NOBODY WHO DOES A MIRACLE IN MY NAME, WILL LATER SPEAK
EVIL OF ME
38John 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.”
39But 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.
40For the one
who is not against us is for us.
41For 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.
MARK
9:38-41
COMMENTARY
Lord Jesus and
his apostles had just arrived to the region of Galilee, in the area around
Capernaum (Mark 9:33; 10:1).
Since our Lord had grown up in Galilee, in Nazareth, his ministry was well known in that region, and that is where most scholars think he appeared to more than 500 people at the mountain after his resurrection
(Matthew 28:16-20; 1Corinthians
15:6).
Since the NT
calls them disciples, there must have been a lot of true followers of the Lord
there.
In their way
there, the apostles crossed a man, unknown to them, since ‘he did not walk’
with them. It means, he was not a regular member of the community of believers
that normally followed our Lord, like the 70’s (Luke 10:1), Martha, Lazarus and
Mary, or the twelve apostles, and other close disciples.
However, this
man must have truly believed in Jesus, since he casted out demons in his Name. For
if he had not, the invocation of the Lord’s Name would not have worked through
him (Acts 19:15-16).
The apostles, as
many of us are today, were more concern about the communion of this man with
the main ‘official’ group of believers, than with the fruits that proved this
man a genuine Christian.
But our divine
Lord, in his wisdom, said to them ‘Do not stop him, because whoever does a
miracle in my name, will not be against me’
(Mark 9:39-40;
Luke 9:50).
This day, our
Lord proved that there was not doctrine, or sacraments, or anything else we
could add for the salvation of our souls, but only faith, repentance and
perseverance to the end.
This man, must
have believed Jesus’s preaching, repented and submitted to the Lordship of
Jesus. He must have been accepted by God as a child of his, and that is why he could
continue the mission of Christ by liberating people from the joke of Satan, and
he did it effectively (v.38). But he did
all of these things while not belonging socially to the main group that were
called ‘followers’ of Jesus.
By accepting his
ministry, our Lord declared that what constitutes us as Christians and Children
of God is our faith and repentance, which causes the descend of the Holy Spirit
on us and into us (Ephesians 1:13; 4:30).
Sacraments, belonging
to this or that Church, and everything else, are visible signs we are
Christians and followers of Jesus, but it is our faith and love for God what makes
us truly Christian; and Jesus the only ground of our salvation.
When we stand at
the tribunal of God, we will not be submitted to a knowledge examination or a
conduct case. Certainly, our knowledge and our actions will be considered, but
they will serve nothing to our final salvation, except the mercy of Jesus, our
Savior, who will come to our rescue in basis of his sacrifice on the Cross, our
faith and repentance. Only then, forgiveness will be granted, and we will be admitted
into the Kingdom of God.
Omar Flores.
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