"John said to Him, 'Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your Name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.' But Jesus said, 'Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in My Name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me. For the one who is not against us is for us. For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward. Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.'" (Mark 9:38-42 ESV)
During the beginning of the pandemic, I was talking over the internet to a man in another country, who was locked down in his apartment with several atheist friends. He had heard about Jesus, and wanted to be baptized; so I explained about the water and the words "I baptize you ..." and what Baptism meant. Unfortunately, there was no one there to baptize him ... or so we thought. The next day, he turned up on the internet again, full of joy and smiling like the sun, and said: "I did myself in the sink last night. Now what?"
"Now what," indeed! I'd never heard of someone baptizing himself! On the other hand, I wasn't about to rain on his new Christian happiness. So I welcomed him to the family, recommended that he find a nearby pastor as soon as lockdown lifted and explain what had happened, and let him go in peace.
In today's reading, John comes to Jesus with a similar situation. Here's a man who's casting out demons in Jesus' Name—very much the same kind of thing Jesus had sent John and the other disciples out to do early in His own ministry. But this man isn't one of the twelve—he's doing it on his own! It's an outrage! And so John and the others tried to stop him.
Jesus says not to do that. First, for the practical reason—any good will is a blessing when Jesus is facing so much conflict already. But then Jesus touches something deeper—"for the one who is not against us is for us." Such people may be wrong-headed, they may be breaking tradition or following the wrong customs, but there is plenty of time to teach them better—provided we first welcome them with the love of Jesus Christ.
That is most important of all, when we're dealing with a new Christian, or a person in the process of coming to faith. We need to help them keep their faith, not lose it. God forbid we turn away one of these "little ones who believe in Me" and cause them to lose their faith just because they don't meet our standards for what a Christian ought to look like.
Jesus is capable of sorting out confusion and mistakes in His church; He can handle odd baptisms and independent exorcists. After all, He is the One who suffered and died—and rose again!—so that all of us—everyone who trusts in Him—could become His own, forgiven and made new forever.
We Pray: Dear Lord, watch over new believers and let them grow up in You in joy and peace. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Originally published in The Lutheran Hour on September 26, 2024
Used by permission from International Lutheran Laymen’s League, all rights
Reflection Questions:
1. Are there Christians who surprise or embarrass you?
2. Have you ever been tempted to send them away?
3. Why does Jesus welcome confused or mistaken people? | 
