Mark 9:38-41

Passage

John approached Jesus and told him a story.  The disciples had been out and they saw someone trying to cast out a demon in Jesus’ name.  The disciples tried to stop him, because to their knowledge he wasn’t following Jesus.  Jesus tells John to not worry about it.  Nobody who does anything mighty in the name of Jesus will be able to speak evil of Jesus before too long.  The person who is not against Christ is with Him.  Nobody who gives relief to a disciple of Christ because they are a disciple of Christ will lose their reward for that act.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

I love the fact that John feels the need for a little confession.  John doesn’t necessarily think that they have done anything wrong, he was just checking in to see if they made the right decision.  Sometimes we have to make a decision and we don’t have time to get tons of advice.  Sometimes we just have to do the best that we can and ask later.  (And, if necessary, go back and make corrections.)  I also love that Jesus understands this dynamic and although Jesus would have preferred them to make a different decision, neither does Jesus ream out the disciples because of it.

How is this encounter with Jesus a model of good discipleship?  How can you tell that John fully trusts Jesus?  How does Jesus respond in a way that honors John’s trust?

Second Thought:

Jesus tells John that anyone who is not against Jesus is with Jesus.  Now, we don’t need to go too far down the universalistic road here.  Jesus is not saying that so long as we don’t profane Jesus we’re saved.  The reality is that when we sin, we make ourselves an enemy of God.  Our default position is one of unrighteousness.  Therefore, what Jesus is saying is that a person who is truly living out their obedience to God might look different than you and might act differently than you and might even make a few decisions differently than you.  But that doesn’t mean they are not in Christ.  It just means their relationship with God comes from a different perspective than yours.

Why is it easy to see the world through a “you’re like me or you’re not a true believer” mentality?  Why do we need to live with a spirit of freedom that allows people to genuinely express genuine faith in a way that genuinely brings glory to God – even if it is different than how we would do it?

Third Thought:

Jesus also talks about how anyone who gives relief to a true disciple because the person is a disciple will receive a reward from God.  We must be careful here.  There are other passages that talk about caring for the poor and needy.  This is not one of them.  This passage is talking about tending the disciples of Christ because they are following Christ.  This passage is about caring for one’s own.  This passage is about intentionally looking after those who are following Christ.  We need to be about many things, but we need to especially be about that.

Why do we need to care for the followers of Christ?  Why do we need to look out for one another?  How does this reflect our relationship with God?

Passage for Tomorrow: Mark 9:42-50