Mark 9:38-41 We tried to stop him
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: March 2, 2018, Mark 9:38-41
Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.
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.” 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. For the one who is not against us is for us. 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.
(Understanding the Text) The fact that it is John who says this means that it did not happen while they were on the Mount of Transfiguration. It also means that it must have happened sometime when Jesus was not with John. Maybe it was something that had happened long before, or maybe it was something that they had just recently seen.
The principle here is that there was someone who obviously did not know Jesus using His name as a talisman to do magic. There are many “Christians” out there who seem to think of Jesus in this way whether it involves superstitiously praying to an image of Jesus on a cross or a little picture icon on the wall or someone jabbering away in a self-induced state of hysteria or a secular church using pop culture like the Twilight Zone to preach about the Bible, Jesus says not to try to stop them because if they are doing great things in His name, they will not be condemning Him. They will be promoting a favorable image of Jesus.
(Application) Jesus was telling the disciples not to close the door on people who were still open to receiving the message of the Messiah. He was telling Christians not to be exclusive and prejudiced against others who claim to support Jesus. In other words, rather than condemning the others for not following Jesus the right way, we should keep the pathways open for them to learn how to follow Jesus the right way.
(Revelation of God) Jesus was strict in His condemnation of sin, but He was accepting of people’s mistakes and misguided attempts to align themselves with Him. He did not push others away, but instead worked with them to bring them closer to the true path to God. He will work with us even though we are not following Him in total accuracy. None of us can match Jesus’ perfect understanding of spiritual matters, so it is good that Jesus accepts us as His servants even with all of our flaws and misunderstandings.
(Understanding the text) Then, Jesus makes a statement about how if someone supported one of His disciples with even a cup of water because they were favorable toward anyone who came from Jesus that they would be rewarded. What kind of reward? I’m having a hard time seeing the clear relationship between the original comment and this last lesson. Was Jesus saying that the man casting out demons in His name would be rewarded? Or had he gone on to a related but different topic?
Barnes’ commentary points out that if someone could achieve a miracle in Jesus’ name, it was evidence that he had a connection to Jesus. Barnes points out that Jesus opposed no one who gave evidence that he loved Him. Guzik’s commentary points out that the question may have come because many of the disciples were frustrated because another man who was not a chosen of Jesus was succeeding where they had recently failed in casting out a demon. I’m not sure if this is accurate simply because it was John who posed the question, but he was not one of those who had failed at casting out a demon. These commentators assume that the man was successful in casting out demons. I was skeptical that he was successful. If he was performing a wonder in Jesus’ name, it would have been a sign that he had some connection to God, I guess. On the other hand, I can see problems with using a miracle as a sign of connection to Jesus since the devil could try to deceive us with false signs.
(Application / Prayer) I guess Jesus is saying here that it does not matter if you perform a great act like casting out a demon or a small act like giving a cup of water if you do it in Jesus’ name, you are doing His will. If we choose to do anything because of Jesus, we are being prompted by the Holy Spirit and Jesus sees us and is happy with us. I pray to please you in all my ways.