The Third Letter of John

The road and the open door. Early missionaries travelled from town to town with little money. They would take "no support from non-believers" (v. 7), perhaps so as not to look like the wandering teachers of the day who preached for pay. So they relied on Christian hosts to feed them and "send them on" (v. 6), which meant food, money and a safe start to the next stage. Inns were expensive and often of bad repute. A Christian's front door was the Church's mission network.

Three men.

• Gaius, "the beloved" (v. 1). The name was very common in the Roman world. Other men called Gaius appear in Acts 19:29, Acts 20:4, Rom 16:23 and 1 Cor 1:14, but there is nothing to link them with this man.
• Diotrephes (vv. 9 to 10), "who likes to put himself first". He refuses the elder's authority, spreads false charges, turns away the preachers and expels those who receive them. Scholars debate whether his problem was doctrine or only pride. The letter never accuses him of false teaching. Some think of him as a local leader with growing powers.
• Demetrius (v. 12), of whom "everyone has testified favorably". He may have been the bearer of this letter, or one of the travelling preachers.

The Church's tradition. The letter has the same opening title as 2 John ("the elder"), and nearly the same ending (compare vv. 13 to 14 with 2 Jn 12). Tradition gives it to John the Apostle. The Council of Trent (1546) received "three of John the apostle".

A slow reception. A private note about local people had little reason to be copied at first. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the earliest certain recognition of it as apostolic comes from St Dionysius of Alexandria in the third century. Origen says of John's second and third letters, "not all consider them genuine" (Eusebius, Church History 6.25). Eusebius lists them as disputed (3.25), and St Athanasius in 367 lists three letters of John.

A scholarly note. Traditionally by John the Apostle. St Jerome notes that many in his day gave this letter to "John the presbyter" (Illustrious Men 9, 18), and many scholars still think of an elder of John's circle. The Catholic Encyclopedia argues for the Apostle. The Church has defined the letter as inspired, not the identity of the elder (Dei Verbum 11).

• Hospitality is mission. Those who welcome a preacher become "co-workers with the truth" (v. 8). This belongs to all the baptized, and not only to those who travel (see Catechism 863 to 864 on the apostolate of the whole Church).
• Walking in the truth is the greatest joy. "I have no greater joy than this" (v. 4). Every parent, priest and catechist knows this feeling.
• For the sake of the Name. The preachers set out "for the sake of Christ" (v. 7; the Greek says simply "the Name"). The Catechism cites this verse in its teaching that the name of Jesus alone brings salvation (432).
• Leadership is not for self. Diotrephes "likes to put himself first" (v. 9). The Lord's rule is the opposite (Mk 10:43 to 44). Church authority is real, and it is service (Catechism 1551). The elder's own response is modest: he will come and speak openly (v. 10).
• Imitate what is good. "Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God" (v. 11). This is a short version of 1 John.
• God cares for the whole person. "I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, just as it is well with your soul" (v. 2). This is a common courtesy of ancient letters, warmly meant. It shows care for the body. It is no promise that faith brings riches or health, and it should not be read as one.
• Each by name. The final words are about greeting friends "each by name" (v. 15). In the Church nobody is a number.

The name of Jesus does not appear in the Greek of this letter at all. It is the only book of the New Testament of which this is true. Yet he is everywhere. The preachers go out "for the sake of Christ", as the NRSV renders it (v. 7). "The truth" (vv. 1, 3, 4, 8, 12) is the word that Jesus used of himself in John's Gospel (Jn 14:6). And a door opened to a stranger is a door opened to him (Mt 25:35). Sometimes he is most present where he is least named.

The Catechism cites verse 7 at 432, on the saving name of Jesus.

Benedict XVI has no catechesis on this letter. The audience of 9 August 2006 on John's theology of love gives the frame for it.

In the liturgy.

• Syro-Malabar. In the 2026 to 2027 calendar we examined: 3 Jn 1 to 8 on the Third Thursday of Denha, the Thursday after the Three Days' Fast.
• Latin. Read once in two years: 3 Jn 5 to 8 on the Saturday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time, Year II. Never on a Sunday.
• Syro-Malankara. We did not find it among the readings of the Qurbono in the 2026 to 2027 calendar we examined, which does not cover every weekday.

It takes two minutes. Read it as you would read a friend's note. Then ask of each name: Gaius, Diotrephes, Demetrius, the unnamed friends on the road. Who am I most like this week? Read it with 2 John, its twin, and see how the same elder asks for discernment there and for open doors here.