Are You Hindering an Exorcist?
Mark 9 says: 38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40 For the one who is not against us is for us. 41 For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.
Some people, in the life of the church, have been very good at casting out demons. God bless them. The Lord needs people like them. I will admit, casting out demons is not my forte.
John’s conduct strikes at the heart of this passage: closed groups often believe they should/have to do everything. The apostles following Jesus were a closed group. To an extent, Christianity is a closed group. All are welcome by the invitation of Jesus, but there are benefits to being a Christian that are not extended outside of that group. I think we all understand that.
John seems to be talking about the closed group of, either Jesus and the twelve apostles, or perhaps the seventy-two that Jesus sends out in addition to the apostles. Both groups had power over demons in Jesus’ name. John seems to question whether this exorcist was a follower of Jesus or was just using the name of Jesus to make a name for himself. He does not seem to be a part of either group because John and other disciples did not know him, and we are not sure what group he might have been a part of.
Jesus takes the approach of saying: let him go. The intent is, perhaps this person does not do these things for all the right reasons right now, but the power of what he does in My name, will cause him to rethink this glory that is happening. Or, trust that he is a follower of Me, and this is his faith confirming it. Either way, the name of Jesus is proclaimed when these things are done in My name. It’s a win/win/win for the Kingdom; (1) if this person is not a devout follower, he will be. (2) demons are being cast out and people are being healed. (3) the name of Jesus is being exalted.
We often can think that if we have been given the authority, we have the training, or we have the greater intentions, that everything must pass through us. But Jesus says that this will clearly limit the spread of the Gospel. And, it can hinder the personal, spiritual growth of those who may, facetiously, for a time mock the name of Jesus. But history gives examples of people trying to do everything they can to discredit the name of Jesus, and instead end up putting their trust and faith in our Lord because the evidence charged against the chaos is too overwhelming.
Sometimes we are not sure that people have the best of intentions. And, many times, they do not. But Jesus would have us “err” on the side of compassion. I cannot pretend to know where to draw the line between letting it go and standing up against blatant apostasy or blasphemy with a harsh rebuke. Harsh rebukes seldom win people to the Kingdom. Love and compassion have a bad habit of being a great witness for Christ, no matter how much we would rather choose the way of anger and wrath. The reality is, the heart of every man, along with their intentions, will be shown worthy or condemned in the end.
For now, think carefully on how you might be hoarding opportunities that hinder other people’s spiritual growth. Think on how the spread of the Gospel might be limited. We have many goals in the church, but one must always be raising people up to be released for ministry. How are we doing in that? Amen.
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