Mark 9:38

‘John said to him, “Teacher, we saw one casting out devils in your name, and we forbade him because he did not follow us.'

We are reminded here that the disciples did not just rigidly always remain with Jesus. They were given errands to fulfil and they at times went out preaching (we would probably be wrong to assume that they only made two such ventures). Perhaps it was on one such mission that they met the man described. And on that occasion John and at least one other (‘we') had bridled at the fact that this man dared to exercise the prerogative which they saw as given to the Apostles. Indeed they had forbidden him. Who was he that he should do so? What right had he to so exalt himself? But Jesus will now tell them that they should have realised that the success of the man's attempts revealed that he was a genuine believer whom God was blessing, (and perhaps underneath John was even himself uneasily conscious of the fact).

John's attitude revealed his limited viewpoint. Instead of seeing that the man's success showed that God was with him (which he should have done for Jesus regularly used that as an argument) and giving glory to God Who worked in such remarkable ways, he had been offended because the man dared to use Jesus' name without being a regular disciple. He did not at that time have the openheartedness that would one day be his. (What a different case this was from certain Jewish exorcists and especially the sons of Sceva (Acts 19:13) There they were using Jesus name as a magical formula not out of a deep belief in Him).

‘We forbade him.' Here was a man of a different ‘denomination'. John thought he was presumptious, even blasphemous, and had no right to work in Jesus' name. He was not ‘one of us'. How often through history these words and Jesus' wise reply have been ignored. Churches have become wrapped up in themselves and have begun to think that they were the only ones with the truth, and to enforce their own authority. They revealed thereby not their desire for the truth, which is many faceted, but their desire for their own greatness and importance, and their unwillingness to be true servants  of Christ. They wanted to be the masters. But Jesus here made clear that when a man sought to please God, even if he was outside the ‘gathering' (the congregation, the church), and  God blessed his work, it was evidence that God was with him and he should not therefore be halted in his work for God.

‘Because he did not follow us.' The exact wording is unsure but the meaning is clear. He was not a recognised ‘follower'. The early authorities are divided between ‘who did not follow us' and ‘because he did not follow us'. Compare Luke 9:50 which may suggest the latter was by assimilation. But notice the ‘us'. There is already a hint in this of a feeling of superiority.