The Church that Makes Jesus Sick Revelation 3:14-22

Scripture: Abel

Intro: Explosive Diahrea

In the news the last few weeks has been the report that many people have experienced explosive Diahrea

At first, they thought it came from bagged lettuce from a farm in Mexico, but that came back as a false positive

It turns out the source was from something many of us have know for a long time… these people ate at Taco Bell

There is a reason people have made memes saying not to buy expensive colon cleansers, just spend $4.99 on their fiesta box

There are things that you know are gonna make you sick

Taco Bells burritos are the bomb in more than just taste

Its the gift that keeps giving

Well, there was a church that made Jesus sick just by looking at it. Not some scandalous sin. Just... sick to his stomach.

That's Laodicea. The lukewarm church.

Here's why. Water came into that city through an aqueduct, piped in six miles from Hierapolis. Hierapolis had hot springs — healing water. By the time it reached Laodicea, all that heat was gone. Just warm, mineral-heavy water that made people gag.

Jesus takes that daily annoyance and turns it into a mirror. You are neither hot nor cold for me. And I'm about to do to you exactly what that water does to your stomach.

You'd think that's where it ends. Sick to his stomach, he just turns and walks away.

He doesn't.

Before Jesus tells this church what's wrong with them, he tells them who he is.

Verse 14 isn't the accusation. It's the introduction.

A disgusted Christ still shows up and still speaks — he doesn't ghost them, he doesn't send someone else to deliver the bad news.

He identifies himself: the Amen. The faithful and true witness. The beginning of the creation of God.

Faithful & True Witness vs. 14

Even though the church made Jesus sick he was still a faithful and true witness

Jesus describes himself as the Amen

Amen means “I tell you the truth”

Next, he calls himself faithful & true witness

His word is accurate and reliable

The Greek word for witness is martyr

He is speaking against a church that is "neither faithful nor true," Jesus is both.

His testimony about their condition (v. 17) is admissible and final. The self-title deliberately mirrors and exposes the congregation's deficiency.

Finally he calls himself the beginning of the creation of God

This emphasizes his preeminence

Colossians 1:15 ESV

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

A dangerous condition Christ cannot stomach vs. 15-16

This church has a dangerous condition that made Jesus sick

This is the only church that isn’t complimented by Jesus

They were lukewarm, too proud to come to God

Imagine reaching for a cup of coffee expecting it hot, or a glass of water expecting it cold, and getting neither — just tepid. You'd spit it out. 

Laodicea drank that water every day, piped in from six miles away. Jesus takes their daily annoyance and makes it a mirror. 

The lukewarm Christian has just enough religion to be inoculated against the real thing.

The imagery is drawn from Laodicea's water supply, piped from Hierapolis's hot springs and arriving tepid.

The point is usefulness, not degrees of devotion.

To be lukewarm is to be complacent and halfhearted

God finds it distasteful and useless to the kingdom

Hot water heals (Hierapolis), cold water refreshes (Colossae), lukewarm water is spat out.

The rebuke is against uselessness born of self-satisfaction

They overestimated themselves and underestimated God

”I will vomit [emeō] you out of My mouth" (v. 16) — The verb evokes the physical revulsion of drinking tepid mineral water.

To be "in Christ's mouth" is to be an instrument of His Word and object of His intercession; to be spewed out is nauseating rejection. Strong, deliberately visceral language.

A deadly deception Christ must expose vs. 17-18

The church that makes Jesus sick has a deadly deception He must expose

The most dangerous place to be is not in obvious need but in unfelt need.

The Laodecians were known for their wealth. They were famous for their glossy black wool coats and eye salve

People would travel from all over the world for medical help

But Jesus offers three things they thought they already had: gold (true riches), white garments (true righteousness), eye salve (true sight).

Notice — you must buy from me . Not earn. Receive.

They were financially well off but spiritually dying

They needed to be clothed by Christ because of their spiritual nakedness

They needed his gold refined by fire

They needed his eye salve because they were spiritually blind

A Door Only You Can Open vs. 19-22

The church that makes Jesus sick has a door only they can open

Jesus declares his love for them so his rebuke and correction is from that

Their response should be to repent

Note phileō (affectionate friendship), not agapaō.

The rebuke flows from intimate love.

The verse quotes Proverbs 3:12 and grounds the entire confrontation in relationship, not wrath.

Proverbs 3:12 ESV

for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.

"Zealous" shares the root of "hot" — the cure for lukewarm is to boil.

Jesus tells them he is standing at the door and knocking

Holman Hunt's famous painting The Light of the World shows Christ knocking at a door with no handle on the outside — it opens only from within. That's the gospel of verse 20. Jesus wants deipnon — the long evening meal, unhurried fellowship, not a quick visit.

Jesus does not force his way in

He knocks and waits for us