This coming Sunday morning we are beginning a brief (spring–summer) series of messages on the shortest books in the New Testament—the Second and Third of the three inspired Epistles written by the “disciple whom Jesus loved,” John.

These little letters contain less than three-hundred words each, and together they are affectionately known by some as ‘New Testament post-cards.’ 2 John has just 13 verses in all, while 3 John has only 15. But we should not be misled by their brevity. As we shall see, these are important and powerful letters authored by the very Apostle who also penned 1 John, the Fourth Gospel, and the Book of Revelation.

John wrote these books some sixty years after the death and resurrection of Jesus. So we will be studying two letters that were authored and sent during the turbulent second half of the first Christian century, somewhere between 90 and 95 AD. And, most authorities agree that John wrote these letters from the ancient city of Ephesus, in what was then called ‘Asia Minor,’ or what we now know as modern Turkey.

On Sunday we will take up 2 John and begin our study with verses 1-2. If you would like to read a good commentary on these Epistles as we study them together, then I would recommend The Message of John’s Letters, by David Jackman. The Amazon link is:

And you will also benefit from reading through 1 John as well. In fact, some New Testament scholars have suggested that 2 John is a summary of 1 John as it addresses similar concerns that moved the Apostle to write to his friends living in and around Ephesus.