Jesus of Nazareth: What He Wanted, Who He Was

If we consider the social structure of today’s parishes it is obvious that they contain not only the so-called core congregation, the group of those who participate in congregational life regularly and with greater or lesser personal engagement. Every parish also contains a considerable number of those less engaged, outsiders, occasional visitors, guests, and beneficiaries. What is interesting is that there were already such people around Jesus. We have thus, sociologically speaking, arrived at the periphery of the “Jesus movement,” a marginal zone that is by no means unimportant. We can use the text of Mark’s gospel to make this clear as well.

Mark 9:38-40 tells of an unusual occurrence, in our Bibles usually given the title “another exorcist” or “a stranger working miracles,” or something like that. The disciples see a man exorcising demons. John, the son of Zebedee, who with his brother James was dubbed a “Son of Thunder” by Jesus (Mark 3:17), tells Jesus disapprovingly about this. In and of itself such a thing would not bother the disciples. At that time, just as now, there were many kinds of diseases that verged on the psychosomatic. These very illnesses were often ascribed to demonic influences, and in Israel, as throughout the whole ancient world, there were healers and exorcists who attempted to master such illnesses (cf. chap. 9, “Jesus’ Miracles”).

Jesus’ disciples encountered one such “healer.” They probably would not have taken any notice of him if they had not heard him driving out the demons of illness “in the name of Jesus.” Apparently the man was so impressed with Jesus’ deeds that he said to himself, “There is a power at work that I can make use of.” And so he invoked the spirits of illness “in the name of Jesus,” but without accepting the consequences that should have been obvious to him. He was not a disciple; he did not follow Jesus; he traveled around the country by himself and healed people. He used the name of Jesus, which he perceived as embodying power, but he worked for himself and his own ends.

That is precisely what got the disciples so excited and annoyed. They tried to forbid the strange exorcist from using the name of Jesus, with the argument that he was not a follower of Jesus (Mark 9:38), but they had no success. So they came to Jesus and asked him to speak a word of power and intervene. And in this situation Jesus said something altogether astonishing: “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. Whoever is not against us is for us” (Mark 9:39-40). This saying betrays the fact that Jesus and his disciples were surrounded by a cloud of rumors and calumnies, mean gossip and accusations. Jesus was apparently convinced that if someone remained apart, that is, did not belong with him and his followers but still drew some benefit from the new thing that was happening, that person would not join in such slanders—and so he or she would already be on the side of the new.

So it is possible to belong to Jesus and his disciples by standing for the truth and not talking about things one knows nothing about. That is, so to speak, the most distant style of encounter with the cause of Jesus. The strange exorcist is outside. He even uses the salvation that has come with Jesus for his own purposes. He becomes a benefactor of the new thing. That is not so bad, Jesus says. That too is a possibility. It is even something good, if in this way someone is brought to say good things about the work of God and not slander it.

The saying “whoever is not against us is for us” thus has a very particular “Sitz im Leben.” It is said about people who are outside the new thing Jesus has begun in Israel. It is true of them, but only of them. It is not true of those who have learned about Jesus, heard his words, and are familiar with his Gospel. Another saying of Jesus, spoken on another occasion, applies to them: “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters” (Matt 12:30 // Luke 11:23).

A Complex Pattern

In summary, we may say that the gospels, especially Mark, are aware of a great variety of forms of participation in Jesus’ cause. There were the Twelve. There was the broader circle of disciples. There were those who participated in Jesus’ life. There were the localized, resident adherents who made their houses available. There were people who helped in particular situations, if only by offering a cup of water. Finally, there were the pure beneficiaries who profited from Jesus’ cause and for that very reason did not speak against it.