthew 5:3

  • 1 Peter 1:7

  • Isaiah 61:10

  • Ezekiel 12:2

  • Deuteronomy 6:10–12

  • Acts 4:12

  • 1 Chronicles 29:12


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