Diotrephes.

A miserable picture scripture draws, a picture more grotesque because it occurs between two beautiful portraits.

On one side is a picture of the well-beloved Gaius, loved of the beloved disciple, John, in the truth. The truth was in Gaius, and he walked in truth and faithfully did all things, both to the brethren and to strangers. He was especially a help to the preaching of the gospel by supporting the ministers of the gospel, who went out and took nothing of the Gentiles. Lovely Gaius.

On the other side is the portrait of Demetrius. Less fully done and drawn with quick strokes, yet the Christian beauty of the man emerges clearly. He had a good report of all men and of the truth, and John testified to that.

But Diotrephes! Ugly!

He loved to have the preeminence. He loved to be first and wanted to be in control. He desired to be regarded as superior and would not suffer anyone to have more power or influence than him. He would not even let anyone be his equal. There was nothing preeminent about Diotrephes, but he was full of covetousness, envy, and ambition.

And he did his evil work in the church. When John wrote to the church, Diotrephes would not receive or communicate John’s letter to the church. Diotrephes loved being prominent, and he would not tolerate instruction, even from an apostle. Not even the word of God would be allowed to have preeminence in the world and church of Diotrephes.

You can imagine that such a man would be a very evil influence in a congregation. And so Diotrephes was. He went about prating against the apostle with malicious words. Diotrephes went through the congregation reviling, slandering, undermining, and attacking the apostle at every opportunity.

What would move the man to such wickedness? He loved to have the preeminence.

Diotrephes did not stop there. Not content with destroying the name of the apostle, Diotrephes did not receive the brethren and forbade those who would and cast them out of the church. Those men came with the gospel. They were the teachers of the gospel to the church, and Diotrephes would not receive them. He would not suffer any influence in the church other than his own, not even the gospel. And if any in the church would receive those preachers, Diotrephes forbade them. And when those who received the preachers would not listen, the tyrant cast them out of the church.

Diotrephes was essentially a small-minded man, concerned only for himself, his power, his name, and his reputation. The truth was not in him, so he loved to have the preeminence and would not give place to any, not even to the truth, which is God and Christ. So Diotrephes was full of jealousy, envy, lying, slander, and hatred of the brethren because he loved to have the preeminence.

Watch out for men like Diotrephes.

And men like Diotrephes had better remember the word of the Lord: “If I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth.”

Woe to Diotrephes!