Luke 9:50

9:50 But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him, for whoever is not against you is for you.”

Matthew 12:30

12:30 Whoever is not with me is against me, ¹  and whoever does not gather with me scatters. ² 

Revelation 3:15-16

3:15 ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. ³  I wish you were either cold or hot! 3:16 So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going ⁴  to vomit ⁵  you out of my mouth!

[12:30]  ¹ sn Whoever is not with me is against me. The call here is to join the victor. Failure to do so means that one is being destructive. Responding to Jesus is the issue.

[12:30]  ² sn For the image of scattering, see Pss. Sol. 17:18.

[3:15]  ³ sn Laodicea was near two other towns, each of which had a unique water source. To the north was Hierapolis which had a natural hot spring, often used for medicinal purposes. To the east was Colossae which had cold, pure waters. In contrast to these towns, Laodicea had no permanent supply of good water. Efforts to pipe water to the city from nearby springs were successful, but it would arrive lukewarm. The metaphor in the text is not meant to relate spiritual fervor to temperature. This would mean that Laodicea would be commended for being spiritually cold, but it is unlikely that Jesus would commend this. Instead, the metaphor condemns Laodicea for not providing spiritual healing (being hot) or spiritual refreshment (being cold) to those around them. It is a condemnation of their lack of works and lack of witness.

[3:16]  ⁴ tn Or “I intend.”

[3:16]  ⁵ tn This is the literal meaning of the Greek verb ἐμέω (emew). It is usually translated with a much weaker term like “spit out” due to the unpleasant connotations of the English verb “vomit,” as noted by L&N 23.44. The situation confronting the Laodicean church is a dire one, however, and such a term is necessary if the modern reader is to understand the gravity of the situation.