06/01/2026
Diotrephes or Demetrius?
“Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true” (3 John 12).
In the short letter of 3 John, we find two names that start with the letter “D” but are somewhat hard to pronounce... Who are these two men, and why does John mention them in his letter to Gaius the elder? Well, as we read the surrounding verses that mention their names, we can conclude that these men were opposites with regard to the Christian faith. One was opposing the spread of the gospel, while the other was literally passing on the gospel with both his hands and feet.
Let’s start with Diotrephes... John writes: “I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church” (3 John 9-10). Now, what needs to be mentioned here, if we use our context clues, is that John’s largest paragraph of this tiny epistle is spent talking about this man named Diotrephes. This was clearly a warning and not an affirmation. Diotrephes was apparently selfish and prideful, a gossip with a big mouth who spoke “wicked nonsense” about John and his fellow ministers. He was giving the church a bad reputation because he wasn’t very welcoming; in fact, we are told that he would discourage and seek to kick out the other members who welcomed the new ones. Diotrephes was certainly a pastor’s nightmare when it comes to someone who is in your congregation. As other Bible passages warn: “a little leaven leavens the whole lump” (1 Corinthians 5:6; Galatians 5:9), and so no wonder John spent a good chunk of his time addressing the problems that this man was causing and how they needed to be addressed by Gaius and the leaders of the church.
Demetrius, on the other hand, was more than likely not a member of the local church that John was writing to. But he was the mailman through whom the epistle of 3 John would be delivered. And as was commonplace for the New Testament writers, the delivery boy was mentioned and was to be welcomed by the recipients of the letter. Demetrius apparently was a Christian that truly walked out his talk. And he gave a good witness for the name of Jesus wherever he went. In fact, it’s one thing to have a good testimony about your faith from some people, such as your pew buddies on Sunday morning, but we are told that Demetrius “received a good testimony from everyone,” and even John himself came on top of that and said, “Amen!” Demetrius was a true Christian. A true servant of the Lord. A true messenger of the faith. And a true walking testimony for Jesus that we all should seek to be like.
And so let me ask you, are you a Diotrephes or a Demetrius? Do you bring blessing and good tidings to the local church that you are a part of? Or does your envy, self-centered mindset, and lack of humility bring discord and disunity? May we all seek to be less like Diotrephes and more like Demetrius as we hold true to the eternal message that: “God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (1 John 4:16).
Respect the Blood,
Dalton Mathis
