NT 3406

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

Fall 2015

Michael Sterns

Exegetical Analysis: Mark 9:38-41

November 2, 2015
I. Introduction

A. 38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we

prevented him because he does not follow us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Don’t prevent him. For no one

who is doing works of power in my name does not even quickly speak evil of me. 40 For the one

not against us is for us. 41 For whoever gives you a drink of water to drink in my name, because

you are in the name of Christ, amen I say to you, he shall never lose his reward.”

B. There are some textual variants in the alteration of tenses in v38, the changing of “us” for

“you” in v40, and the changing “the name of Christ” to “my name” in v41.

C. This pericope is a small portion within a greater discussion on discipleship in 9:33-50. Some

commentators argue that this passage is only three verses (vv38-40) where others contend four

(vv38-41). Those that argue for a shorter reading link v41’s reward with the eternal punishment

of the following passage. The previous passage ends in receiving children (v37), and the passage

that follows begins with children (v42). But I agree with the others that say that this pericope is

made up of four verses because of the three “for” clauses.

II. Literary Analysis

Form: Mark’s purpose in writing such a book is in proclaiming the good news about Jesus Christ

(1:1). The literary form known as “gospel” came from the life, witness, and experience of the

early church (Mann, 5). Within the gospel genre, this story functions as a pronouncement as

Jesus corrects his disciple, John, by offering multiple definitions of discipleship. The larger

section (9:33-50) works as an elaborated chreia in which Jesus adds a brief thesis to different

stories (Collins, 448). The thesis in this story proclaimed in v41, set apart by the “amen, I say to

you,” is a blessing to all who give physical aid and comfort to traveling evangelists (Williamson,
171). This genre would be important for a Christian community facing persecution because it

would encourage positive attitudes towards others while reinforcing the centrality of being in

Christ (Donahue, 290). What begins as a correction about views about exorcisms becomes a

correction in the view about involvement in the kingdom of God (France, 378).

In the midst of this discussion of discipleship, this proclamation by Jesus about following

him would be challenging. The disciples were called to emulate Jesus’ ministry (cf. 3:14-15), so

in relaying this outsider’s exorcism, of course it would be frustrating considering that the

disciples had just failed to do one themselves (9:14-29). The effect of this pericope, though, is to

promote openness to anyone who does a work in Jesus’ name, which would be in stark contrast

to the protective exclusivity of other religious groups (France, 376). Instead of being upset with

an outsider for not following “us,” rejoice in those who “belong to Christ.” The good news of

this passage is that those who do Jesus’ work without formally being followers are “for him”,

and that those that give a cup of water to those who “belong to Christ” will be rewarded

(Donahue, 291). It is, in a sense, motivation to the community to welcome those outside their

circles, and their hospitality would ensure some kind of eschatological reward.

Redaction: Source criticism tends to be highly speculative in the Gospel of Mark if readers are

to accept the Griesbach hypothesis (Goodacre, 769).1 The repetition of words throughout vv.33-

50 suggests some sort of oral tradition (Hooker, 231). These catchwords reflect the catechetical

origin of the material in this section (Marcus, 671). For many commentators, Mark likely

inherited these sayings in vv.33-50 about discipleship, but they work in tandem with the other

Markan themes about discipleship, hospitality, and the overwhelming sense that the Twelve still

1
C.S. Mann’s commentary was the only one that I used that offered a differing opinion about the so-called
“synoptic problem.” He addresses his theory from pp.47-66.
fail to understand Jesus’ ministry. These discipleship teachings help continue the flow of the

Markan narrative interspersed with death predictions for Jesus.

This story has parallels in Matthew 10:42 and Luke 9:49-50, and both of them together

comprise the account in Mark.2 John the disciple uses this word, κωλύω, which meant to hinder

or stop someone. The only other time that this word is used within Mark is when the disciples

hinder the children from coming to Jesus in 10:14. The disciples again were trying to stop people

from experiencing the kingdom of God, and Jesus is indignant with their exclusivity. Mark uses

the disciples’ failings to see the size of the kingdom to teach his readers that to not stop anyone

from experiencing Jesus. It is interesting that this word is used again in Acts 8 with the Ethiopian

eunuch, another outsider trying to enter the kingdom.

Literary: Mark characteristically moves quickly from passage to passage creating a sense of

urgency within the narrative. Mark begins these proverbs for the disciples immediately following

a Passion prediction, and the scene moves to goes someone’s house v33. Typically, conflicts

with Jesus occurred at the synagogues (1:21-28, 39; 3:1; 12:39; 13:9). This passage consists of

two main parts: the comments in vv38-40 about another person performing exorcisms in Jesus’

name and a saying about receiving a cup of water v41 (Evans, 64). The maxim that Jesus says in

v40 is originally a saying by Cicero in 1st Century BCE (Evans, 65). It is a somewhat ironic

response by Jesus to the disciples because one might expect that Jesus would commend his

disciples for maintaining the purity of Jesus’ work. This attitude is also in contrast to the

restrictive approach of the later church (Acts 19:13-17; Justin, 1 Apol. 54-58; Augustine, City of

God 10.16; 22.10 in Marcus, 686).

2
For this reason and many others, Mann argues that Mark synthesizes Matthew and Luke into his own
book.
 The repetition of “in my name” (9:38, 39, 41) is an important catchword in this passage

emphasizing that the being a disciple means belonging to Jesus. Repetition of key words

established verbal threads throughout the gospel (Donahue, 18). The measure for discipleship is

in following Jesus and not following the disciples. The charge given to the disciples following

Jesus’ resurrection (16:15-18) shows that Jesus’ followers will cast out demons “in my name”

v17. This exorcist, though on the outside, has authentic faith in Jesus’ name that can cast out

demons. It is the name of Jesus that has power (Phil 2:10-11). It is not the disciples themselves.

As Jesus makes his way to Jerusalem, the disciples must continue to follow Jesus and not rely on

their own strength, but as the gospel continues, the disciples do not heed Jesus’ instructions and

leave him at the cross.

III. Theological Analysis

V38 ἀκολουθέω: John’s exclamation to Jesus was that the exorcist did not follow us v38.

Throughout Mark’s gospel, the act of following is associated with being a disciple of Jesus

(1:17-18; 2:14-15; 8:34; 10:21, 28; 15:41). In the Hellenistic world, following a leader (i.e. the

disciples of Socrates) involved a personal relationship with the one being followed and adopting

that one’s lifestyle (Donahue, 29). As his followers, Jesus functions as the teacher (4:38; 5:35;

9:17, 38; 10:17, 20, 35; 12:14, 19, 32; 14:14). The role of the teacher was not simply to impart

knowledge into the pupils but to teach them the “way of God” (12:14).

All throughout Mark, the disciples are shown in contrasting presentations. Mark uses the

disciples as models for his church to be faithful to Jesus in all things and to learn about following

Jesus through successes and failures. On one hand, Mark presents the Twelve positively as being

selected and commissioned by Jesus (1:16-20; 3:13-19a) to hear the secrets of the kingdom
(4:10-12) and to promote Jesus’ ministry (3:14-15; 6:7-13, 35). These disciples, throughout the

gospel do as Jesus does in preaching, healing, and exorcising demons. But on the other hand, the

disciples are shown negatively. They do not understand Jesus’ parables (4:13; 7:17-18), do not

understand Jesus’ true identity as the Son of God who calms seas (4:35-41; 6:45-52), and do not

know how Jesus could possibly feed the multitudes (6:34-44; 8:1-10). More critically, the

disciples do not understand Jesus’ message or ministry (8:14-21), which involves Jesus’

suffering to the cross (8:31-33; 9:30-32) through serving (10:32-45). This inability to

comprehend leads to the disciples leaving Jesus (14:50) and Peter denying him (14:53; 66-72).

V39 δύναμις: More than any other gospel writer, Mark emphasizes the miracles, healings, and

exorcisms of Jesus (Williamson, 20). Of the 678 verses within Mark, approximately one-third is

dedicated to miracles. Exorcisms were prominent features of the ministries of Jesus and of his

disciples. In the Synoptic tradition, Jesus’ miracles are closely related to his proclamation of the

coming of the kingdom of God, and they regarded his miracles, especially the exorcisms, as one

of the modes in which God asserted God’s royal power over the power of darkness (Blackburn,

801-2). In the parable of the strong man (3:23-29), Jesus expresses the view his exorcisms are

part of the destruction of Satan. Even though many expected Satan to be destroyed in the

eschaton (Is 24:21-22; 1 En 10:4-6; 1QS IV, 18-19), Jesus is the first to connect his exorcisms to

Satan’s downfall (Twelftree, 595).

There is outside evidence in the other gospels for exorcists outside the close circle of

Jesus and the disciples (Mt 12:27, 43-45), and there are multiple mentions of exorcisms within

the Jewish and pagan sources though not on the same scale as Jesus (France, 376). Jesus’

response to John is the opposite of the apostles in Acts 19:13-16. But the difference between this

instance and Acts is that John is upset that someone is speaking Jesus’ name outside of their
context. The miracles of Mark bear witness to the kingdom that is greater than the natural one,

and Jesus invites his disciples to repent, believe, and follow him (Williamson, 22).

Principal Theological Themes: The Gospel of Mark comes from a situation in which conflict has

arisen over Jesus’ identity. The first half of the gospel describing Jesus’ ministry, and the

fulcrum of the book is with Peter’s confession (8:27-30). Throughout the book, readers are

confronted with the fact that many will persecute and hate them because of Jesus’ name (4:17;

13:13). The act of following Jesus is described as involving suffering (8:34-37) or even

martyrdom (8:35; 10:39; 13:12). With Peter’s confession, Mark creates a structure of three

Passion predictions (8:27-10:45) linked closely with the theme of discipleship. The Markan

themes of Jesus’ identity and the nature of discipleship are given further treatment in light of

Jesus’ way of suffering which comes to a climax with the image of Jesus on the cross crying out

to God in abandonment (15:34) and the women fleeing the resurrection scene (16:8).

Some have concluded that the community that Mark could be addressing would be one

currently facing persecution (cf. 10:30), of which he himself probably was a member (Marcus,

25). Mark changes his Danielic source from 12:1 LXX “until that day” to “until now” which is

probably a reflection of the Mark’s situation (Marcus, 29). In the midst of persecution, it would

have been understandable to be insular. That is to say that, the community would look inwardly

for support because those on the outside would be the ones persecuting them. Jesus’ charge in

9:38-41 would have caused some kind of discomfort.

IV. Conclusions and Hermeneutical Directions

Hospitality is spoken of throughout the Old Testament, and welcoming the stranger

became an image of God’s welcoming to Israel (cf. Deut 10:17). Likewise, Israel’s proper
treatment of strangers was the response to God’s loving provision (Deut 24:17-19). In the days of

the church, hospitality was key to the missionary endeavors of Peter (Acts 10:6, 18, 32, 48) and

Paul (Acts 16:15; 18:7; 21:4, 8, 16; 28:7). Hospitality commands then frequent the NT in Rom

12:13, Heb 13:2, and 1 Pet 4:9, and it becomes a qualification of becoming a bishop (1 Tim

5:10). What then causes John from showing hospitality?

It is human nature to question others, and the church is not immune to this fallen

characteristic. How often do we read messages on the Internet or even through the grapevine

questioning the motives of other churches and Christian groups? It is so easy to be frustrated

with other people for “not following us.” We question their hearts, their motives, and even

whether they are truly Christian. Paul writes in Philippians 1:15-18 about this questioning of

other people’s message, but he urges us to rejoice that Christ is preached. The trust is that the

message of Christ is sufficient to turn people’s hearts.

In ecumenical conversations, we simply trust that God can handle the mess of any

situation because anyone who does a work of power can speak evil of God. As it says in Psalm

34:8, “Oh taste and see that the Lord is good.” Anyone who has really experienced God, truly

been in God’s presence, knows of God’s character and that God is good. And there are countless

stories in the Bible about people that seem to be “outside” that somehow experience God. The

kingdom of God is much bigger than human comprehension. The people of God are to enlarge

their tents to allow more people in to follow Jesus. We do not control who follows Jesus and who

does not.

Mark’s simple definition of discipleship is following Jesus. He is the way of the Lord.

Our response to Jesus is follow or to not, and this is the same call given to anyone even
outsiders. We might be startled if someone is able to do mighty works for the kingdom if they

are outside of our spectrum, but whoever is not against us is on our side. We rest in this

simplicity. It is a matter of trusting God and trusting others. Unity within the church is not the

same as homogeneity. We can work alongside other groups without compromising convictions

or opinions. There will always be debates between Calvinists and Arminians, liberals and

conservatives, fundamentalists and progressives, and so on. But this passage charges its readers

to look beyond the differences. I am unsure if Christian denominations or groups will ever

become one in the physical sense, but we can become one through the work of Christ (John 17).

The true essence of discipleship is in following Jesus, and Mark takes his readers along

this journey to show the ebbs and flows of all of walks with him. We will have our doubts with

other groups, but recognizing both their fruits and their hearts in Jesus will help us to look

beyond our prejudices. We hold onto the dogmas of the Christian faith, centering ourselves upon

Jesus, and we set aside the things that divide us. It is a lofty task but one given to us by Jesus.

And it is only through Jesus, this divine command, that the church can be the people that Christ

calls us to be.
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