9 I wrote somewhat unto the church; but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not. 10 Therefore, if I come, I will bring to remembrance his works which he doeth, prating against us with wicked words : and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and them that would he forbiddeth and casteth them out of the church.

In striking contrast with Gaius stands Diotrephes; and as the former receives unstinted praise, the latter is given an unqualified rebuke. The very name Diotrephes, which has been translated "nursling of Zeus" (the king of the gods), may indicate some boasted aristocracy of birth or social connection, and may be related to the pride and vanity of this man who so loved "to have the preëminence." He was insolent toward John, whose apostolic authority he should have respected, and overbearing toward his fellow believers, for whose welfare he had no regard. John had written a brief letter to the local church of which Diotrephes was a member; but the letterhad been suppressed by him, or at least its authority had been denied and its counsels had been neglected. This was in effect a rejection of the apostle, or, as John says, "Diotrephes . . . receiveth us not." He had gone even further, and had made an open attack upon the apostle, "prating" against him "with wicked words." These words may have been light and reckless, mere "bubbles" as the term denotes; but they were inspired by malice and they were accompanied by deeds no less distressing: "Neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and them that would he forbiddeth and casteth them out of the church." The "brethren" thus cruelly treated were the actual representatives of the apostle, the messengers of Christ and his Church, and the influence of Diotrephes was so great as thus to threaten the progress of the gospel. No wonder that John writes to commend Gaius, who in such a crisis has shown his loyalty to the truth by extending hospitality to the brethren; and no wonder that he here states in reference to Diotrephes, "If I come, I will bring to remembrance his works," by which he meant that they would be rebuked and punished. Thus John draws the picture of one of the first in the long line of men whose ambition and greed of power have imperiled the peace and progress of the Christian Church; the pen may be in the trembling hand of an aged apostle, but its strokes are true and the sketch is vivid. It is just possible that the apostle may have recalled an earlier experience of his own when with his brother James he had sought for a place of preeminence. Surely some modern readers need to be reminded that envy and pride and selfish ambition are far removed from the spirit of him who "came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many."