Three Men in 3 John #2: Diotrephes

The second man to be mentioned by John in his letter we have come to know as 3 John is Diotrephes. Yesterday, we were introduced to Gaius, the recipient of the letter, a well-respected man of integrity and hospitality. Diotrephes is quite the opposite!

I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not welcome us. So when I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, spreading malicious nonsense about us. Not satisfied with that, he even refuses to welcome other believers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.

Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.  3 John v9-11

Diotrephes is a leader in the church: the top dog it seems. If he objects to John visiting the church, then it will be hard for John to visit. The main issue is that Diotrephes loves to be first: everything else stems from that. His power has gone to his head. He believes he is the most important one and what he says goes. He has lost sight of the humility we are called to embrace as believers: the same humility that Jesus showed in humbling himself to death. Have a look at Philippians 2 if you need reminding. Jesus did not consider equality with God something to be grasped. I think Diotrephes does. We are called to have the mind and attitude of Jesus. We need to demonstrate the humility to accept that we are not always right, that our opinion is not always the most valid, that we will not always get our own way.

Diotrephes is way too big for his boots.

And so he tries to stop John visiting. He does not want the believers listening to any other point of view and interpretation and perspective on faith than his own. He may feel he is protecting the believers in this way, keeping it simple, stopping them becoming confused…if they listen just to him, then their faith will be uncomplicated and easy to follow. Actually, he is stopping them from growing in their faith.

Diotrephes refuses to show hospitality. We saw yesterday how important hospitality is and how we will all be accountable, like Diotrephes, for the times that we have not shown hospitality. In our modern world, hospitality is not the norm any more. It’s each to his own: ‘What I have is mine and I’ve earned it. I deserve it and why should I share?’ As people of faith, we have to go out of our way and go against the flow if we are to embrace hospitality for all.

Diotrephes goes further. He spreads rumours about John in an attempt to discredit him. He wants to undermine John’s authenticity. If there is no dirt on John, he’ll make it up. Gossip and rumours are so insidious. It’s hard to get to the bottom of the source and be able to speak the truth. That’s why John is calling Diotrephes out publicly in this letter – not to get his own back out of petty revenge, but to hold Diptrephes accountable before God and the people and to uphold the truth.

Diotrephes is also using his authority to control the actions of other believers. If they don’t follow his example, then he will put them out of the church. He’ll spiritualise it of course, tell them they’re not on the same page as the other believers and should worship elsewhere. Or he’ll convince the other believers that these individuals are going to lead them astray and that they should put them out of the community for their own protection. If anyone welcomes a visiting spiritual leader into their homes, then Diotrephes will make it impossible for them to continue to worship in the community of believers. And what Diotrephes says, goes. The believers have allowed him to assume this position of power and he will now use it for his own ends.

And so the warning to Gaius is this: open your eyes and see for yourself what this man is doing. Don’t allow yourself to be blinded by his so-called spirituality and authority. Stand up for the truth. Stand up for what is right. Do not follow this bad example. Diotrephes is no role model.

Do not imitate what is evil but what is good.

There’s so much for us here too, isn’t there? That fine line between respect for those God has placed in authority over us and blindly following an individual who has been corrupted by the power and authority entrusted to them. It’s not an easy path to walk. We all need wisdom and love and discernment to work out what is evil and what is good.

Tomorrow we will meet the third man, an example of what is good.