Jesus Was Never Threatened By Others

Jesus Was Never Threatened By Another

St. Mark 9:38-40 "And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us.

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.

For he that is not against us is on our part."

It is easy for leaders to get agitated when they hear that another person is doing what they believe that they should be doing. Such situations can result to different reactions from different people. For some, this can cause the leader to behave irrational which can trigger many negative effects. For some leaders, they will continue going hoping that something will nock the new person off his or her feet. At the same time, some will set a process in motion to unseat such a person. Such was the case with the Pharisees and the Sadducees. They kept hatching plans to undo Jesus. They continued until they succeeded in killing him. The way Jesus reacted to them showed that he had mastery over the situation. He made us understand that they were able to kill him because it was part of his purpose for existence.

If Jesus were to be on their side, what would he had done? The Bible did not keep us in the dark of what he would have done. There was a situation that arose that challenged his authority and questioned his place in the hearts of the people. The way he reacted had no equal compared to what was happening in his days.

"...Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us:..."

Undoubtedly, this question from Jesus' disciple could mean many things to him and the disciple. To the disciple, it could mean that he was contemplating going with the new fellow or that Jesus should do something to step up the game or possibly act the way others would act (like the Pharisees and Sadducees). How did Jesus responded?

"...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."

In essence, Jesus was saying that the man was doing what he was doing to the glorify of God. In that case, he should not be stopped. Jesus was doing what he was doing to the glory of God so when another person was doing something else to the glory of God, there was no trouble. Jesus was not shaken because of that. What was Jesus' guiding principle in that regard? What made Jesus to say what he said and what made him do what he did?

St. Mark 9:35 "And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all."

As long as Jesus was serving the people and dispensing the grace of God, nothing can shake him. What another person was doing is not as great as serving the people with the given grace from God. For some, they must fight (especially in the flesh) to keep their place in the hearts of the people. To be great is to serve the Lord with the grace of God. Every man has a measure of grace (Romans 12:3; Ephesians 4:7). Trying to compete with others outside grace is a sign of defeat (2 Corinthians 10: 12).

The case we have just seen is a situation where the supposed person challenging the authority of Jesus was doing it to the glory of God. What if the person was not doing what he was doing to the glory of God? What would Jesus had done? Yet in this case, the Bible did not keep us in the dark.

Matthew 26:51-53

'And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest's, and smote off his ear.

Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. 

Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?"

This was the case of Jesus being confronted by those who came to arrest him after he was betrayed by Judas. Some of the disciples of Jesus were ready to fight for him (physically speaking) one of them in particular took action and cut off the ear of one of those who came to arrest but Jesus cautioned:

"...Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?"

Jesus knew exactly what to do and fighting was not an option. The man of prayer will win by and by. Jesus knew that in prayer, the evil man will be taken cared of by God. No need to fight in the flesh. One thing that gave Jesus the confidence he had was that he knew the mind of God in prayer. What was to be done was clear to him when he prayed. No need to feel threatened by another man.

What is it that is causing you to be shaken by another person claiming to unseat your position? Your leadership is threatened by another man and you decided to join the camp of the Pharisees and Sadducees instead of getting busy serving the people, dispensing the grace of God. Do not give room to the devil to take advantage of the situation. Pray to God and allow Him to continually take the lead. Allow Him to multiply grace for service and you do not need to be distracted. If a strange man or woman were to come up and cause commotion, challenge such a person by the authority given by God in prayer. Pray and let God take His place in the hearts of the people. Let God be first at all times.

Pray:

Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray for grace to continually serve You and the people You bring my way. Help me to daily keep updated at the feet of Jesus. 

I will not be distracted. You will lead and I will follow. This I pray in Jesus' name. Amen!