Mark 9:38-41 (NIV): “Teacher,” said John, “we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”
“Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us. I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward.”
This is a continuation of the conversation that began when Jesus chided the disciples about arguing over who was the greatest. John now told Jesus that they had seen a man using His name to drive out a demon, and they had told him to stop doing that, since he was not one of the twelve to whom Jesus had given specific authority to do that.
They probably expected Jesus to commend them for not allowing outsiders to use His name against demons. But they got chastisement instead of commendation. Jesus’ point was that if someone believed in Jesus strongly enough to use His name to cast out demons, that person would not be someone who would turn against Jesus. They truly believed in Him, and were most likely to continue in that belief, especially when His name was effective in casting out demons!
This scene is reminiscent of Numbers 11:26-29, when God put His Spirit on 70 of the elders of Israel so that they could share the load with Moses. Two of the men chosen to receive the Spirit, Eldad and Medad, would not come to the tent of meeting. But God poured His Spirit on them anyway, and they began to prophesy. Joshua, Moses’ aide, heard about it and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!” Since they seemed to be outside of the chosen group, Joshua believed that they shouldn’t be allowed to be filled with God’s Spirit, and definitely shouldn’t be allowed to prophesy.
But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” Moses understood that Spirit-filled believers would not rebel against God, or against His chosen leader – a situation not to be feared, but to be desired.
In a very short time, Jesus’ disciples would see the tide of public opinion turn against Him, and a few short days after His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, they would see Him crucified, dead and buried. Then they would realize that their real enemies did not include those who had sincerely believed in Jesus and the power of His name, but who happened to be outside of the twelve!
Today there are many divisions in the body of Christ – different sects and denominations. And there is a strong tendency for each group to see each other as competitors, or even as adversaries; to struggle against each other, to compete with each other, and to try to tear each other down. But God’s people need to realize that those others who believe in Jesus, who speak His name with reverence, and who trust in Him for salvation are not their enemies, but their coworkers. There actually are strong enemies of Christianity out there, those who are intent on corrupting, or even destroying God’s people. But often they can do their work freely, with little or no restraint, because God’s people are busy attacking each other, or defending themselves from attacks by other Christians. We really need to take Jesus’ words to heart: “whoever is not against us is for us,” and start to work together, to pray for each other that healing may take place, so that all of God’s people may be one; so that those parts of the body of Christ that have wandered from the truth may be restored; and so that, together, all of God’s people may accomplish the work that Jesus left for us to do.
Father, this really is a problem that we, the Church, have had for a long time – competing against each other, speaking against each other, tearing down one another. This has prevented us from working together to bring the lost to You, and has greatly diminished our effectiveness. Instead of praying for the healing of those parts of Your body that have wandered from the path, we turn our backs on them, and Your body is diminished. Father, help us to become truly one as Your people. Help us to heal the divisions, and to pray for the restoration and healing of those groups that have gotten off track, so that we can be united, and so that we can have a powerful victory over our REAL enemy. Then we can see Your kingdom grow in our nation, and around the world. Amen.