3 John 1:7Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

"Receiving nothing." That is, no support from the Gentiles.

People become strangers for the sake of the Lord's name for two reasons: either by denying themselves in order to preach His name, or by being driven from their native land by their neighbors for faith and the confession of the holy name of God.

"For His name's sake they went out, taking nothing from the Gentiles." The strangers whom the Apostle mentions here were preachers of the Gospel. In order not to harm the preaching, they used nothing from the newly converted (compare 1 Cor 9:18; 2 Cor 11:7; 1 Thess 2:9).

"For the sake of His name they went out": that is, to travel for His name, or in His name, namely God's (cf. Acts 5:41; Acts 15:40; Jas 2:7). There is no doubt that the Apostle is speaking here about traveling preachers of the Gospel of Christ. In the Apostolic Church they were called evangelists, not in the sense of writers of the Gospels, but simply as preachers of the orally proclaimed Gospel of Christ (cf. Acts 21:8; Eph 4:11; 2 Tim 4:5).

As is clear, they made the oral preaching of the Gospel their special work. They passed from place to place and thus spread the Gospel teaching or preaching.

The Apostle indicates a further special need to help the preachers of the faith. Following the Savior's instruction, they take nothing with them, and at the same time use nothing from the Gentiles to whom the Gospel is proclaimed. They fear that, because the Gentiles are not established in the faith, they might regard the whole work of preaching as a matter of self-interest.

The Apostle Paul acted in this way, for example, by resorting in this case to the making of tents. At the same time John also says that those who help the Apostles enter into their labors, and therefore can share in the reward for them. "He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward," says Jesus Christ Himself (Mt 10:41).