John sends the Revelation to the church in Sardis
(*All Bible verses are from the NIV unless otherwise noted)
Chapter 3:1-6
1 “To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.
2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God.
3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.
4 Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy.
5 The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels.
6 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Rev 3:1
The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars:
Review the meaning of seven spirits and seven stars introduced in Rev 1:4 and 1:20.
Rev 3:1
You have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead:
In verse 15, the church in Laodicea is told, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!” There are occasions when I may embrace a new ideology or project with excitement. At first, I approach the tasks with passion and energy! New possibilities emerge; progress is made, and things seem to come together in exciting new ways! But, if my personal convictions in the idea or project aren’t deeply rooted, as time passes, other things in life become distractions. I may begin to lose interest or even become apathetic.
The infant church in Sardis may have been experiencing a similar situation. Matthew recounts a parable taught by Jesus illustrating the same circumstances:
Matt 13:3-9 “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
Jesus continued by explaining the parable:
Matt 13:19-23 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
Rev 3:2
Wake up! Strengthen what remains:
Paul warned the saints in Ephesus and Rome in the same way:
Eph 5:14 This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
Rom 13:11 …The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
What things could a present-day church do if it were spiritually dead and needed to wake up and come alive again? A church whose sole focus is on Sunday morning services and the occasional dinner or social event might want to expand its programs by supporting local or international charities and missions. If worship services are failing to uplift and encourage members in their daily walk with God, the music, preaching, and teaching may need revitalization. The Church exists to help believers and their communities through what can often be a hard and difficult life:
Jas 1:27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
Acts 10:4 …The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.
Matt 25:35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
Rev 3:3
Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent:
According to Jewish tradition, the Torah (Old Testament) contains 613 commandments1. In addition, there are some seventeen prophetic works, such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. And yet, in response to a question, Jesus makes an amazing statement:
Matt 22:36-40 [NIV] 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
The ESV translates verse 40, “All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments.” The Gospel message the saints in Sardis received was not a list of 613 commandments and innumerable prophetic words they were supposed to cling to. It was a message of love, and they had evidently allowed their love of God and others to grow cold.
The love of others flourishes when we build strong relationships with friends, regularly check on the well-being of others, and generously support those in need. Love of God grows in much the same way: Spending time with Him as a friend and companion through prayer and study, and serving Him by serving others.
Rev 3:3
I will come like a thief:
Matt 24:43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.
1Thess 5:1 Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2 for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4 But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.
These parables don’t simply apply to Christ’s second coming. Matthew and Paul are emphasizing an important principle – times and dates are of little importance. Only God knows when His works will be accomplished. We are to be prepared always, clothed in the “armor of God” (Eph 6:10-17)
Eph 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with…
- The belt of truth (Eph 6:14)
- The breastplate of righteousness (Eph 6:14)
- Shoes of the Gospel of Peace (Eph 6:15)
- A shield of faith (Eph 6:16)
- The helmet of salvation (Eph 6:17)
- The sword of the Spirit, the word of God (Eph 6:17)
Rev 3:4
Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy:
Throughout the Bible, “white” is associated with purity:
Dan 7:9 “As I looked, “thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool…
Isa 1:18 “Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.
Matt 17:2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.
Jesus uses a similar comparison, only reversing the image. The Pharisees, who were supposed to be the teachers and upholders of God’s laws, are accused of looking clean on the outside while their inner lives were full of pride and corruption!
Matt 23:27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
The saints in Sardis had not forgotten their “first love,” and had continued to walk in faith with Christ. Just like the high priest Joshua and the Pharisees, our lives are cluttered by mistakes, poor decisions, and hurtful acts. But through Christ, there is always the hope of being clothed in “clean garments”:
Isa 43:25 “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.
Hebrews 10:17 Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
2 Chronicles 7:14 …if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
Psalms 103:12 as far as the east is from the west,so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
Rev 3:5
I will never blot out his name from the book of life:
The lives of every person are like open books before God, who “probes the minds and hearts” of all He has created (Psa 7:9). The image of “The Book of Life” represents those who put their faith in Christ. The same book is also called the Lamb’s Book of Life in Rev 13:8 and 21:27, symbolically listing the names of those who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lord Jesus:
Phil 4:3 Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.2
Isa 62:12 They will be called the Holy People, the Redeemed of the LORD; and you will be called Sought After, the City No Longer Deserted.
Rev 13:8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.
John 10:28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.
(Also, Rev 17:8, 20:12, 20:15, 21:27).
Rev 3:5
…but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels:
Matt 10:32-33 “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.
Luke 12:8 “I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God.
What a wonder! The Creator of the cosmos knows the names of each of His children!
Ps 8:3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?
Alexander MacLaren, (1826-1910), wrote: But I would rather point to the thought that this promise carries with it, not only Christ’s judicial recognition of the victor, but also the thought of loving relationship, of close friendship, of continual regard. He ‘confesses the name’ – that means that He takes to His heart, and loves and cares for the person… to Him who can make you more than conquerors, who will change your frayed and dented armor for the fine linen, clean and white, and will point to you, before His Father and the universe, and say, ‘This man was one of Thy faithful soldiers.’ That will be honor indeed3.
Footnotes
- 613 Commandments, https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/756399/jewish/The-613-Commandments-Mitzvot.htm, Sept. 9, 2023. ↩︎
- From the time of Origen, Clement, bishop of Rome, has been identified as the Clement mentioned by Paul in Philippians 4:3, Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life. ↩︎
- Alexander MacLaren, MacLaren Expositions Of Holy Scripture, Revelation, Chapter 3, Bible Hubm https://biblehub.com/commentaries/maclaren/revelation/3.htm, Accessed Jan. 3, 2024. ↩︎
*All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
