This is not quite like asking whether you want to be Tweedledum or Tweedledee! The dictionaries tell us that these two names refer to any two persons or things that differ only slightly from each other. In fact, the American lexicographers hold that the twain are like identical twins – almost indistinguishable. Since it is “almost” and not “absolutely”, to be sure it is possible that T’dum has a little something that T’dee does not, and vice versa. We can also start the same sentence with T’dee instead of T’dum and go on with the necessary changes……Tdum T’dee Tdum T’dee Tdum T’dee …..ad infinitum!
On the other hand, between Diotrephes and Demetrius, there is actually a world of difference, though they may be similar-sounding names to non-Greek ears. Diotrephes represents people who arrogate to themselves the position of leadership in the church. In so doing, they ride roughshod over some, malign others, unwelcome apostles, and prevent others from extending hospitality to them, excommunicating such.
John (3 John 1: 11-12) quite plainly advises that the Diotrephes kind is evil and goes on to say that anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.
Seems a bit drastic, right? Here is this guy Diotrephes, who with his political connections is quite powerful as the secretary of the Pastorate Committee; he quite enjoys playing around with Pastors and practically dictating terms to them.
And what is his status in the Kingdom of God?
Zilch
If you are looking for examples, there should be no dearth of them, particularly in the mainline churches.
On the other hand, there are also people like Demetrius in the church, people of good report, the very embodiment of truth. But invariably this sort lacks a voice in meetings that matter.
It is the age-old story of the domination of evil over good, all over again in the colourful names of the Greek personages. But the moral goes further.
If you apply scriptural knowledge a little, it is not difficult to link Diotrephes’s character to the habits of the Pharisees and Elders, which Jesus (and John before him) so vehemently criticized. The 23rd chapter of the gospel according to Matthew fairly brims with the damnation of this sort; let us take a look:
“The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honour at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them `Rabbi.’ “
You can give your interpretations but it is scarcely possible to make the teachers of the law and Pharisees feel more condemned. If you thought it cannot get any worse for these Diotrepheses, you have another think coming:
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.”Woe to you, blind guides! You say, `If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred?
and that is not all:
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices–mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law–justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practised the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.26Blind Pharisee! First, clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.”Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside, you appear to people as righteous but on the inside, you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.29″Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And you say, `If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers!” You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?
Possibly after the era of prophets that ended some 400 years ago, no one had the courage to take on these elements. Such an onslaught as launched by Jesus was more than they could bear; it fairly rattled the edifice of formality, ceremony, privilege, entitlement and hypocrisy that was built brick by brick over the years to benefit these unworthies.
Jesus was under no illusion about the repercussions. He well knew that the empire will strike back and He said as much:
“Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.”
The contrast between the two categories of people is sharply illustrated in Jesus’s parable of the Pharisee and the Tax-collector found in Luke 18:10-14. Verse 14 is classic.
Who went home justified before God?
not the Pharisee
this man, rather than the other!
I’d say the rendition of this Bible verse in Tamil, is exquisite: அவனல்ல, இவனே; the order though is reversed. But the choice is puzzling and seems to run against the principle of natural justice. Why? It is clear that the other man was a good man. He said so himself. And this man was a bad man; he admitted that! The other man was correct in keeping the precepts. This man didn’t seem to be. The other man was confident in his righteousness. This man dare not look up to heaven. The other man was comparatively far superior. This man was absolutely miserable.
And Jesus had no hesitation in declaring which of the two was justified before God.
Humility is the key!
Now let us go back to the top and study Diotrephes a little bit. That guy is drunk with power, proud and pompous (do you like the tricolon?); he likes to win elections by hook or crook and exercise authority. Pastors and Bishops cringe before him…..in fact Wikipedia suggests that he might have been a Bishop himself, perhaps a kind of ArchBishop. Who knows? What is clear from the passage is that the characteristics of humility and gentleness are foreign to him.
Going by the parable above, do you think such a man would be justified before God? Without arrogating to ourselves the right to pronounce verdicts, I think we can go so far as to say,
unlikely.
So, what is the use of being merely a Big Dad in the church hierarchy?
Nothing positive, it appears. Yet you see people fighting over these meaningless positions as though the hard-won seat of the Bishop will guarantee you a place by the side of Jesus in eternity.
Now, remember both these characters – Diotrephes and Demetrius – belong to the church; regular church attendees, communicant members etc., etc. But quite plainly one of them is not ‘bound for glory’. This at once puts paid to the popular notion that all those who make it a point not to miss church services are Christians, ie, followers of Christ. In fact, as has been mentioned, one of them could even be a bishop, but still…..!
What is the issue here? Is something known to Demetrius hidden from Diotrephes? Are they not on the same page? Are they not reading from the same manual?
I don’t think that is the case. Both of them have the Word of God.
Just read these verses about the Word of God:
Thy Word Is a Lamp Unto My Feet and Light Unto My Path Psalm 119:105
I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. Psalm 32:8
And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. Isaiah 30:21
As the old proverb says, “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink”. Yes, the Bible shows the way, but given the information, you have to make a decision to walk therein. God has empowered you to think and act.
You may either choose to go the way the Bible shows or you may not.
So there is a choice. Going back to Adam and Eve, they too had a choice, right? To eat or not to eat of the fruit of the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That is to obey God or not to obey. And God does not mess around with the consequence of disobedience, He gives it straight for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” Gen.2:17
All is well until the devil comes around. He takes it upon himself the job of marketing the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good. And what a clever marketing person he is!
He picks the target audience. “Eve”
He starts by asking a relevant question. “Did God say?”
He sows doubts about the validity of the information the target has been given.
He suppresses the truth
Instead of a complete denial of the truth, he gives it a credible spin.
He polishes up the positive attributes of the forbidden fruit (And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise Gen.3:6)
Yes, he is the author of
the Original Spin.
His googly was deadlier than Shane Warne’s and Eve was no Mike Gatting!
Inevitably the woman lost her wicket and had to walk out of the pitch.
Yes, if you are not equipped with the Word of God or do not know how best to deploy it to defeat the wiles of the evil one, you have to pay a price and face the consequences.
I don’t quite know what eventually became of Diotrephes. Declared evil, he probably faded away.
But the righteous?
And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever. Daniel 12:3
And there are other like verses:
Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Fatheryone who does what is good is from God. Matthew 13:43
let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:16
I am sure you have read or heard this pearl of wisdom from Alice in Wonderland:
One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree.“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.” said the cat.
“I don’t much care where –” Alice answered.
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go.” said the cat.
In our case, we don’t need to look for a talking cat. The Word of God speaks words of life but also warns us that strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Matthew 7:14
Are you among those select few or are you among the multitude that enters the wide gate and broad road that leads to destruction?
Have you decided where you want to go?
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Interesting article Judah. Thank God for the way you are able to put it across
Very meaningful
Prabhakar Moses
Thank you, Doctor
Thank you, Beulah
Very interesting indeed.
Starting with Diotrephes and Demetrius characters from the Bible
we have not given much credit
for building it beautifully and even taking us to fairyland and concluding it with soul winning question.
Have you decided where you want to go.
Surely the road to heaven.No second thoughts
Thank YOU