Revelation 3:19

As many as I love, I reprove and chasten; be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

For full discussion of the doctrine of chastening, see in my Commentary on Hebrews, pp. 317-319.

There is nothing like this in the whole New Testament; it could be in tended for all the churches, but Laodicea's being the last one caused it to be incorporated here with the letter to that church. A literal translation is: "See, I have taken my stand upon your threshold, and I am continually knocking."[69] Many have commented upon this matchless verse which is honored in the music and art of the world. Morgan paraphrased the meaning thus:

He waits for man. He is not waiting for a committee to pass a resolution. If any man hear my voice, I will come to him ... I will be his guest, "I will sup with him." He shall be my guest, "and he with me." I will sit at the table which his love provides, and satisfy my heart. He shall sit at the table which my love provides, and satisfy his heart.[70]

"This promise has a eucharistic flavor about it. The mention of a supper with Christ pictures the last supper in the upper room, and the subsequent occasions when it was re-enacted as the continuing symbol of Christ's continuing presence."[71] "This is one of the greatest gospel texts in the New Testament and should be quoted frequently in both public evangelism and in personal work."[72]

Certainly, one of the applications of this verse is that of referring it to the Lord's Supper. This sacred institution, observed without interruption throughout the Christian era, enables every Christian to "eat with the Lord" in every observance of it. We agree with Caird who considered this reference imperative.

[69] Merrill C. Tenney, Interpreting Revelation (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1957), p. 67.

[70] G. Campbell Morgan, The Letters of Our Lord (Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company, n.d.), p. 104.

[71] G. B. Caird, op. cit., p. 58.

[72] Ralph Earle, op. cit., p. 527.