Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. – Revelation 3:20

Today’s Scripture Reading (March 17, 2015): Revelation 3



William Holman Hunt's
"The Light of the World"
Painted 1851-1853 

William Holman Hunt’s painting career did not start out well. Critics called his artistic efforts clumsy, his chosen scenes were decidedly ugly, and no one saw any value in his work. But all that changed when Hunt painted “The Light of the World,” the first of his religious paintings. The painting was Hunt’s allegorical interpretation of Revelation 3:20 – “behold I stand at the door and knock.” Hunt’s painting shows Jesus, complete with crown on his head, standing at a door with his right hand raised to knock. Jesus is carrying a lamp in his left hand whose light illuminates the door, but leaves much of the background in darkness. The door itself is overgrown with weeds. There is no evidence that anyone has used the door recently. Hunt said the door represents “the obstinately shut mind.” This mind has ignored the knocking at the door for a long period of time, probably convinced that the knocking is just part of an overactive imagination. Even though the door has been ignored, Jesus has just kept on knocking. The other significant feature of the painting is that there is no door handle on the side of the door where Jesus is standing. Jesus can’t open it. It can only be opened from the other side.

It has long been noted that Jesus is not some detective waiting to break down the door of the one who he is pursuing. He is the one who knocks. And if we open the door and invite him in, he will come in, no matter what it is that we are hiding on our side of the door. And while the rest of the world may have limited patience, the patience of Jesus seems to have no limits – he just keeps on knocking.

John places this comment at the end of his prophecy regarding the church located at Laodicea, but it might be better to view the comment as an epilogue that really applies to all of the letters John writes to the seven churches in Asia. The message seems to be that no matter what Jesus has said to the churches, from the best to the worst, from those experiencing prosperity to those experiencing persecution, Jesus still stands at the door and knocks. He still waits for whoever is on the other side to open the door and let him in. And if we will do that – any of us – he will come in and he will eat with us.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Revelation 4