Key Verse: John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him because he wasn’t following us.” “Don’t stop him,” said Jesus, “because there is no one who will perform a miracle in my name who can soon afterward speak evil of me. (Mark 9:38-39 CSB)
The term “friendly fire” is used to describe a situation when the weapons fired at an army are coming from their own side, and may inadvertently cause injury or death to some of their own forces. It’s when someone accidentally attacks one of their own.
As Christians, we can be our own worst enemies. Instead of accidental “friendly fire”, we seem to intentionally turn against and attack our own from time to time. Too often we are quick to point out our differences, rather than find our common ground. We rush to criticize and condemn, rather than to show compassion. We become suspicious toward those who emphasize different things, or don’t run in the same circles that we do. As a result, we contribute to the ongoing fracturing of the body of Christ.
This was part of the lesson that John, one of the disciples of Jesus, needed to learn. When he came up to Jesus, he was very concerned. Someone else was out there ministering in the name of Jesus and casting out demons. So John let Jesus know that he had tried to stop him. This wasn’t an issue of friendly fire. It was an intentional decision by John to try to shut down this man’s ministry.
Why would he do that? What would drive John to try to stop this unnamed individual from casting out demons? For John, the issue was that, “he wasn’t following us.” Whoever he was, he was outside their circle. He wasn’t part of what they were doing. And so in John’s mind, he needed to be stopped.
But Jesus didn’t agree. “Don’t stop him,” Jesus said, “because there is no one who will perform a miracle in my name who can soon afterward speak evil of me.” From Jesus’ vantage point, there was nothing to worry about. Whoever this man was, he was engaged in the work of the kingdom in the name of Jesus. If he had the power to cast out demons in the name of Jesus, it was evidence of God at work in and through him. This wasn’t a concern. It was a cause for celebration. He didn’t need to be stopped. He needed to be supported.
The key issue was not so much whether this man was a part of the “inner circle” of John and the other disciples. It was about whether he was living for and proclaiming the name of Jesus Christ. “For whoever is not against us is for us” (v.40), Jesus said. As the Apostle Paul wrote, “Only that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice” (Philippians 1:18).
The kingdom of God is bigger than our own experience of it. There are those who know and follow Jesus who will emphasize different things than we do, and who will experience God in different ways. Rather than becoming skeptical and distrustful toward those who don’t follow Jesus the exact same way we do, we ought to celebrate the diversity of God’s kingdom. Rejoice today in all that God is doing!
Prayer: God, you are at work in ways far beyond anything that I can see or have experienced. Help me to celebrate today the diversity of the body of Christ. I rejoice today in all the ways that Christ is being proclaimed. Amen.
Author: Jonathan Miller has served in pastoral roles for more than 13 years in churches in Barrie, Oakville and Burlington, Ontario. He currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer at Prison Fellowship Canada, a ministry that mobilizes and equips local churches to engage in the restorative work of prisoners, ex-prisoners, their families, and victims across Canada. Jon holds degrees from McMaster University and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He and his wife Adrienne have been married since 2004, and live in Burlington, Ontario with their 4 children. Jon’s greatest passion is to know Jesus and to see lives transformed by Him and for Him.
