¹³I had many things to write to you, but I am not willing to write them to you with pen and ink; ¹⁴but I hope to see you shortly, and we will speak face to face. ¹⁵Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends by name.

We often skim over the beginning salutations and endings of the NT letters, but they contain valuable historical markers for those whose Bible reading and study go deeper than a daily devotional. In our space here, we are limited in our comments. One observation that jumps out to us is that John is overflowing with things he wants to teach Gaius and all those who will read this letter. But he only wrote what was necessary for his immediate purpose. This reminds us of what he wrote in his gospel account of Jesus:

[M]any other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name. (John 20:30–31)

We venture to say that the life of Jesus Christ has produced far more books (this devotional commentary you are reading now adds to that number) than any other topic in human history. The Bible is the bestselling book of all time. It is likely that in John’s fifty-plus years as a disciple, he wrote more than what God has preserved for us (his gospel account, three relatively brief letters, and the book of the Revelation). Nothing else, however, has been preserved for us. The apostle John was not a man of letters, having been trained to work with his hands as a fisherman (unlike the apostle Paul, who although he was a tent-maker by trade was highly educated). John would rather teach in person than by pen.

Final greetings round out John’s short letter. The fact that he wrote this letter even though he planned to visit them shortly speaks to his urgency to address the conflict caused by Diotrephes, the man who would not accept John’s teaching by letter but who was about to be confronted by the apostle face to face. In a sense, John was firing a shot across the bow, knowing this letter would be circulated among the believers there, and the troublemaker would catch wind of it.

But John’s goal was not to win a personal battle, nor even to win an argument. He was not acting out of a feeling of being slighted. His goal was to foster peace among the Christians there, so he writes, “Peace be to you,” knowing ultimately that peace comes from God. Paul had a similar goal when he urged Christians to pray “for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity” (1 Tim. 2:2).

Lord, please bring peace to my community of believers, beginning with me.