The Greek words translated as “wretched” and “pitiable” in Revelation 3:17 are each used only one other time in the New Testament. When I see things like this in the Bible, I almost get goose-bumps! Although “poor,” “blind,” and “naked” are used often in many contexts, these two words are used only one other time each, so that we can know exactly what Jesus is telling us. He wants to leave us with no doubt about what His message means. The two conditions that do not have a remedy that we can buy from Jesus in verse 18 are the most-serious of the bunch!
“Wretched” is used first in Romans 7:24. Paul wrote, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” Debates have raged over Romans 7, and I would rather not start up a new round of those old arguments. Without going too deeply into the theology of Romans 7, it seems plain to me that in verse 24, Paul is calling himself wretched because he is needing deliverance from a body of death. He is a man in need of deliverance. So is Laodicea! When Jesus used that exact word, He knew that Paul had used it in this way in Romans, and He would draw our attention back to that book. He wants us to know that we are in need of deliverance - deliverance that only He Himself can provide. We, with Paul can say, “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 7:25.
The word translated as “pitiable” in the ESV is used one other time in the New Testament, in 1 Corinthians 15:19, and translated as “to be pitied.” Paul is again the author, and He wrote, “If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” The Bible is not some book of fables simply put together by some individuals a few thousand years ago. It is the inspired, living Word of God, and it is profitable for our salvation. Jesus tells us, when He says that we are “pitiable,” that we have hope in Christ in this life only. First Corinthians 15 is about the resurrection, and Paul is saying that if there is no resurrection, then we are pitiable. If Christianity contains no promise of an after-life, we are to be pitied. If we have no hope beyond the visible, temporal life we know down here, we might as well give up on Christianity, because who would choose such a pitiful condition if they gained nothing by it, if Jesus was not real and offering us a life with Him in eternity? Jesus, in Revelation 3, says with the plainest possible language, that Laodicea has no hope of a resurrection in their current condition. They are lost and are going to burn in hell unless a dramatic change takes place. The Laodicean message is a faithful prescription from a loving doctor, who does not hesitate to tell us the truth, even if it hurts.
A friend of mine was once suffering from a painful, debilitating disease. He visited doctors multiple times, until his savings were exhausted and hope was nearly gone. He told me that the worst thing a person could possibly hear from a doctor is, “I don’t know what is wrong with you.” Jesus, in this potent message, tells us, “I know thy works.” He is diagnosing our condition, and giving us the remedy that we so desperately need.
Gold, white clothing, and eye-salve take care of the conditions that I personally believe are less serious, but what is the remedy for being wretched and pitiable?
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20. Jesus is the remedy that Laodicea needs! Jesus, the living, loving Savior, is the solution for our problems! Who could possibly be wretched and pitiable when Jesus is living in them, dining with them? There is no salvation in any other, and unless we have Jesus in our hearts, we will remain in our lost condition of pitiful wretchedness. Jesus, in His incredible love, offers to come into the very midst of Laodicea, those He has seen nothing commendable in. He has said so much about what is wrong with Laodicea, but to them He offers the most intimate of all promises to the seven churches. “I will come in to him.”
If you have been reading all of the posts in this series up to now, you may remember the “Mystery of God.” In one of the clearest verses describing what the mystery of God is, Paul wrote, “...God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” The mystery of God, according to this verse, is “Christ in you.” Jesus said later, “I will come in to him.” If we heed the counsel that Jesus gives us in the Laodicean message, He will be in us, dwelling in our hearts through the agency of His Holy Spirit, and in us, the mystery of God will be realized. The mystery of God will be finished when Jesus dwells in the hearts of His people, and that will happen when His people understand and apply the Laodicean message in their own lives.
The Laodicean message is the key to the Second Coming of Jesus! We are pausing on the brink of eternity still today because Jesus is waiting for the Laodicean message to do its work. The character of Christ will be perfectly reproduced in His people, and those people will carry the everlasting gospel to “every nation and tribe and language and people,” when the Laodicean message is treated with the seriousness that is deserves.
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