To the Church at Laodicea
The Danish folktale author Hans Christian Andersen published a short story called “The Emperor’s New Clothes” in 1837. Since then, it has been translated into over 100 languages and has become known the world over. The tale tells the story of two swindlers who arrive in the capital city of an emperor who is obsessed with his abundance, especially his clothes.
The swindlers come up with a scheme where they pose as traveling weavers, and in a meeting with the emperor, they offer to weave him some magnificently magical clothes. The magic of these garments is that they are invisible to anyone who is a foolish or incompetent. The emperor excitedly hires them, and they go about their work. Various officials, and the emperor himself, visit them to see the progress. They see empty looms, but not wanting to be seen as foolish, each one pretends to see beautiful garments.
Finally, the weavers send word that the emperor’s suit is completed. He arrives, removes his clothes, and they mime dressing him, commenting on all the beautiful colors of the suit. The emperor sets off in a royal procession through the city in his new magical clothes. The townspeople initially go along with the charade, not wanting to be seen as fools themselves. Everything is proceeding swimmingly until a young child blurts out, “But he’s got nothing on!”
Laughing, the people finally realize that everyone has been duped, although the emperor continues along, more proud than ever.
In our passage today, we’re going to see the lukewarm church of Laodicea collectively behaving like the emperor with no clothes. They believe they are rich, that they have it all. But Jesus firmly reminds this church that in reality, they’ve got nothing on at all. In this seventh letter of Christ to the churches of Revelation, my aim is to draw our attention to the concerning parallels between the sickness of a prosperous church in the first century and the disease raging in the church today in the most prosperous country of all time.
But we’ll also look at the hope for Laodicea, which is ours as well. We’ll do this by walking through 1) the presenting symptom, 2) the underlying disease, and finally, 3) the surprising solution. Before we dive in, let’s pray. “Lord Jesus, please give us ears to hear what your Spirit says to the churches, and what you are saying to our church, to us, in this text. Help us to hear your voice and open the door to you. Amen.”
The Presenting Symptom
To begin, let’s look at verses 15 & 16 together. “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” Jesus saves his most blistering rebuke of all for last here. The works of the Laodicean church are neither hot nor cold. Their affections are bland, indifferent, apathetic, leading to listless, half-hearted deeds.
The coffee was supposed to be piping hot, and instead it’s room temperature. The ice cream was supposed to be refreshingly cold, but it’s melted into a puddle of muck. When this happens to us, we know what that’s like. It completely changes the experience of the food or beverage… and Jesus says, essentially, “You make me sick… I will spit you out.”
But what does it really mean to be lukewarm? Looking at the context of the passage, we can see what Jesus exhorts the church to do a few verses later, and understand that this is the opposite of his call to “be zealous” in verse 19. That word ‘zealous’ in the Greek carries with it an element of temperature. It means to burn or boil intensely, to be warm in affection, to desire or covet earnestly. And what are they meant to burn, boil, warm towards? Jesus!
Right now, Jesus is not even inside this church, he does not occupy the center of their lives or their hearts. We know this, because in v20 Jesus says he is standing at the door and knocking. He’s on the outside looking in. So the essence of being lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, is ultimately about the heart’s affections for Jesus. For this church, their affections have dried up. They are neither excited nor repulsed by the gospel and its Conquerer. They may be respectable, knowledgable, successful, perhaps outwardly impressive, but like Ephesus, they have abandoned their first love.
Being lukewarm, just floating aimlessly in the middle, is the MOST dangerous place you can be. It is far worse than being hot, to be burning with love & affection for Christ, obviously. But Jesus says it’s also worse than even being cold. How is that? Well, if you are cold, you can at least feel that temperature. You get goosebumps, you shiver, your teeth chatter. The distance between what you are, and what you should be is fairly obvious. But if you are lukewarm, comfortably at room temperature, you feel nothing. The truth doesn’t shake you or thrill you, but merely slips off like water off a duck’s back.
So this is the presenting symptom, and it is an incredibly dangerous symptom because it means our Savior will spit them out. But what is the cause? How did this happen? How could it happen to us? Let’s move to our second point, the Underlying Disease.
The Underlying Disease
Looking at verse 17, we start to get an idea of how this happens. Jesus goes on… “For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.”
Before we go further, it’s helpful to understand some background information about this city. Laodicea was one of the wealthiest places in that part of the world. It derived its success from three main industries: banking, including a gold exchange; textiles, including a unique black wool; and a renowned medical school, which produced an innovative eye salve made from stone powder. This place was a hub of commercial, financial, and medical activity on a profitable trade route.
It’s very likely that the members of this church were quite successful in their occupations - they were doctors, bankers, merchants. They provided good things for the world around them, they excelled at it, and they were rewarded. We even have records of a major earthquake that occurred in the area in 60 AD. Each of the surrounding cities took disaster relief, financial aid from Rome. But due to their great prosperity, Laodicea was the only Roman city to reject imperial aid, instead rebuilding with their own wealth.
Is this starting to sound a bit like where we live? Successful, prosperous, titans of industry, needing no aid from other nations when disaster strikes.
With that background, let’s look back at the text. The first thing to notice is the incredible contrast between their assessment of themselves, and Jesus’ piercing understanding of the true reality. “You say - I am rich, I have prospered, I need nothing!” All three of these statements are connected to material wealth. Laodicea sees themselves on top. From their vantage point, they have done well; so well, in fact, that there is nothing else they need. The bank account has a few zeros on the end. The property is in good shape. The job is respectable and has growth potential. They are comfortably supplied.
But Christ comes in, and like the child in the story of the Emperor, points out that in reality, they’ve got nothing at all. From His perspective, they are “wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked”… and worst of all, they do not realize it! It’s one thing to be a naked beggar, filthy, blind and to be pitied above all. It’s completely another to be that beggar, and yet believe that you are a king.
And so we get to the heart of the matter. Going back to our first question… how does one become lukewarm? One clue, based on what seems to have happened in Laodicea, is that worldly wealth and success can breed complacency and apathy. When we fail to find in Christ the source of all true wealth, splendor, and vision, we stop feeling our true need for a rescuer. You get cozy in this world. Your eyes crust over and you stop looking ahead to the better country, the city that is to come, because this one actually has a lot to like.
On the sermon on the mount, Jesus said this: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven… for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also… No one can serve two masters… You cannot serve God and money.” When we locate our ultimate hope and identity in worldly success & treasure, we open ourselves up to great loss. As humans, we become like what we worship. Worship Christ, draw near to Him, and you become more like him - and you likely will suffer like him as you get to Glory - but worship Money, draw it near to your heart, and you will slowly become rigid & lifeless like the digits in your bank account.
Examine yourself. What causes your good or bad days? When you lose a material possession, or the status that come’s with someone’s approval, how do you respond? What drives you to go hot or cold? Achievement & success are not inherently evil, but we need to watch our hearts closely, lest our temperature is dependent upon those earthly factors instead of our relationship to God, who is a consuming fire.
And so, the situation here appears to be fairly hopeless. The church is lukewarm and listless. They think they are rich, but they are wretched and poor beyond belief. What is to be done? Let’s move to our final point.
The Surprising Solution
Look at verses 18-19. “I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.”
Notice first here that Jesus counsels Laodicea to buy three items from him. And unlike the swindlers’ magical garments offered to the Emperor, Jesus offers three of the most valuable & lasting possessions one could possibly own. Jesus speaks to this church where they are… you want to buy your happiness? You’ve been shopping at the wrong stores. You can’t get what I have shipped by Amazon or sampled at Costco. You can ONLY get them from me. And what is Jesus offering here?
The background on Laodicea helps us yet again. To the banking center with a prosperous gold exchange, the King offers divine gold refined by fire, so they can be truly rich. Elsewhere in the book of Revelation, gold is often connected to the crown of life (like Jesus offered Sardis and Philadelphia in 2:10 and 3:11). In chapter 4:4, we see 24 elders sitting on 24 thrones, with golden crowns on their heads.
Jesus offers this crown to Laodicea, a gold well-refined by the fire of trial & suffering on earth, just as the Prince earned his crown of glory. To the textile merchants, trading in rare wool, Jesus offers white garments to cover their nakedness. Later in Revelation, we see that white garments represent righteousness and an acceptable life (19:8). In chapter 7, we see the great multitude from every nation, tribe, and people standing before the throne and the Lamb clothed in white robes. Jesus is giving them a chance to belong to that number. And to the renowned medical school, the Great Physician offers an eye ointment unlike anything on earth, to cure their spiritual blindness.
So one surprising cure for lukewarmness is not ultimately a rejection of riches. It’s a currency exchange - as Jesus offers heavenly, everlasting riches in place of their temporary earthly wealth. And it really does involve a true change. As he reminds them in verse 19, “be zealous and repent.” Turn away from from the false hope of worldly success, achievement, riches and turn towards His promised riches in relationship. The first cure for lukewarmness & spiritual complacency is a renewed understanding of our standing without Christ as pitiful beggars and a zealous pursuit of the Prince of heaven and His promises.
Let’s look now at the second part of the cure in v20:“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” Listen to what this is saying. Because this church is lukewarm, apathetic, materially wealthy and spiritually poor, Jesus is standing outside of this church. The King himself has been driven out in the cold. But he doesn’t leave them! He doesn’t turn his back on them. Instead, he stands at the door and knocks, continually, day after day.
They may be lukewarm to him, but He remains warm to them, even as their actions disappoint him. When we wander, Jesus does not force us to climb the mountain and come find his door. He initiates, just as he does in salvation, and for a time, he stands at our door, knocking. We have only to hear his voice, by his Spirit, and let him in.
As we conclude this section, the main point is this: more communion with Christ is the ultimate cure to the disease of apathy & lukewarmness. Jesus says “I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” What has your communion with Christ looked like this year? Is your prayer life marked by a litany of requests only, simply things that you want from him? Or do you want Him?
What has your time in the Word been like? Have you spent time seeking Him, seeking to know him deeper? Pastor David Mathis summarizes the solution well in his book Habits of Grace: we can grow in communion with Christ as we 1) hear his voice in the Word, 2) have his ear in prayer, and 3) belong to his body in fellowship. And in so doing, because of Christ our Great Physician, the dangers of the disease of lukewarmness fade away as our souls burn brightly in the presence of our King.
The Table
Before we move to the Table, think for a moment about the trajectories in this text. This is the greatest rags to riches story of all time. Jesus offers the church of Laodicea, and any of us who may bear a resemblance, a chance out of the gutter. We begin poor, blind, naked, dirty beggars on the street, under a delusion of grandeur.
But Jesus promises to the one who repents and conquers a chance to sit with Him on his throne. From the gutters of the earth to the throne in the high courts of heaven. What incredible, astounding, preposterous grace. And how is this achieved? How could this be warranted? Because the Prince of heaven, who was rich beyond imagination, stepped down from his throne and entered our world as a human - he inverted the story and went from riches to rags.
Jesus allowed himself to be stripped naked, beaten to a pitiful pulp, blindfolded, and nailed to a cross like a wretched sinner. He gave up his riches, even eternal communion with His Father, because of his zealous, hot, intense affection for us and for the glory of God.
Jesus is the one who buys us with his own blood. His zealous affection transforms our own, and so we cast down our golden crowns at his feet. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Amen.