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It is significant that this story comes just after Jesus had dealt with the disciples' argument about who was the greatest among them. It's the kind of thinking that goes on in churches around the world today. People claim superiority, position or pre-eminence because of how long they have been around, who they are close to, or some special knowledge or insight they have.
Here, despite Jesus' words in verse 35, "If
anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant
of all", they were again insisting that someone doing work in
Jesus' name was not legitimate "because he is not one of us" (v.38).
How we struggle when we see people not doing things our way, not seeking
our approval or permission, especially when "he is not one of us"! We
forget that exclusivism is born of pride and that in Christ there is
no "inside" party with special access to Jesus.
Party spirit and factions were a problem in Corinth and Paul addressed it head on:
For since there is jealousy and quarrelling
among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? For
when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, I follow Apollos," are
you not mere men? (1 Corinthians 33-4)
This cult of the personality is rife in today's church as people are convinced they have the inside track on the gospel because they follow a particular leader, or group of leaders; have read a particular writer; follow after the ways of the Puritans, or Tractarians, or Calvinists; have visited special historical sites or been baptised in the Jordan, or pilgrimaged to Rome or Jerusalem. Paul's answer to all this is stark and challenging:
What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul?
[You might put your favourite preacher in here, Billy Graham at Harrowgate,
Martin Lloyd-Jones at the Tabernacle, etc.]
Only servants, through whom you came to believe - as the Lord has assigned
each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made
it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but
only God, who makes things grow (1 Corinthians 3:5-7).
It is God who makes things grow and God in Christ who is the focus of
our faith and worship, not a man or woman. The passage goes on to tell
us that "if anyone causes one of these little
ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown
into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck."
How often have factions put on believers such terrible burdens that
their faith is damaged? How often have young believers been caused to
lose faith in Christ because of the conduct of Christ's church? How
many times must we hear the words of Jesus before they really sink in?
"If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant
of all".
May this week find us serving the living God, not seeking preferment or recognition, but seeking his glory and rejoicing that Christ is preached in many ways, though they are not ours, to many people, though we may never meet them, who need to hear this message of hope.
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