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Whoever Is not against us is for us
Mark 9:38-50
Good News Translation (GNT)
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38 John said to him, "Teacher, we saw a man
who was driving out demons in your name,
and we told him to stop, because he doesn't
belong to our group."
39 "Do not try to stop him," Jesus told them,
"because no one who performs a miracle in
my name will be able soon afterward to say
evil things about me.
40 For whoever is not against us is for us.
41 I assure you that anyone who gives you a
drink of water because you belong to me will
certainly receive a reward.
Temptations to Sin
42 "If anyone should cause one of these little
ones to lose faith in me, it would be better for
that person to have a large millstone tied
around the neck and be thrown into the sea.
43 So if your hand makes you lose your faith, cut
it off! It is better for you to enter life without a
hand than to keep both hands and go off to
hell, to the fire that never goes out.
44-45 [a] And if your foot makes you lose your faith,
cut it off! It is better for you to enter life without
a foot than to keep both feet and be thrown
into hell.
46-47 [b] And if your eye makes you lose your faith,
take it out! It is better for you to enter the
Kingdom of God with only one eye than to
keep both eyes and be thrown into hell.
48 here 'the worms that eat them never die, and
the fire that burns them is never put out.'
49 "Everyone will be purified by fire as a sacrifice
is purified by salt.
50 "Salt is good; but if it loses its saltiness, how
can you make it salty again?
"Have the salt of friendship among yourselves,
and live in peace with one another."
Footnotes
Mark 9:44 Some manuscripts add verse 44:
There 'the worms that eat them never die, and
the fire that burns them is never put out'
(see verse 48).
Mark 9:46 Some manuscripts add verse 46:
There 'the worms that eat them never die, and
the fire that burns them is never put out'
(see verse 48).
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Commentary taken from
'The Applied New Testament Commentary'
(Kingsway)
Whoever is not against us is for us
Mark 9:38-50
Mark describes a mistake made by the disciples,
a mistake Christians have been making ever since Jesus' time.
The disciples thought that only their group, their party, were true followers
of Jesus. When they saw someone who was not one of their group, they tried
to stop him from driving out demons in Jesus' name.
"Only we are true disciples," they thought. From this kind of attitude have come
divisions and controversy in the church.
We must consider that all who do not oppose Jesus are on His side.
If they work in His name we must accept them as brothers and fellow servants
Jesus will reward us, not according to the size of the gift but according to
the love with which we give it
Causing to Sin
One of these little ones means any humble, childlike servant of Christ.
Perhaps the disciples had caused the man driving out demons, to stumble, to sin.
Perhaps they had discouraged him and driven him away from Jesus.
Whenever we discourage our brother or lead him into any kind of temptation,
we are causing him to sin.
The hand is only an instrument of sin. We need to cut the sin out of our heart.
If we desire to steal, it is not our hand that is evil, but our heart.
Removing sin from our heart may be very painful - but we must do it if we would
enter life with God in heaven.
We cannot take sin with us into the kingdom of God.
The same teaching is repeated using the foot and eye
as examples of sinful members.
Jesus clearly taught that hell was a very bad place.
In verse 48 Jesus quotes
from Isaiah 66:24
"And they will go out and look on the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me;
the worms that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will not be
quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind."
The decay of those sent to hell goes on forever.
"Fire" in this verse means persecution.
To be salted means to be made effective. It is through persecution that
disciples are made effective, made strong for Jesus.
Salt is essential for life. There is salt in our blood, in our bodies.
Faith is like salt in the world.
We must remain "salty" - that is, faithful and obedient.
It is the Holy Spirit who makes us salty. If the Holy Spirit goes out of
our lives, how will we be salty again?
If the Holy Spirit is in us, we shall be of one spirit and one mind.
Instead of trying to be greater than others,
we should be at peace with each other.
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