We have been in a sermon series called “Required” where we have been looking at what is required in the life of a follower of Jesus. I ran across a quote I wanted to share with you because it does a great job of summing up what we have seen in Scripture during this series. It’s from the 19th-century pastor and missionary, A.T. Pierson, who said, “The ideal missionary must have four passions: a passion for the truth; a passion for Christ; a passion for the souls of men; and a passion for self-sacrifice.” This should be true for all followers of Jesus because a follower of Jesus is a mission-minded person who always focuses upon the mission of their Master. However, that means that everyone who follows Jesus is a missionary. Their mission field might not be in the jungles of South America or the savannahs of Africa, but they have all been given one. Our mission can be in the oil fields, in the office building, in the marketplace, or even at doctors' appointments. God puts His soldiers everywhere. He hasn’t placed you where you are in this season of your life by accident. We must all be faithful as we serve Jesus in the places He has placed us. As missionaries, we must be intentional and passionate about our relationship with Jesus as He reigns over all parts of our lives. We must be passionate about God’s word because, as Jesus said in John 17:17 — His word is truth. We must be passionate about evangelism because it’s the Gospel that drives everything we do. It’s the mission of the Master, and it’s the only thing that matters with eternity in mind. Since everything in our lives is Gospel-driven, it means that life is not about us — it’s all about Him. Jesus’ followers are His chosen method to turn this world upside down for Him. However, they cannot do it through their own ideas, through clever marketing, or through robust programs. The only way to change this world for Christ is when the church is obedient to what God requires of us. None of us are there yet, and there is still work to be done. If you have your Bibles, turn with me to Mark Chapter 9 and verse 38. Last week we were privy to a behind-the-scenes look at how Jesus was teaching His disciples. We saw that He taught them the importance of intimate quiet time with Him. It was during these times that He would shape them and strengthen their relationship with Him. We saw Him confront their sins they thought were hidden because sin can never be allowed to fester in our relationship with Jesus. It will damage it. Therefore, we saw that to break the sin of pride the disciples were struggling with, they had to serve and serve like Jesus. That service was performed through giving, and that giving must be costly, consistent, and compassionate just like Jesus. Here in this verse, Jesus is continuing the same discussion, but John interrupts with a very interesting comment.
A Disciple’s Corrected View - Mark 9:38-41
John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he wasn’t in our group.” “Don’t stop him!” Jesus said. “No one who performs a miracle in my name will soon be able to speak evil of me. Anyone who is not against us is for us. If anyone gives you even a cup of water because you belong to the Messiah, I tell you the truth, that person will surely be rewarded.
John’s only recorded comment in the Book of Mark is what is here in verse 38, and it comes right after Jesus’ response to their question of who was the greatest. John tells Jesus of a man who was having success at something the disciples had recently failed at, and that was casting out demons in Jesus’ name. John’s comment seems to be coming from a heart still full of pride because he is seemingly fishing for a compliment instead of accepting the correction Jesus had just given. However, Jesus doesn’t give him what He is looking for. Instead, He gives him the same rebuke that we see Him give Peter in Mark 8, “You are not seeing this thing from God’s point of view,” and Jesus began to correct this issue. John was seeing this man as some sort of competition who did not belong to their elite group of Jesus followers. His entire statement showed that he had an “Us vs Them” attitude. John’s view would be if you had the entire quarterback room on a football team tell the offensive line to stop showing up for practice because they aren’t on the same team. Yes, they may have different jobs, but they still need each other for the team to work. This view is divisive in the Kingdom of God and caused Jesus to zealously and immediately correct him. He tells John not to stop him, and the reason is that they are in fact on the same team. If we look closely at what this man was doing, we will see why Jesus says this. First, this man's actions show that he couldn’t have been against Jesus. Back in Mark 3:22, we read that the religious leaders were accusing Jesus of casting out demons by the power of Satan. Jesus told them Satan cannot cast out Satan because a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. The fact that this man was casting out demons in the name of Jesus showed exactly whom He belonged to. Second, this man must have had faith in Jesus, because Jesus had told the disciples that it was the lack of faith that caused them to fail at the same task. This man was successful, so He must have had faith in Jesus. In this response, Jesus was showing the disciples they weren’t the “end all and be all” of His Kingdom. His Kingdom had a greater scope than they could imagine. God has His soldiers all over. Jesus continued to show them the scope of who is on their side by telling them that it can be ANYONE — anyone who is living out their faith and showing their faith by serving like God has called all His followers to. I wonder if these were the words of Jesus that flooded the disciples’ minds when they heard about Paul in Acts. The one who was an enemy of the cross until He met Jesus, responded by faith, was saved, and became one of the most powerful proponents of the Gospel in the New Testament. It’s like we said a few weeks ago when talking about prayer. There is no one beyond the reach of God’s grace — it can be anyone. Jesus then speaks of the significance of the seemingly insignificant glass of water. It has to do with how a follower serves. Because of the pride these disciples showed they were struggling with twice in quick succession, Jesus points to how the disciples (and us as well) should view different acts of service. The disciples had already viewed the man who was casting out demons in the name of Jesus as lesser because they were not part of their little clique. Jesus would shortly be trusting them with the task of establishing His church. It was a task that could have easily gone to their heads. He wanted to make sure they saw service to Him properly. We see this explained very well in Mark 12:41-44 when Jesus was watching people give their offerings in the temple. We are told there were many rich people who came and put in large amounts of money, but Jesus didn’t point any of those people out. His attention was drawn to a poor widow and her gift of just two small coins. Why? It was because this woman had the correct attitude about it and was giving God everything she had. This is what Jesus is talking about with the reference to the cup of water. When you serve, it doesn’t matter if you are one of Jesus’ closest twelve, the man who by faith in Jesus was working for the Lord, or someone who brings another a cup of water in Jesus’ name. They were all serving the Lord, and their attitude to their service was the most important thing. It wasn't supposed to be serving from pride but serving by faith. The lesson Jesus was teaching John, and the disciples is something all followers need to understand and take to heart as we follow Him. We need to understand we are not in competition with other true Bible-believing Christians. Romans 10:13 does not say, Whosoever calls themselves Baptist will be saved. It says whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. You are not adopted into the family of God by what church you join. You are saved by grace and brought into the family of God by faith in Jesus Christ alone. However, we also must remember we don’t just cheer everyone on who uses the Lord’s name because there are many who do so in vain. We see a great example of one such group in Acts 19:13-14 — they call themselves the Seven Sons of Sceva. These men were trying to cast out demons in the name of “Jesus that Paul preaches”. This was just a scam to separate superstitious people and their money. That is, until they came face to face with the reality of the supernatural, because we are told of a time when they tried to cast out a demon from someone who was demon-possessed, and the demon addressed them. It said, “Jesus I know and Paul I know, but who are you?” These men had fooled a lot of people, but in the end, they were the ones who were the fools because they were not true followers of Jesus. Before we say someone is on our same team as a follower of Jesus, we need to compare what they claim with the standard, which is God’s word. A great way to do this is by having a Gospel conversation with those who have a form of spirituality, even those who use the name of Jesus in their spirituality. Share the truth of God’s word and ask them what they believe and have them define their words if they use “church” words to make sure they align with the standard, which is God’s word. If they are truly a follower of Jesus, they aren’t going to be upset that you share the Gospel with them. They will be encouraged. On the other hand, watch what happens when you share the Gospel with someone who only uses the name of Jesus to an end or calls upon the Jesus of a false Gospel. Encourage all believers, but make sure they really are believers to begin with. Then make sure you don’t look down upon anyone because of the type of service they do for the Lord. In the Kingdom of God, there are no lesser jobs. We are all just servants serving like Jesus. We cannot let pride or arrogance get in the way of the humility and unity that Jesus requires from all His children as we follow Him day in and day out.
A Disciple’s Tested Conduct - Mark 9:42-49
“But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone hung around your neck. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand than to go into the unquenchable fires of hell with two hands. If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one foot than to be thrown into hell with two feet. And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out. It’s better to enter the Kingdom of God with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, ‘where the maggots never die, and the fire never goes out.’ “For everyone will be tested with fire.”
Jesus moves from addressing John’s perspective on people and service to confronting the serious consequences of the pride the disciples were continuing to display. If their pride and arrogance were not taken care of now, the position Jesus was trusting them with could lead to greater pride that would be extremely detrimental to the establishment of the church and then the discrimination of the Gospel. This matter was so serious that Jesus addresses it by using extreme hyperbole to get His point across. He starts by telling them if these sins are not dealt with, they could lead less mature followers away from Him instead of closer to Him, and that would be catastrophic for both parties involved. He practically says it would be better if they wore cement boots and went for a swim than for their actions to cause someone to fall away from the faith. This is a command we have seen often as Jesus is instructing His disciples. We don’t get to follow Jesus on our own terms — we follow Him on His terms. When we try to follow Jesus on our terms, it will end up being dangerous not only for us but for those we are called to disciple as well. Jesus tells them what they must do to make sure they are not leading others astray — they must be meek and humble in everything that they do. He tells them if there is something they are selfishly doing or seeking in their life that could cause any of His followers, especially the weaker ones, to fall away rather than draw closer to Him, then cut off the hands that are doing those things. If they find themselves going to places that cause others to look at you poorly and because you are an ambassador of Christ, look upon Christ poorly, then cut your foot off so you can’t go there anymore! If they have been looking at something that, if someone saw them, it would lead them to question their faith — pluck that eye out! This, of course, is not to be taken literally, but again Jesus is telling them how serious He is about this call to meekness. Meekness is power under control, and while we have an abundance of freedom in Jesus Christ, we can’t use that freedom if it causes others to stumble (Romans 14, 1 Corinthians 8). We must keep God’s children in mind, putting them before ourselves as we serve the Lord and teach them to be disciples as well. Jesus isn’t saying someone will lose their salvation if this happens. He is just warning of the seriousness of dealing with this pride and arrogance the disciples are struggling with. Then Jesus says something I hope caught your attention: “For everyone will be tested with fire,” because this is Jesus talking to all His followers. Our God is a consuming fire, and in 1 Corinthians 13:10-15, Paul tells us everything we do in our lives is going to be tried by fire. Some of the things we have done with our lives will burn up and not make a difference in eternity. While we will escape the fires of Hell, we will do so without anything to show for it. Others will build with things that will last, and this is what Jesus is telling His disciples here. Make sure what you are doing can withstand my test, because everyone and everything you do will be tested by my all-consuming fire.
A Disciple’s Salted Character - Mark 9:50
Salt is good for seasoning. But if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again? You must have the qualities of salt among yourselves and live in peace with each other.
Jesus did not finish by telling the disciples how to cook by using salt because salt is good for seasoning, but by reminding them of something they would have known from the Old Testament Mosaic Law. Salt was an essential part of the purification process, and they needed to take to heart what He was saying because it was a part of the process of purification of them for the work ahead. They had to get over their elitism, their pride, and their arrogance because God’s plan and His kingdom were beyond their scope, and there would be others that Jesus uses for His glory besides them. They were going to be meek and humble in everything they did because that is what God required of them as they followed Jesus and equipped others to follow Jesus as well. This was part of making them more into the image of Jesus as radical. It may seem to the world's eyes. Following Jesus is radical, just as we have seen throughout this entire sermon series. Following Jesus is one of the most radical things that a person can do. It starts with faith in Jesus Christ alone. It’s surrendering your will to Him. It's taking up your cross and following wherever and however the Master leads. It’s to invest in others by teaching them the things you have been taught. It’s difficult, but it is what is required if we are to truly follow Jesus. I want to close by going back to the quote I opened with and ask you. Do you have those four passions? A passion for the truth; a passion for Christ; a passion for the souls of men; and a passion for self-sacrifice. These are what God requires of us.
