Mark 9:40
For whoever is not against us is for us.
For
The word "for" serves as a conjunction, linking this verse to the preceding context. It provides a rationale or explanation for Jesus' teaching. In the Greek, "γάρ" (gar) is often used to introduce a reason or cause, indicating that what follows is a justification of a previous statement. This word invites the reader to consider the broader narrative and teaching of Jesus, emphasizing the importance of understanding His mission and the inclusivity of His message.

whoever
The term "whoever" is inclusive, suggesting that the statement applies universally. In Greek, "ὅς" (hos) can mean "who" or "whoever," indicating an open invitation to all people. This reflects the universal scope of Jesus' ministry, breaking down barriers and extending grace beyond the immediate circle of His disciples. It challenges believers to adopt a broad perspective on fellowship and cooperation in the work of the Kingdom.

is not against us
This phrase highlights the concept of opposition. The Greek word "κατά" (kata) means "against" or "down," suggesting a force or stance that is contrary to Jesus and His followers. Historically, Jesus faced opposition from various groups, including religious leaders. This phrase encourages discernment in identifying true opposition, reminding believers that not everyone outside their immediate group is an enemy. It calls for a spirit of unity and understanding, recognizing allies in unexpected places.

is for us
The phrase "is for us" emphasizes support and alignment. The Greek "ὑπέρ" (hyper) means "for" or "on behalf of," indicating advocacy or support. This reflects the idea that those who are not actively opposing Jesus are, in some way, aligned with His mission. It encourages believers to recognize and appreciate those who, even if not part of their immediate community, contribute positively to the cause of Christ. This perspective fosters a spirit of inclusivity and cooperation, urging Christians to focus on common goals rather than differences.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Jesus Christ
The central figure in this passage, providing teaching to His disciples.

2. The Disciples
Followers of Jesus who are being instructed on how to view those outside their immediate group.

3. Unnamed Exorcist
A person casting out demons in Jesus' name, not part of the disciples' group, prompting this teaching.

4. Capernaum
The likely setting for this teaching, as much of Jesus' ministry in Mark occurs around this area.

5. The Broader Community
Represents those who may not be direct followers of Jesus but still act in His name.
Teaching Points
Inclusivity in Ministry
Jesus teaches that those who are not actively opposing His work are considered allies. This encourages a broader acceptance of diverse ministries that honor Christ.

Unity in Christ
The passage emphasizes the importance of unity among believers, even if they are not part of the same group or denomination. The focus should be on the shared mission of advancing God's kingdom.

Discernment and Wisdom
While inclusivity is important, discernment is necessary to ensure that actions align with biblical truth and the character of Christ.

Avoiding Division
Jesus' teaching warns against creating unnecessary divisions among believers. The focus should be on common goals rather than differences.

Encouragement in Service
This passage encourages believers to support and affirm those who serve in Jesus' name, recognizing their contributions to the kingdom.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does Jesus' statement in Mark 9:40 challenge our understanding of who can be considered part of His work today?

2. In what ways can we apply the principle of "whoever is not against us is for us" in our local church or community?

3. How can we discern when to embrace those who work in Jesus' name but are not part of our immediate group?

4. What are some practical steps we can take to promote unity among believers from different backgrounds or denominations?

5. How do the teachings in Philippians 1:15-18 and 1 Corinthians 12:3 help us understand the importance of motives and acknowledgment of Jesus' lordship in ministry?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Matthew 12:30
Jesus speaks about the importance of being with Him, emphasizing the stark contrast between being for or against Him.

Luke 9:49-50
A parallel account where Jesus addresses the disciples' concerns about others performing miracles in His name.

Philippians 1:15-18
Paul discusses the motives of those preaching Christ, highlighting that the proclamation of Christ is what truly matters.

1 Corinthians 12:3
Paul explains that no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit, underscoring the importance of acknowledging Jesus' authority.

Romans 14:4
Paul advises believers not to judge others' servants, as they stand or fall before their own master, which can relate to accepting those who work in Jesus' name.
Christian TolerationW. Dorling.Mark 9:38-40
Intolerance RebukedMark 9:38-40
Party SpiritB. Beddome, M. A.Mark 9:38-40
The Degrees of ChristianityC. L. E. Luthardt.Mark 9:38-40
The Fellowship of the ApostlesJ. H. Newman, B. D.Mark 9:38-40
The Line of Conduct We Should Adopt Towards Those Who Follow not with UsT. Webster, M. A.Mark 9:38-40
The Spirit of Intolerance and SectarianismJ. Morison, D. D.Mark 9:38-40
Working with Christ Outside the ApostolateBishop Christopher Wordsworth.Mark 9:38-40
Rebuke of Sectarian NarrownessJ.J. Given Mark 9:38-41
The Comprehensiveness of Christ's ServiceA.F. Muir Mark 9:38-42
Marked SinsE. Johnson Mark 9:38-50
Stumbling-BlocksR. Green Mark 9:38-50
People
Elias, Elijah, James, Jesus, John, Peter
Places
Caesarea Philippi, Capernaum, Galilee, High Mountain
Topics
Able, Afterward, Anything, Bad, Evil, Forbid, Hinder, Ill, Lightly, Mighty, Minute, Miracle, Moment, Perform, Quickly, Readily, Replied, Speak, Tried
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Mark 9:38-40

     8353   tolerance

Mark 9:39-40

     5882   impartiality

Library
February 2 Evening
One star differeth from another star in glory.--I COR. 15:41. By the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest. And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all.--Be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

Christ's Lament Over Our Faithlessness
'He answereth him and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you?'--Mark ix. 19. There is a very evident, and, I think, intentional contrast between the two scenes, of the Transfiguration, and of this healing of the maniac boy. And in nothing is the contrast more marked than in the demeanour of these enfeebled and unbelieving Apostles, as contrasted with the rapture of devotion of the other three, and with the lowly submission and faith of Moses and Elias.
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Omnipotence of Faith
Jesus said unto him, If them canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.'--Mark ix. 23. The necessity and power of faith is the prominent lesson of this narrative of the healing of a demoniac boy, especially as it is told by the Evangelist Mark, The lesson is enforced by the actions of all the persons in the group, except the central figure, Christ. The disciples could not cast out the demon, and incur Christ's plaintive rebuke, which is quite as much sorrow as blame: 'O faithless
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Unbelieving Belief
'And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief.'--Mark ix. 24. We owe to Mark's Gospel the fullest account of the pathetic incident of the healing of the demoniac boy. He alone gives us this part of the conversation between our Lord and the afflicted child's father. The poor man had brought his child to the disciples, and found them unable to do anything with him. A torrent of appeal breaks from his lips as soon as the Lord gives
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

An Unanswered Question
'What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way?'--Mark ix. 33. Was it not a strange time to squabble when they had just been told of His death? Note-- I. The variations of feeling common to the disciples and to us all: one moment 'exceeding sorrowful,' the next fighting for precedence. II. Christ's divine insight into His servants' faults. This question was put because He knew what the wrangle had been about. The disputants did not answer, but He knew without an answer, as His immediately
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Salted with Fire
Every one shall be salted with fire.'--Mark ix. 49. Our Lord has just been uttering some of the most solemn words that ever came from His gracious lips. He has been enjoining the severest self-suppression, extending even to mutilation and excision of the eye, the hand, or the foot, that might cause us to stumble. He has been giving that sharp lesson on the ground of plain common sense and enlightened self-regard. It is better, obviously, to live maimed than to die whole. The man who elects to
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

'Salt in Yourselves'
'Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.'--Mark ix. 50. In the context 'salt' is employed to express the preserving, purifying, divine energy which is otherwise spoken of as 'fire.' The two emblems produce the same result. They both salt--that is, they cleanse and keep. And if in the one we recognise the quick energy of the Divine Spirit as the central idea, no less are we to see the same typified under a slightly different aspect in the other. The fire transforms into its own substance
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

'This is My Beloved Son: Hear Him'
'And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is My beloved Son: hear Him.'--Mark ix. 7. With regard to the first part of these words spoken at the Transfiguration, they open far too large and wonderful a subject for me to do more than just touch with the tip of my finger, as it were, in passing, because the utterance of the divine words, 'This is My beloved Son,' in all the depth of their meaning and loftiness, is laid as the foundation of the two
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Jesus Only!
'They saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves.'--Mark ix. 8. The Transfiguration was the solemn inauguration of Jesus for His sufferings and death. Moses, the founder, and Elijah, the restorer, of the Jewish polity, the great Lawgiver and the great Prophet, were present. The former had died and been mysteriously buried, the latter had been translated without 'seeing death.' So both are visitors from the unseen world, appearing to own that Jesus is the Lord of that dim land, and that
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Transfiguration
'And after six days Jesus taketh with Him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and He was transfigured before them. 3. And His raimemt became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them. 4. And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus. 5. And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for Thee, and one for Moses,
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Receiving and Forbidding
'And He came to Capernaum: and being in the house He asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? 34. But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest. 35. And He sat down, and called the Twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. 36. And He took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when He had taken him in His arms, He said unto them, 37.
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

July the Ninth Scholars in Christ's School
"He taught His disciples." --MARK ix. 30-37. And my Lord will teach me. He will lead me into "the deep things" of God. There is only one school for this sort of learning, and an old saint called it the Academy of Love, and it meets in Gethsemane and Calvary, and the Lord Himself is the teacher, and there is room in the school for thee and me. But the disciples were not in the mood for learning. They were not ambitious for heavenly knowledge, but for carnal prizes, not for wisdom, but for place.
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

The Lenten Fast.
"This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer."--ST. MARK ix. 29. You remember the narrative from which I have taken this verse. Jesus, as we read, had just come down from the Mount of Transfiguration, and when He was come to the multitude, a certain man besought him saying, "Have mercy on my son, for he is lunatic and sore vexed, and I brought him to Thy disciples, but they could not cure him." Then Jesus rebuked the devil, and the child was cured from that hour. Thereupon His disciples
John Percival—Sermons at Rugby

The Child in the Midst.
"And He took a child and set Him in the midst of them: and when He had taken him in His arms, He said unto them, Whosoever shall receive one of such children in My name, receiveth Me: and whosoever shall receive Me, receiveth not Me, but Him that sent Me."--ST. MARK ix. 36, 37. It is one of the characteristics of our time, one of its most hopeful and most encouraging signs, that men are awaking to higher and purer conceptions of the Christian life and what it is that constitutes such a life. We
John Percival—Sermons at Rugby

Of Hell
"Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." Mark 9:48. 1. Every truth which is revealed in the oracles of God is undoubtedly of great importance. Yet it may be allowed that some of those which are revealed therein are of greater importance than others, as being more immediately conducive to the grand end of all, the eternal salvation of men. And we may judge of their importance even from this circumstance, -- that they are not mentioned once only in the sacred writings, but are repeated
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

A Caution against Bigotry
"And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in Thy name: and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us. But Jesus said, Forbid him not." Mark 9:38, 39. 1. In the preceding verses we read, that after the Twelve had been disputing "which of them should be the greatest," Jesus took a little child, and set him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, said unto them, "Whosoever shall receive one of these little children in My name, receiveth
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

Faith's Dawn and Its Clouds
In the text there are three things very clearly. Here is true faith; here is grievous unbelief; here is a battle between the two. I. Very clearly in the text there is TRUE FAITH. "Lord, I believe," says the anxious father. When our Lord tells him that, if he can believe, all things are possible to him, he makes no demur, asks for no pause, wishes to hear no more evidence, but cries at once, "Lord, I believe." Now, observe we have called this faith true faith, and we will prove it to have been so.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 18: 1872

The Child in the Midst.
And he came to Capernaum: and, being in the house, he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves who should be the greatest. And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them, Whosoever shall
George MacDonald—Unspoken Sermons

Absolute Surrender
"And Ben-hadad the king of Syria gathered all his host together: and there were thirty and two kings with him, and horses, and chariots: and he went up and besieged Samaria, and warred against it. And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city, and said unto him, Thus saith Ben-hadad, Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the goodliest, are mine. And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, O king, according to thy saying, I am thine and all that
Andrew Murray—Absolute Surrender

Thoughts Upon Striving to Enter at the Strait Gate.
AS certainly as we are here now, it is not long but we shall all be in another World, either in a World of Happiness, or else in a World of Misery, or if you will, either in Heaven or in Hell. For these are the two only places which all Mankind from the beginning of the World to the end of it, must live in for evermore, some in the one, some in the other, according to their carriage and behaviour here; and therefore it is worth the while to take a view and prospect now and then of both these places,
William Beveridge—Private Thoughts Upon a Christian Life

The Three Tabernacles
And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. MARK ix. 5. Caught up in glory and in rapture, the Apostle seems to have forgotten the world from which he had ascended, and to which he still belonged, and to have craved permanent shelter and extatic communion within the mystic splendors that brightened the Mount of Transfiguration. But it was true, not only as to the confusion of his
E. H. Chapin—The Crown of Thorns

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