January 15, 2007

A. T. Robertson and Diotrephes

NKJ 3 John 1:9 I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us. 10 Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church.

A. T. Robertson, in his Word Pictures in the New Testament, reports that:
Some forty years ago I wrote an article on Diotrephes for a denominational paper. The editor told me that twenty-five deacons stopped the paper to show their resentment against being personally attacked in the paper.
A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, 6 vol. (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1933), 6:263.

I thought this was funny. A. T. Robertson just exegeted the text and didn't name anyone. As a result, 25 deacons felt personally attacked and cancelled their subscriptions to the paper.

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