Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Mark 9:39
But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me.
39. Forbid him not ] Compare the words of Joshua and the reply of Moses in Num 11:28-29; “and Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them. And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? Would God that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Forbid him not – Do not prevent his doing good. If he can work a miracle in my name, it is sufficient proof of attachment to me, and he should not be prevented.
Can lightly speak evil of me – The word here rendered lightly means quickly or immediately. The meaning of the passage is, that he to whom God gave the power of working a miracle, by that gave evidence that he could not be found among the enemies of Jesus. He ought not, therefore, to be prevented from doing it. There is no reason to think here that John had any improper designs in opposing the man. He thought that it was evidence that he could not be right, because he did not join them and follow the Saviour. Our Lord taught him differently. He opposed no one who gave evidence that he loved him. Wherever he might be or whatever his work, yet, if he did it in the name of Jesus and with the approbation of God, it was evidence sufficient that he was right. Christians should rejoice in good done by their brethren of any denomination. There are men calling themselves Christians who seem to look with doubt and suspicion on all that is done by those who do not walk with them. They undervalue their labors, and attempt to lessen the evidences of their success and to diminish their influence. True likeness to the Saviour would lead us to rejoice in all the good accomplished. by whomsoever it may be done – to rejoice that the kingdom of Christ is advanced, whether by a Presbyterian, an Episcopalian, a Baptist, or a Methodist. Compare Phi 1:18.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 39. Forbid him not] If you meet him again, let him go on quietly in the work in which God owns him. If he were not of God, the demons would not be subject to him, and his work could not prosper. A spirit of bigotry has little countenance from these passages. There are some who are so outrageously wedded to their own creed, and religious system, that they would rather let sinners perish than suffer those who differ from them to become the instruments of their salvation. Even the good that is done they either deny or suspect, because the person does not follow them. This also is vanity and an evil disease.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
39. But Jesus said, Forbid him not:for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that canlightly speak evil of mesoon, that is, readily “speakevil of me.”
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
But Jesus said, forbid him not,…. Neither him, nor any other they should hereafter meet with, who might be casting out devils in his name, giving this as a reason for it;
for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name; or “miracles”, as the Syriac version, as to cast out devils, or heal any sickness and disease,
that can lightly speak evil of me: such a man can never reproach and blaspheme that name, which he makes use of in doing, and by which he does wonderful works; no man can call Jesus accursed, who casts out devils in his name; see 1Co 12:3, if he has spoken evil of him before, he cannot do it “again”, as the Persic version renders it, with any face; or he cannot do it “quickly, immediately”, as the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions interpret it: there must be some time before such an one apostatizes, if he ever does; he cannot very easily and readily go into a way of blaspheming that name, by which he does his mighty works: his conscience will not admit of it; and besides, it would be contrary to his interest; it must sink his credit, and he lose the esteem and applause of men, he had gained by his miracles; for to dishonour that name, would be to reproach himself.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Forbid him not ( ). Stop hindering him ( and the present-imperative) as John had been doing.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “But Jesus said, Forbid him not,” (ho de lesous eipen me koluete auton) “Then Jesus replied, Do not forbid him,” or do not obstruct him in what he is doing, Mat 12:30; You know not what manner of spirit ye are of, Luk 9:52-56.
2) “For there is no man,” (oudeis gar estin) ”For there does not exist one person,” with us in heart, though not in company, who is hostile against us in our labors.
3) ”Which shall do a miracle in my name,” (hos poesei dunamin epi to onomati mou) “Who shall be able to do a mighty work in my name,” actually do a work, not ”fake it,” in my name, as the seven sons of Sceva tried to do, Act 19:13-18.
4) “That can lightly speak evil of me.” (kai dunesetai tachu kakolo
‘gesai me) ”And will be able with a light touch (quickly) to speak ill of me,” hereafter, Mat 6:24; 1Co 12:3.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
39. Forbid him not. Christ did not wish that he should be forbidden; not that he had given him authority, or approved of what he did, or even wished his disciples to approve of it, but because, when by any occurrence God is glorified, we ought to bear with it and rejoice. Thus Paul, (Phi 1:18,) though he disapproves of the dispositions of those who used the Gospel as a pretense for aggrandizing themselves, yet rejoices that by this occurrence the glory of Christ is advanced. We must attend also to the reason which is added, that it is impossible for any man who works miracles in the name of Christ to speak evil of Christ, and therefore this ought to be reckoned as gain; for hence it follows, that if the disciples had not been more devoted to their own glory than anxious and desirous to promote the glory of their Master, they would not have been offended when they saw that glory heightened and enlarged in another direction. And yet Christ declares that we ought to reckon as friends those who are not open enemies.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(39) A miracle.Better, a mighty work, or work of power.
Lightly.Literally, quickly. The words are wide-reaching in their range. The true disciples of Christ are to hinder no one who is really doing His work. The very fact that they do it will bring with it reverence and sympathy. They will not quickly be found among those who speak evil of the Son of Man. So of old Moses answered the prayer of Joshua that he would forbid Eldad and Medad to prophesy in the camp, Would God that all the Lords people were prophets (Num. 11:29). So St. Paul rejoiced that every way Christ was preached (Php. 1:18). So too often have churches and their teachers not acted when men were doing the work of Christ, combating evil, relieving wants, in ways more or less irregular, or with faith more or less imperfect. In all such cases we need to remember the words Forbid him not . . . he that is not against us is on our side.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
39. That can lightly speak evil of me If he uses my name he must believe that mine is a divine name. If he can work wonders by it, his faith must be both true and great. If God enable him to perform miracles, the divine obligation is upon him. He therefore cannot speak contemptuously of the name by faith in which he achieves miracles of mercy. He win never pronounce I am an impostor, or join the scribes in saying that I cast out devils through the prince of devils.
It cannot be denied that this furnishes a strong reproof to bigots who are ready to deny the Christian or the churchly name to those who are not of their own organization. Where those who differ from us do not endanger the fundamentals of repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we must be very cautious how we forbid them because they follow not us. We may love our own doctrines, discipline, usages, and denomination, we may defend them at the proper time with firmness and boldness; but let us not be unjust to the piety and the zeal in the cause of Christ and the good of mankind, which exist in other denominations of Christians.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him. For there is no man who will do a work of power in my name and be able quickly to speak evil of me. For he who is not against us is for us.” ’
Jesus recognised immediately that the man’s success was sufficient proof that the man’s heart was right and that God was with him. Such a man clearly believed in Jesus and His words and had responded to them. He had a high view of Jesus. Thus he would not criticise Jesus or run Him down but would gladly use any opportunity that arose out of his activity to point men to Jesus. Jesus could only encourage such activity, as He had encouraged the Gadarene ex-demoniac.
As already mentioned we can contrast with this Act 19:13-17 where men did what seems on the surface to be the same, but they were simply using Jesus’ name as an exorcist’s tool. They did it for their own benefit rather than to glorify God. There they were unsuccessful and discovered that Jesus’ name was not to be trifled with. Such use of sacred names by exorcists occurred widely. They did not always mean that the exorcist gave much credence to the one whose name they used, and there are many examples from Egyptian papyri. The use of Jewish sacred names was quite popular. The Jews with their mysterious religion and mysterious invisible God were often seen as harbouring mysterious powers. One such papyrus contained the formula, “I adjure you by Jesus the God of the Hebrews” a most interesting combination by some who were clearly somewhat hazy about distinctions.
Compare also Mat 7:22 which suggests that many did wrongly seek to use the name of Jesus and were even at times successful in His name, possibly because of psychological healing, without necessarily being true men of God. But Jesus was prepared to give such men the benefit of the doubt, as He did with Judas, and would not forbid them. However, He did warn them not to be complacent, and that in the end their genuineness would be judged by God. To have acted in His name is not the same as to be truly His.
‘A work of power.’ The Greek is literally ‘a power’.
‘For he who is not against us is for us.’ This does not mean that anyone who was not antagonistic was necessarily to be seen as a supporter and that what mattered was tolerance. Many were apathetically neutral and would not come under the description of supporter. Jesus would not describe them as ‘for Him’. What Jesus was saying was that where men were active in seeking to serve God, as this man was, they would, at times, be required to take up an attitude towards Jesus, and those who did not oppose Him or attack Him but defended His ministry thereby demonstrated that they were for Him and His work, even if they did not follow Him directly (compare Num 11:26-29). Jesus welcomed all who were truly for God.
Elsewhere at a different time He would say what seems the opposite, ‘He who is not with me is against me’ (Mat 12:30; Luk 11:23). But there He was indicating that to refuse to make some response to Jesus and His teaching and to remain in apathetic neutrality to Him thereby demonstrated the attitude of one who was opposing the will and call of God. On the other hand the man spoken of here in Mark was actually showing that He was ‘for’ Jesus, and was being very active in being so. There was nothing neutral about him.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Mar 9:39. Lightly Readily. Campbell.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
39 But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me.
Ver. 39. Forbid him not ] It is probable that this man would not forbear, unless Christ himself should forbid him; which here he refuseth to do, and shows reason for it.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
39. ] See 1Co 12:3 . The very success of the miracle will awe him, and prevent him from soon or lightly speaking evil of me.
We must beware of supposing that the application of this saying is to be confined to the working of a miracle Mar 9:40 shews that it is general a weighty maxim of Christian toleration and charity, and caution to men how they presume to limit the work of the Spirit of God to any sect, or succession, or outward form of Church: cf. Phi 1:16-18 . See the way in which the nearly opposite inference is extracted from the words, in the very curious note of Bp. Wordsw. here.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mar 9:39 . Jesus disallows the interdict for a reason that goes deeper than the purely external one of the disciples = not of our company? well, but with us at heart. : points to moral impossibility: use of Christ’s name in exorcism incompatible with hostile or inappreciative thought and speech of Him. softens the assertion: not soon ; he may do it, but it will mean a change of mind, and disuse of my name.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
not. Greek me. App-105.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
39.] See 1Co 12:3. The very success of the miracle will awe him, and prevent him from soon or lightly speaking evil of me.
We must beware of supposing that the application of this saying is to be confined to the working of a miracle-Mar 9:40 shews that it is general-a weighty maxim of Christian toleration and charity, and caution to men how they presume to limit the work of the Spirit of God to any sect, or succession, or outward form of Church: cf. Php 1:16-18. See the way in which the nearly opposite inference is extracted from the words, in the very curious note of Bp. Wordsw. here.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mar 9:39. , forbid him not) Let them give heed to these words, who tie down spiritual gifts to a canonical succession. Forbid not, if there should meet you again either that same person, or another like him.-, hastily) For the soul is secured against doing so by the sense of [His] miraculous power. [After the lapse of some interval of time, it may be possible to happen.-V. g.]
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
miracle
work of power upon my name, who will find it possible soon after to revile me.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Forbid: Mar 10:13, Mar 10:14, Mat 13:28, Mat 13:29, Phi 1:18
there: Mat 7:22, Mat 7:23, Act 19:13-16, 1Co 9:27, 1Co 13:1, 1Co 13:2
lightly: 1Co 12:3
Reciprocal: Num 11:28 – My Lord Psa 109:20 – them Mat 12:27 – by whom 2Co 13:8 – General
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
9
The fact the man was actually casting out devils proved that he was a true disciple. Had he been a mere pretender he would have failed as did the men reported in Act 19:13-16 who were brought to such shameful defeat.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mar 9:39. Forbid him not, i.e., such a man.
For there is no one, etc. The success of the miracle would strengthen the faith, the germs of which were manifested in the attempt to work it in the name of Christ
Be able quickly to speak evil of me (the word is usually rendered revile). The use of so strong a word points to a sharp distinction between the two classes: for and against us. This is a warning against limiting the work of the Spirit of God to any sect, or succession, or outward form of church (Alford). The Apostles lost no authority from this exceptional case. The two mistakes have been: either, denying that such exceptions exist; or, regarding these cases as the rule not the exceptions. While the Apostles were taught this lesson in toleration, the man receives only negative praise. There are always earnest Christian laborers who decline to be orderly in their methods. Their irregularity calls for toleration, not approval.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Jesus did not mind that the man was casting out demons by invoking His name. Since the man had such respect for Jesus he would not speak against Him soon. By casting out demons he showed that he was not against Jesus. Jesus expressed the opposite truth in Mat 12:30: "He who is not with me is against me." There is no neutral ground regarding one’s orientation to Jesus. Jesus’ point was that the disciples should not view the exorcist as an antagonist just because he was not part of their group. He was doing God’s will and would not oppose them.