New Testament · Letter · book 63 of 66 · 1 min read
The book of 2 John
Thirteen verses about hospitality, and the uncomfortable instruction not to extend it to travelling teachers spreading the thing 1 John was written against.
“This is love, that we should walk according to his commandments.”
At a glance
- Chapters
- 1
- Author
- "The elder"; traditionally John
- Written
- Probably 90s AD
- Written for
- A congregation, addressed as a lady and her children
- Themes
- truth, love, hospitality, discernment
What it is about
2 John is one of the two shortest books in the Bible, written on what was probably a single sheet. It is addressed to the chosen lady and her children, almost certainly a congregation rather than an individual.
It repeats the themes of 1 John in miniature — walking in truth, loving one another, the denial that Christ came in the flesh — and then applies them to a practical situation.
That application is the difficult part: do not receive such a teacher into your house or greet him. In a world where travelling teachers depended entirely on hospitality, withholding it was the only sanction available, which is worth knowing before the verse is used to justify shunning people generally.
Where to start
The whole letter. Thirteen verses, two minutes.
The chapters worth knowing
- 2 John 1 — The whole letter — thirteen verses on truth, love and who to receive into the house.
What people get wrong about it
That it licenses refusing hospitality to anyone you disagree with. The instruction concerns travelling teachers promoting a specific denial, in a context where hospitality was the only means of support and therefore the only available sanction.
Questions
Who is the chosen lady in 2 John?
Almost certainly a congregation rather than a person — the letter shifts between singular and plural in ways that fit a church addressed collectively.
How long is 2 John?
Thirteen verses, one chapter. It and 3 John are the shortest books in the Bible.