“Teacher,” said John, “we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.” “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us. I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward. (Mark 9:38-41)Jesus had just finished telling the apostles that in order to be with him they had to undergo a transformation in spirit. They had to become servants. They had to become like children in their mindsets as to authority.
He also told them that position in the Kingdom did not depend on position in the church. Just because they were leaders or in charge did not mean they were particularly special in God’s sight.
But like humans are, then to now, they came up against someone who did not ask their opinion nor permission to do some stuff.
They had seen something that people have argued about since it was written down. There were some people doing things separate and apart from Jesus’ apostles and the apostles didn’t know about it until then.
Because they were apostles, the hand-picked successors to the Christ and anointed disseminators of his word, they felt umbrage over the mere fact that these people were allowed to work when they were not under their authority. Usurpers. Or at least in their minds.
Jesus told them to back off. Anyone who is doing things for Jesus and in his name cannot be against him.
Quite frankly, I do not understand this. And I do not believe anyone else does fully either. I have read about it, but the people who wrote the books advanced opinions and got a royalty check and do not understand it all that much either.
It seems that there were people who had locked into the knowledge of the power of Jesus and were casting out demons in his name. And evidently doing a good job of it.
Jesus told the apostles that simply because they had not received an official certificate or ordination from the “society” did not mean that they were not used by God.
Apollos was one of these. He was mentioned first in Acts 18 and spoke accurately about Jesus, had a great following and was doing a good job. His problem was he was lacking in knowledge. He didn’t know anything but the second chance baptism of John. He had never heard of the Spirit.
Yet he was winning souls to Jesus.
After he was taught the missing ingredient, he was even better. But the people he brought to Jesus were still firmly in Jesus and his grace.
Just because you do not like the way someone serves God doesn’t mean they do not serve God. Paul said in Romans 13:4, Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One who serves God, serves God. He is not dependent on your liking what he does or doesn’t do.
In other words, I do not have the right to enforce my “orthodoxy” on anyone. As this passage says, the Lord is able to make him stand.
I just do what I can and serve God.
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