Luke 9:49-50 49 And answering John said, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we forbid him, because he does not follow with us.” 50 But Jesus said to him, “Do not forbid him, for the one who is not against you is for you.”
At first, this story may see unrelated to the previous story and the context of chapter 9, but these verses reveal more of the wrong thinking of the disciples. There are some implications behind John’s seemingly innocent question in verse 49. John was one of the three disciples who saw the special revelation of Jesus on the mountain a short time earlier. Although Peter was the one to talk on the mountain about wanting to preserve the special moment by putting up a tent, James and John were thinking the same thing. All three may have had thoughts of being special. The whole group of twelve were special because Jesus had specifically chosen them from among many others to be his apostles. They may have had grand thoughts of being the new tribes of Israel and somehow being involved in the privileged leadership of the new kingdom of which Jesus spoke. John was at the top of the list of these privileged apostles.
John could not reconcile the idea that someone else could case out a demon in the name of Jesus and not be part of the twelve apostles who had been especially trained and sent out to do that kind of mission. What qualified this other unnamed someone to do what they legitimate and commissioned apostles were doing? John’s question stands also in strong contrast to the story in verses 37-43 when the nine apostles could not help the demon possessed boy who suffered from seizures. Here was an outsider who was able to do what they could not do.
Two key points stand out in John’s question. First, this other person did the miracle in Jesus name. He did not act on his own authority. He obviously had been watching Jesus do miracles and cast out demons. This person had made connections in his thinking that there was power in Jesus and that by invoking Jesus’ name, he could also do a miracle. Doing something in the name of a person had the same sense as if that person was the one who was doing it. Second, what really seemed to bother John was that this other person did not follow with us. The keyword follow (akalouthei) is the same used in the invitation to discipleship in verse 23. The implication is that this other person had not followed the required course of study and training that the others had. Yet, his ministry was effective because he acted in Jesus’ name.
Jesus’ response to John is a bit cryptic, but considering the context of the disciples’ struggle to understand discipleship, his response make the simple point that following him is not a matter of position or even of training. following was a matter of imitating Jesus by doing ministry in his name. A person may not have all the understanding or experience that the privileged receive, but that person can still be for Jesus and doing powerful things in his name. There are many serving in Jesus’ name today who do not fit into the boxes of denominational courses of study, validation, or confirmation. They may not even understand all that they are doing. But, they have watched Jesus (learned about him in the Bible) and believe in his power (a basic faith). They may not have degrees from Bible colleges or seminaries (however valuable these may be), but they want to to be like Jesus.
Jesus’ response is focused more on John’s faulty thinking than the need for theological training. Yes, this person was doing a miracle, but there was also a danger in that because without the following the path to the cross that requires both faith and knowledge, it is too easy to begin to think that the miracle worker is someone special. We need both the faith that this unnamed someone had but also the deep training that the twelve apostles were receiving. The problem at this point in the story is that the apostles were missing the vital connection between following and faith.
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