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3Jn_1:5-6. Praise of Caius for his φιλοξενία , induced by that which he exhibited towards the brethren (3Jn_1:3).
πιστὸν ποιεῖς ὃ ἐὰν κ . τ . λ .] By πιστόν the conduct ( ποιεῖς ) of Caius, which he had shown towards the brethren, is described as faithful, i.e. corresponding to the Christian profession. Ebrard’s view, that πιστὸν ποιεῖν is = the classical πιστὸν (= πίστιν ) ποιεῖσθαι in the sense of “to give a pledge of faithfulness, a guarantee,” cannot be grammatically justified. By ἐάν (= ἄν ) the idea is generalized: “everything whatever.”
εἰς τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς καὶ τοῦτο ξένους ] With the construction ἐργάζεσθαι εἰς , comp. Mat_26:10. By καὶ τοῦτο it is brought out that the ἀδελφοί to whom Caius is showing his love are ξένοι ; even with the reading καὶ εἰς τοὺς ξένους the thought remains the same: καί , namely, is epexegetically used = “and that too;” as the ξένοι were Christians, they cannot be distinguished from the ἀδελφοί ; Lücke takes καί in a specializing sense: “and particularly or especially;” but it is not brotherly love in general, but just the φιλοξενία , that is the subject here. That is to say, the apostle in this praise has specially in view what Caius had done to the brethren who had come to him (the Ap.: 3Jn_1:3), and who are also spoken of in 3Jn_1:6-7; these, however, were ξένοι .[18]—3Jn_1:6. ΟἻ ἘΜΑΡΤΎΡΗΣΆΝ ΣΟΥ Τῇ ἈΓΆΠῌ ἘΝΏΠΙΟΝ ἘΚΚΛΗΣΊΑς ] That ΟἽ “dissociates the concrete representation of some from the generic representation of ΞΈΝΟΙ ” (de Wette) is incorrect; it rather refers directly to the previously-mentioned strange brethren. By ἐνώπιον ἐκκλησίας we are not to think of the Church to which Caius belonged, but of that in which John was sojourning.
ΟὛς ΚΑΛῶς ΠΟΙΉΣΕΙς Κ . Τ . Λ .] The same brethren that had come from Caius to John wanted to return thither again, in order from thence to continue their missionary journey (3Jn_1:7). John now recommends them to the loving care of Caius.
ΟὝς are not others (de Wette), but the same as were spoken of in the preceding sentence. The combination of the future ΠΟΙΉΣΕΙς and the aorist participle ΠΡΟΠΈΜΨΑς is strange, as the two verbs do not denote two different actions, but the ΚΑΛῶς ΠΟΙΕῖΝ consists in the ΠΡΟΈΜΠΕΙΝ ; it is different in Mar_13:13, Act_24:25, Rom_15:28, where two different actions are placed in connection with one another, and the aorist participle is used in the sense of the fut. exacti (see Winer, p. 306; VII. p. 321). This has not been properly noticed by the commentators. The explanation of Düsterdieck: “The aorist form is to be explained by the fact that the good deed will consist in this, that Caius will have worthily brought the brethren forward,” does not solve the difficulty, as the good deed consists in the bringing them forward itself. The apostle may have used the aorist, however, in the feeling that “the action of Caius is only completed when he has accomplished the equipment and escort of the brethren” (Braune). The same connection is found in Eurip. Orest. 1210 ff.: εὐτυχήσομεν … ἑλόντες , which Matthiae (Ausf. Gramm., 2d ed. p. 1087) translates: “if we are so fortunate as to take;”[19] in accordance with which we may translate here also: “thou shalt act worthily to accompany them.” Luther incorrectly: “thou hast done well that thou hast sent them on their journey;” in the revised ed. 1867 correctly: “thou shalt do well if thou sendest them on their journey.” Ebrard arbitrarily conjectures: ἐποίησας .
It is quite evident from the connection with the sequel, that by καλῶς ποιήσεις John wants to encourage Caius to the προπέμπειν . The reading ποιήσας προπέμψεις means: “whom thou, after thou hast treated them well, shalt bring forward on their journey.”
With καλῶς ποιεῖν , comp. Act_10:13, Php_4:14; with προπέμπειν = “to fit out for a journey,” Rom_15:24, 1Co_16:6; 1Co_16:16, Tit_3:13.
ἀξίως τοῦ Θεοῦ (comp. 1Th_2:12; Col_1:10) does not belong to καλ . ποιήσεις , but to προπέμψας = “as worthy of God, with all care and love” (Lücke).
[18] The present ποιεῖς is not opposed to this view, as it would seem to be; it is explained by the fact that the apostle regards the single, special case, as an evidence of the φιλοξενία of Caius in general.
[19] The whole passage in Euripides runs:—
ἥξει δʼ ἐς οἴκους Ἑρμιόνη τίνος χρόνου ;
ὡς τἄλλα γʼ εἶπας , εἴπερ εὐτυχήσομεν ,
κάλλισθʼ , ἑλόντες σκύμνον ἀνοσίου δοκῶ .