For and against

Christian Century, Dec 15, 1999 by B. A. Gerrish

Whoever is not against us is for us.--Mark 9:40

I can never read those words without recalling that they were once assigned to me, more than 30 years ago, as the text for a trial sermon. I was a seminary student at the time, and it was the president of the school himself who chose the text for me. He was a charming, gentle liberal, whose faith had none of the sharp edges mine then did. I may have imagined it, but I suspected then, and still do, that the text was meant to place a mild question mark over my passion for exposing heretics in the church. That was a very long time ago.

In any case, on receiving my text in a note from the president, I marched off to his lodge and reminded him that it is also written, in Matthew 12:30, "Whoever is not with me is against me." I had the impression I made him nervous. I could have imagined that, too. But he did what he always did when he wasn't quite sure what to say: he rolled a strip of paper between the palms of his hands while he gazed thoughtfully at his shoes, his head inclined slightly to one side. Finally, he looked up with a cheerful smile and gave me his reply: "Gerrish, my friend, you may preach on both texts."

Actually, that's what I wanted. And I still remember how I left him, confident that I had added my valiant amen to the litany of Bishop J.C. Ryle (1816-1900):

   From the liberality which says everybody is right,
   From the charity which forbids us to say that anyone is
     wrong,
   From the peace which is bought at the expense of
     truth--
   May the good Lord deliver us.

But what a heavy price I had to pay! I had committed myself to preach on two texts--one tailor-made for the elastic liberal, and one for the guardians of exclusive orthodoxy. "Whoever is not against us is for us." "Whoever is not for me, with me, is against me." The two texts plainly contradict each other. Or do they? Well, let's think about it. Perhaps it is significant that while Mark has the first saying, and Matthew the second, Luke found room for them both (9:49-50, 11:23).

The first saying, "Whoever is not against us is for us," was Jesus' comment on an incident reported to him by John, the son of Zebedee.

The disciples had seen a man casting out demons in Jesus' name; and because he did not follow them, they tried to stop him. More about this strange exorcist is not told us. It may even be that the name "Jesus" was nothing more to him than a magical formula that worked miracles. But if so, it doesn't seem to have been this that the disciples objected to. The problem, in their eyes, was simply that he wasn't one of them, and they were jealous for their rights and privileges.

You may remember that, as the story has come down to us, the disciples had just been debating that most momentous of all theological questions: Which of us is the greatest? They had rank, privilege and exclusive rights on their minds.

As so often, the Savior's answer immediately changes the issue. "Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me" (v. 39). Of "me"! What matters is not the dignity of the disciples, but the honor of their Lord. The man may have been slighting what the disciples took to be their exclusive rights, but what does that matter? He was doing Christ's work--and apparently with some success. Hence our first saying, "Whoever is not against us is for us."

Or, as a variant reading has it: "He that is not against you is for you. The one who is far off today will be close tomorrow." In other words: Rejoice at what this one achieves in the name of Jesus today, and tomorrow, perhaps, this person will be one of us. This individual may not be of our circle; but if we get our priorities right, we can surely see that he or she is on our side. The kingdom of heaven has enemies enough without trying to shut out tomorrow's friends.

The second saying, "Whoever is not with me is against me," was occasioned by the astonishing public response to Jesus' own success in casting out demons. A crowd gathered to watch, and they began to wonder: Can this be the Son of David? But Jesus' enemies were unimpressed: Yes, he casts out demons--they couldn't deny that--but he does it, they said, by the power of the prince of demons.

This time, Jesus' reply ends with a sharp warning. He sheds no light on the question of why his enemies wished to deny his mission. Did they, too, like Jesus' disciples, want to protect their rights and privileges as God's sole agents in the world? Very likely. But we don't really know. Jesus simply warns them to consider what their opposition means.

Unless the kingdom of evil is divided against itself, he cannot be on the side of evil. "If [then] it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you ... [And] whoever is not with me is against me" (vv. 28, 30). Once again, the issue is turned around. It is not a question of whose side Jesus is on. His critics had better be asking themselves whose side they are on. They cannot merely stand aside and scoff. There are no half measures; there is no sitting on the fence, no neutrality, no looking on. The kingdom of God has come! Even not to decide is to decide against it.