Domineering Local Church Leader
Diotrephes
A local church leader named in 3 John as someone who loved to have first place — he refused to welcome traveling teachers sent by John and expelled from the church anyone who did, making him one of the only named, clearly negative figures in the New Testament.
Life and work
The elder writing 3 John complains that he wrote to the church, but "Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority." Diotrephes refused to welcome traveling missionaries the elder had sent, spread malicious accusations against the elder, and put out of the church anyone who did want to receive them (3 John 1:9-10). The letter gives no further detail on his position or motives — just this brief, unflattering glimpse of a real power struggle in an early local congregation, a rare counterpoint to the New Testament's usual focus on approved leaders.
Questions and debates
Diotrephes is one of the only named individuals in the New Testament described in purely negative terms by another writer, with no recorded defense or rebuttal from his own side — scholars caution against reading too much into one side of what was clearly a local dispute.
Extra-biblical evidence
No extra-biblical record of Diotrephes survives outside 3 John.
Scripture references
- 3 John 1:9-10 — Refuses to welcome traveling teachers and expels those who do
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