2 John is not a long book, not one that mandates our attention simply because of the space it takes up in the Scripture. However, there is a message in this short book, and, as with all God’s messages to us, we may find it beneficial to take a deeper look at it.

To the Pharisees, ritual and ceremony were the most important parts of religion. To them, paying tithes, offering sacrifices, praying publicly, and other such things, which were done as a ceremony, as a demonstration, were the central focus of religious experience.