John writes a letter to his dear friend Gaius. It’s recorded for us in the Bible. This may be the same Gaius grabbed by the riotous crowd in Ephesus.
He, along with Aristarchus, goes with Paul, traveling to tell others about Jesus. This makes Gaius a missionary.
John’s letter to Gaius is a short message. It’s a warm letter, full of encouragement and affirmation. John also reinforces some teaching with Gaius. Then John tacks on a short testimony about Demetrius (2).
It seems Gaius knows Demetrius, or John anticipates the two of them will interact. John simply writes that everyone speaks well of Demetrius. It’s important to John that Gaius knows this.
We get one more insight into Gaius as Paul wraps up his book to the Romans. He notes that Gaius sends greetings to the Roman followers of Jesus, making mention of Gaius’s hospitality.
Paul has enjoyed Gaius’s hospitable nature and so has the whole church. We don’t know where this church is, but his hospitality is well-known in the area.
Gaius first travels as a missionary and later opens his home to other missionaries as they travel.
Are we known for our hospitality? If not, what should we do about it?
[Discover more about Gaius in Acts 19:29, Romans 16:23, and 3 John 1:1.]
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Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront a status quo faith and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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