John addressed Jesus and said, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, but he does not travel with us, and we forbade him.”
These words of John reveal yet another inner weakness: narrow-mindedness. They seemed to think that what is done in Christ’s name ought to be done only around them. Yet that man, though he was not walking with their group, was acting in the Lord’s name and against evil. The disciples’ prohibition sprang not so much from zeal for the truth as from their limited understanding. Such an attitude is often repeated later as well, including today, when people care more about their own circle than about the name and work of Christ.