Wesley Corpus

A Caution Against Bigotry "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." Mark 9:38, 39. 1. In the preceding verses we read, that after the Twelve had been disputing "which of them should be the greatest," Jesus took a little child, and set him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, said unto them, "Whosoever shall receive one of these little children in My name, receiveth me; and whosoever receiveth me, receiveth not me" only, "but him that sent me." Then "John answered," that is, said, with reference to what our Lord had spoken just before, "Master, we saw one casting out devils in Thy name, and we forbad him, because he followeth not us." As if he had said, "Ought we to have received him In receiving him, should we have received thee Ought we not rather to have forbidden him Did not we do well therein" "But Jesus said, Forbid him not." 2. The same passage is recited by St. Luke, and almost in the same words. But it may be asked, "What is this to us, seeing no man now casts out devils Has not the power of doing this been withdrawn from the church, for twelve or fourteen hundred years How then are we concerned in the case here proposed, or in our Lord's decision of it" 3. Perhaps more nearly than is commonly imagined; the case proposed being no uncommon case. That we may reap our full advantage from it, I design to show, first, in what sense men may, and do, now cast out devils: secondly, what we may understand by, "He followeth not us." I shall, thirdly, explain our Lord's direction, "Forbid him not;" and conclude with an inference from the whole. I. 1. I am, in the first place, to show, in what sense men may, and do, now cast out devils.