Mark 9:40

9:40 The negative parallel to this proverb is found in Luke 11:23. These two proverbs should be understood as complementary, not contradictory, for Luke includes them both (Luke 9:50; 11:23). The exorcist casting out demons in Jesus’ name was not against Jesus, but for him.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Mar 9:40. Ὑμῶν—ὑμῶν, you—on your part) Comp. ver. foll., Mat 12:27. Jesus spake in the first person plural as to external things; Luk 22:8; Luk 18:31: but not so as to the internal principles of His kingdom [Joh 20:17]. He thus gently corrects the we-us of Mar 9:38.[7]—ἜΣΤΙΝ, is) He is speaking of those who undertake something for Christ’s sake.

[7] Lachm. agrees with Beng. in reading ὑμῶν—ὑμῶν here, Mar 9:40, with ADGabc Vulg. But Tisch. ἡμῶν—ἡμῶν with BCΔ Memph.—ED. and TRANSL.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mar 9:40 . The counterpart truth to that in Mat 10:30 . Both truths, and easily harmonised. It is in both cases a question of tendency; a little sympathy inclines to grow to more, so also with a lack of sympathy. Vide on Mat 12:30 .

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 40. He that is not against us, is on our part.] Or rather, Whosoever is not against YOU, is for YOU. Instead of ημων, us, I would read υμων, you, on the authority of ADSHV, upwards of forty others, Syriac, Armenian, Persic, Coptic, AEthiopic, Gothic, Slavonic, Vulgate, Itala, Victor, and Opt. This reading is more consistent with the context - He followed not us-well, he is not against YOU; and he who is not against you, in such a work, may be fairly presumed to be on your side.

There is a parallel case to this mentioned in Nu 11:26-29, which, for the elucidation of this passage, I will transcribe. "The Spirit rested upon Eldad and Medad, and they prophesied in the camp. And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp. And Joshua, the servant of Moses, 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." The reader will easily observe that Joshua and John were of the same bigoted spirit; and that Jesus and Moses acted from the spirit of candour and benevolence. See the notes on Nu 11:25-29.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

For he that is not against us, is on our part. Many copies read, "he that is not against you, is for you"; as this man; he was not against either Christ, or his disciples; he was doing the same work, promoting the same interest, and destroying the kingdom of Satan: and therefore, though he did not follow them, and had not his commission immediately from Christ; yet, inasmuch as he was opposing the same common enemy, and did nothing against them, he ought to be reckoned as one for them, and on their side. It is a proverbial expression, signifying that all that are not against a man, and take not the part of his enemy, are to be accounted his friends.

For he that is not against us, is on our part. Many copies read, "he that is not against you, is for you"; as this man; he was not against either Christ, or his disciples; he was doing the same work, promoting the same interest, and destroying the kingdom of Satan: and therefore, though he did not follow them, and had not his commission immediately from Christ; yet, inasmuch as he was opposing the same common enemy, and did nothing against them, he ought to be reckoned as one for them, and on their side. It is a proverbial expression, signifying that all that are not against a man, and take not the part of his enemy, are to be accounted his friends.

Mark 9:41

mar 9:41

mar 9:41

mar 9:41For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink,.... Not only one that does a miracle in the name of Christ, but he that shows the least respect, or does the least kindness to any one of his; See Gill on Mat 10:42; is to be reckoned a friend, and is so accounted by Christ; and will be sooner or later taken notice of by him, especially, if what he does, be it ever so little, is done on his account:

in my name, because ye belong to Christ; or as the Syriac version renders it, "on account that ye are Christ's"; are his disciples, are called by his name, are partakers of his grace, bear his image and likeness, are loved by him, interested in him, given to him, redeemed by him called by his grace, and shall be with him:

verily l say unto you, he shall not lose his reward; See Gill on Mat 10:42.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

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

Ver. 40. Is on our part] Is to be esteemed among such as favour me in this furious age.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Here we may find that no one, however poor, can be excused from good works; since there is no one who is not able to give at least a cup of cold water; and we are assured that he will not lose his reward. (Nicholas of Lyra)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

40. He that is not against us — Every expeller of demons that works separately from us must be held to be on our part, unless he is against us. He who thus is not against us is on our side.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For he that is not against us is for us. In St. Matthew (Mat_12:30) we find our Lord using a somewhat similar expression, only in an inverted order. He there says, "He that is not with me is against me." The lesson which both these apothegms teach is the same, that there is no such thing as neutrality in reference to Christ and his cause. We must be either with him or against him. Dr. Morison on St. Mark in this place says, "When in applied morals we sit in judgment on ourselves, we should in ordinary circumstances apply the law obversely and stringently," he who is not with Christ is against him." But when we are sitting in judgment on others, into whose hearts we cannot look directly, we should in ordinary circumstances apply the law reversely and generously, "He that is not against Christ is with him.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For he that is not against you, is for you - Our Lord had formerly said, he that is not with me, is against me: thereby admonishing his hearers, that the war between him and Satan admitted of no neutrality, and that those who were indifferent to him now, would finally be treated as enemies. But here in another view, he uses a very different proverb; directing his followers to judge of men's characters in the most candid manner; and charitably to hope that those who did not oppose his cause wished well to it. Upon the whole, we are to be rigorous in judging ourselves, and candid in judging each other.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

is not against us

"is not opposing us"

is for us

It can be explained clearly what this means. AT: "is trying to achieve the same goals that we are"

gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ

Jesus speaks about giving someone a cup of water as an example of how one person may help another. This is a metaphor for helping someone in any way. (See: Metaphor)

not lose

This negative sentence emphasizes the positive meaning. In some languages, it is more natural to use a positive statement. AT: "definitely receive" (See: Litotes)

translationWords

Christ

amen

reward

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

40. ἡμῶν … ἡμῶν ([2037][2038][2039][2040][2041]) rather than ὑμῶν … ὑμῶν ([2042][2043][2044][2045]), perhaps from Luk 9:50.

[2037] Codex Sinaiticus. 4th cent. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the Monastery of St Katharine on Mount Sinai. Now at St Petersburg. The whole Gospel, ending at Mar 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1911.

[2038] Codex Vaticanus. 4th cent., but perhaps a little later than א. In the Vatican Library almost since its foundation by Pope Nicolas V., and one of its greatest treasures. The whole Gospel, ending at Mar 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1889.

[2039] Codex Ephraemi. 5th cent. A palimpsest: the original writing has been partially rubbed out, and the works of Ephraem the Syrian have been written over it; but a great deal of the original writing has been recovered; of Mark we have Mar 1:17 to Mar 6:31, Mar 8:5 to Mar 12:29, Mar 13:19 to Mar 16:20. In the National Library at Paris.

[2040] Codex Sangallensis. 9th or 10th cent. Contains the Gospels nearly complete, with an interlinear Latin translation. The text of Mark is specially good, agreeing often with CL. At St Gall.

[2041] Codex Athous Laurae. 8th cent. Like N and Σ, it is written in silver letters on purple vellum. Contains Mar 9:5 to Mar 16:20, and, as in L, the shorter ending is inserted between Mar 16:8 and Mar 16:9. As in Δ, the text of Mark is specially good.

[2042] Codex Alexandrinus. 5th cent. Brought by Cyril Lucar, Patriarch of Constantinople, from Alexandria, and afterwards presented by him to King Charles I. in 1628. In the British Museum. The whole Gospel. Photographic facsimile, 1879.

[2043] Codex Bezae. 6th cent. Has a Latin translation (d) side by side with the Greek text, and the two do not quite always agree. Presented by Beza to the University Library of Cambridge in 1581. Remarkable for its frequent divergences from other texts. Contains Mark, except Mar 16:15-20, which has been added by a later hand. Photographic facsimile, 1899.

[2044] Codex Oxoniensis. 9th cent. Contains Mark, except Mar 3:35 to Mar 6:20.

[2045] Codex Petropolitanus. 9th cent. Gospels almost complete. Mar 16:18-20 is in a later hand.

40. καθʼ ἡμῶν, ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν. See crit. note. It is strange that Renan (V. de J. p. 229) and E. Klostermann (ad loc.) should regard Mat 12:30 = Luk 11:23 as giving a contradictory rule. Loisy would have us believe that Mk omitted the other saying at Mar 3:27 because he meant to make Christ say something different elsewhere. The two rules are perfectly harmonious, but this one is to be used in judging other people, the other rule in judging ourselves. If we are not sure that others are against Christ, we must treat them as being for Him; if we are not sure that we are on His side, we have reason to fear that we are against Him. Both rules show that friendly action and hostility are incongruous.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

40.] This saying is not inconsistent with that in Mat 12:30. They do not refer to the same thing. This is said of outward conformity—that, of inward unity of purpose—two widely different things. On that saying, see note there. On this, we may say—all those who, notwithstanding outward differences of communion and government, believe in and preach Jesus Christ, without bitterly and uncharitably opposing each other, are hereby declared to be helpers forward of each other’s work. O that all Christians would remember this! Stier (Red. J. iii. 24) strongly deprecates the reading ἡμῶν—ἡμῶν; “The us in the mouth of our Lord here confuses and destroys nearly the whole purport of his weighty saying. For this is the very fault of the disciples, that they laid down outward and visible communion with them as the decisive criterion of communion with the Lord: and this very fault the Lord rebukes with his repudiatory ὑμῶν.” Still, there is a propriety, a tempering the rebuke with a gracious reminiscence of their unity with Him, and something exceedingly suiting the χριστοῦ ἐστέ below, in ἡμῶν—ἡμῶν. In the divided state of the critical evidence, the reading must be ever doubtful.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

40. ὃς οὐκ ἔστιν καθʼ ἡμῶν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν—he who is not against us is for us. This is not the opposite of “he that is not with me is against me,” but its complement (Mat 12:30). There Jesus is talking about this same matter of casting out demons, which he had been accused of doing in the name of Beelzebub. But he answers that the act is one of hostility to Satan, and cannot therefore proceed from Satan himself. One cannot be for and against at the same time. Then he applies the same principle to himself, saying that he who is not for him is against him. Here, he shows that this same act of casting out demons is friendly to himself, as it is hostile to Satan, and that he who shows himself thus friendly, cannot be at the same time hostile. The use which is often made of Mat 12:30, to show that there is no such thing as indifference to Jesus, but that seeming indifference is real hostility, is unwarrantable. The real meaning of both passages is, that friendliness and hostility are incongruous, and cannot therefore exist together.

ἡμῶν, us, instead of ὑμῶν, you, Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. א BCΔ 1, 13, 69, 209, one ms. Lat. Vet. Memph. Harcl. marg.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.