Luke 11:23
in Luke 11He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.
KJV
He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.
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This verse in Luke 11
Commentary
17 notes on this verseA commentator
Cyril of AlexandriaCommentary on the Gospel of Luke, Sermon LXXXI · Written before 444.
Would you like to hear and learn another convincing argument besides these? "He that is not with Me," He says, "is against Me: and he that gathers not with Me, scatters for Me." For I, He says, have come to save every man from the hands of the devil; to deliver from his guile those whom he had ensnared; to set the prisoners free; to give light to those in darkness; to raise up them that had fallen; to heal the broken-spirited: and to gather together the children of God who were scattered abroad.
This site's exposition
He who is not with Me is against Me
He who is not with Me is against Me leaves no neutral ground before the authority Jesus has just claimed over the demonic. Mark 9:40 gives the reverse saying to a disciple wary of an outside worker, while here Jesus answers open enemies.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
As if He said, I came to gather together the sons of God whom he hath scattered. And Satan himself as he is not with Me, tries to scatter those which I have gathered and saved. How then does he whom I use all My efforts to resist, supply Me with power?
But it is to approve the baptism of heretics and schismatics, to admit that they have truly baptized. For therein a part cannot be void, and part be valid. If one could baptize, he could also give the Holy Spirit. But if he cannot give the Holy Spirit, because he that is appointed without is not endowed with the Holy Spirit, he cannot baptize those who come; since both baptism is one and the Holy Spirit is one, and the Church founded by Christ the Lord upon Peter, by a source and principle of unity, is one also. Hence it results, that since with them all things are futile and false, nothing of that which they have done ought to be approved by us. For what can be ratified and established by God which is done by them whom the Lord calls His enemies and adversaries? setting forth in His Gospel, "He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me, scattereth." And the blessed Apostle John also, keeping the commandments and precepts of the Lord, has laid it down in his epistle, and said, "Ye have heard that antichrist shall come: even now there are many Antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, no doubt they would have continued with us." Whence we also ought to gather and consider whether they who are the Lord's adversaries, and are called antichrists, can give the grace of Christ. Wherefore we who are with the Lord, and maintain the unity of the Lord, and according to His condescension administer His priesthood in the Church, ought to repudiate and reject and regard as profane whatever His adversaries and the antichrists do; and to those who, coming out of error and wickedness, acknowledge the true faith of the one Church, we should give the truth both of unity and faith, by means of all the sacraments of divine grace. […]
But if the baptism of heretics can have the regeneration of the second birth, those who are baptized among them must be counted not heretics, but children of God. For the second birth, which occurs in baptism, begets sons of God. But if the spouse of Christ is one, which is the Catholic Church, it is she herself who alone bears sons of God. For there are not many spouses of Christ, since the apostle says, "I have espoused you, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ; " and, "Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, for the King hath greatly desired thy beauty; " and, "Come with me, my spouse, from Lebanon; thou shalt come, and shalt pass over from the source of thy faith; " and, "I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse." We see that one person is everywhere set forward, because also the spouse is one. But the synagogue of heretics is not one with us, because the spouse is not an adulteress and a harlot. Whence also she cannot bear children of God; unless, as appears to Stephen, heresy indeed brings them forth and exposes them, while the Church takes them up when exposed, and nourishes those for her own whom she has not born, although she cannot be the mother of strange children. And therefore Christ our Lord, setting forth that His spouse is one, and declaring the sacrament of His unity, says, "He that is not with me is against me, and he that gathereth not with me scattereth." For if Christ is with us, but the heretics are not with us, certainly the heretics are in opposition to Christ; and if we gather with Christ, but the heretics do not gather with us, doubtless they scatter.
With your usual religious diligence, you have consulted my poor intelligence, dearest son, as to whether, among other heretics, they also who come from Novatian ought, after his profane washing, to be baptized, and sanctified in the Catholic Church, with the lawful, and true, and only baptism of the Church. Respecting which matter, as much as the capacity of my faith and the sanctity and truth of the divine Scriptures suggest, I answer, that no heretics and schismatics at all have any power or right. For which reason Novatian neither ought to be nor can be expected, inasmuch as he also is without the Church and acting in opposition to the peace and love of Christ, from being counted among adversaries and antichrists. For our Lord Jesus Christ, when He testified in His Gospel that those who were not with Him were His adversaries, did not point out any species of heresy, but showed that all whatsoever who were not with Him, and who, not gathering with Him, were scattering His flock, were His adversaries; saying, "He that is not with me is against me, and he that gathereth not with me scattereth." Moreover, the blessed Apostle John himself distinguished no heresy or schism, neither did he set down any as specially separated; but he called all who had gone out from the Church, and who acted in opposition to the Church, antichrists, saying, "Ye have heard that Antichrist cometh, and even now are come many antichrists; wherefore we know that this is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us." Whence it appears, that all are adversaries of the Lord and antichrists, who are known to have departed from charity and from the unity of the Catholic Church. […]
(ubi sup.) Next we have the fourth answer, where it is added, He who is not with me is against me; as if He says, I wish to present men to God, but Satan the contrary. How then would he who does not work with Me, but scatters what is Mine, become so united with Me, as with Me to cast out devils? It follows, And he who gathereth not with me, scattereth. (Hom. 41. in Matt.) But if he who does not work with Me is My adversary, how much more he who opposes Me? It seems however to me that he here under a figure refers to the Jews, ranging them with the devil. For they also acted against, and scattered those whom He gathered together.
10 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church3 voices
Thirdly, joining the adjoined truth, he adds: He who is not with me is against me: and through this, the men whom the devil possesses resist Christ, and according to that passage of 2 Corinthians 6: "What accord has Christ with Belial?" And because no …
He who is not with me is against me. And he who does not gather with me, scatters. Let no one think that this refers to heretics and schismatics, though by extension it can be so understood, but from the context, the subject of the …
My work is to gather the scattered children of God, while his work consists in scattering those who have been gathered. How then do you conclude about Me that I have fellowship with Satan?
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Those therefore who rejected the doctrine of Christ, and slighted his miracles, were looked upon as adversaries to him, and in the devil's interest. That there was a vast difference between the devil's going out by compact and his being cast out by compulsion. Those out of whom Christ cast him he never entered into again, for so was Christ's charge ( Mark ix.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
He that is not with me, is against me,....
The Nineteenth Century5 voices
THE Lord Jesus is ever in direct and open antagonism to Satan. "I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed," has been most emphatically fulfilled. Christ has never tolerated any truce or parley with the Evil One and never will. Whenever Christ strikes a blow at Satan, it is a real blow and not a feint and is meant to destroy, not to amend. He never asks Satan's help to subdue Satan—never fights evil by evil—He uses the weapons which are not carnal, but mighty to the pulling down of strongholds.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
He only holds up--as "blessed rather"--the hearers and keepers of God's word; in other words, the humblest real saint of God. (See on Mt 12:49, 50.) How utterly alien is this sentiment from the teaching of the Church of Rome, which would excommunicate any one of its members who dared to talk in the spirit of this glorious saying!
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1858)
proposed
The subject of these words of Christ is mysterious, but deeply important. They were spoken concerning Satan and his agency. They throw light on the power of Satan, and the nature of his operations. They deserve the close attention of all who would fight the Christian warfare with success. Next to his friends and allies — a soldier ought to be well acquainted with his enemies . We ought not to be ignorant of Satan's devices. Let us observe in these verses — what a fearful picture our Lord draws of Satan's power. There are four points in His description, which are peculiarly instructive. Christ speaks of Satan as a "STRONG man." The strength of Satan has been only too well proved by his victories over the souls of men. He who tempted Adam and Eve to rebel against God, and brought sin into the world — he who has led captive the vast majority of mankind, and robbed them of Heaven — that evil one is indeed a mighty foe! He who is called the "Prince of this world" — is not an enemy to be despised. The devil is very strong. Christ speaks of Satan as a "strong man, fully ARMED." Satan is well supplied with defensive armor. He is not to be overcome by slight assaults, and feeble exertions. He who would overcome him, must put forth all his strength. "This kind only goes out by prayer and fasting." And Satan is also well supplied with offensive weapons. He is never at a loss for means to injure the soul of man. He has snares of every kind — and devices of every description. He knows exactly how every rank, and class, and age, and nation, and people — can be assailed with most advantage. The devil is well armed. Christ speaks of man's heart as being Satan's "palace." The natural heart is the favorite abode of the evil one, and all its faculties and powers are his servants, and do his will.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1858)
proposed
The subject of these words of Christ is mysterious, but deeply important. They were spoken concerning Satan and his agency. They throw light on the power of Satan, and the nature of his operations. They deserve the close attention of all who would fight the Christian warfare with success. Next to his friends and allies — a soldier ought to be well acquainted with his enemies . We ought not to be ignorant of Satan's devices. Let us observe in these verses — what a fearful picture our Lord draws of Satan's power.
THE Lord Jesus is ever in direct and open antagonism to Satan. "I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed," has been most emphatically fulfilled. Christ has never tolerated any truce or parley with the Evil One and never will. Whenever Christ strikes a blow at Satan, it is a real blow and not a feint and is meant to destroy, not to amend. He never asks Satan's help to subdue Satan—never fights evil by evil—He uses the weapons which are not carnal, but mighty to the pulling down of strongholds. And He uses them ever with this intention—not to dally with Satan, but to cut up his empire, root and branch. "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil." There is a deadly, implacable, infinite, eternal hatred between Christ and that sin of which Satan is the representative. No compromise can ever be thought of, no quarter will ever be allowed. The Lord will never turn from His purpose to bruise Satan under His feet and to cast him into the lake of fire. Therefore there was nothing more libelous than the assertion of certain Pharisees in Christ's day that He cast out devils through Beelzebub, the Prince of devils! O base suggestion that the Lord of Glory was in league with the dunghill deity, the Prince of devils! He never fights the Lord's battles with the devil's weapons! He has not the most distant affiance with evil! It is not possible that He should be the friend and patron of that spirit of unhallowed charity which for the sake of peace would give tolerance to error. No, Christ never allies Himself with Satan to advance the kingdom of God. He comes against him as a strong man armed, determined to fight until He wins a decisive victory. We shall observe this more clearly as we open up the passage now before us. Our text presents us with a picture of man in his sinful state.
The words behind it
15 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ὁ | ho | The [one] | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| μὴ | me | not | G3361 → | 1066 times |
| ὢν | on | being | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| μετ᾽ | met᾽ | with | G3326 → | 461 times |
| ἐμοῦ | emou | Me | G1473 → | 839 times |
| κατ᾽ | kat᾽ | against | G2596 → | 468 times |
| ἐμοῦ | emou | Me | G1473 → | 839 times |
| ἐστιν, | estin | is, | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ὁ | ho | the [one] | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| μὴ | me | not | G3361 → | 1066 times |
| συνάγων | sunagon | gathering | G4863 → | 59 times |
| μετ᾽ | met᾽ | with | G3326 → | 461 times |
| ἐμοῦ | emou | Me | G1473 → | 839 times |
| σκορπίζει.¶ | skorpizei | scatters. | G4650 → |
ὁThe [one]
hoG3588 →19766 times
μὴnot
meG3361 →1066 times
ὢνbeing
onG1510 →2333 times
μετ᾽with
met᾽G3326 →461 times
ἐμοῦMe
emouG1473 →839 times
κατ᾽against
kat᾽G2596 →468 times
ἐμοῦMe
emouG1473 →839 times
ἐστιν,is,
estinG1510 →2333 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ὁthe [one]
hoG3588 →19766 times
μὴnot
meG3361 →1066 times
συνάγωνgathering
sunagonG4863 →59 times
μετ᾽with
met᾽G3326 →461 times
ἐμοῦMe
emouG1473 →839 times
σκορπίζει.¶scatters.
skorpizeiG4650 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Luke 9:50“Do not stop him,” Jesus replied, “for whoever is not against you is for you.”
it leads to
- Matthew 12:30
He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Philippians 1:15–18
It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill.
- 1 Corinthians 12:3
Therefore I inform you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
- Matthew 12:30
Through
Matthew 12:30He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
it leads to
- Mark 9:40
For whoever is not against us is for us.
- Luke 9:50
“Do not stop him,” Jesus replied, “for whoever is not against you is for you.”
- Joshua 24:15
But if it is unpleasing in your sight to serve the LORD, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods…
- 1 John 2:19
They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their departure made it clear that none of…
- Matthew 6:24
No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and…
- Mark 9:40
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies10
On this verse
About Luke
This page draws on 15 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Gospels; Bede, On the Gospel of Luke; Bonaventure, Commentary on Luke, Chapter 11; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 613: “The Strong One Driven Out By A Stronger One” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Cyprian, Epistle LXIX; Cyprian, Epistle LXXIV; Cyprian, Epistle LXXV; Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of Luke, Sermon LXXXI; Cyril of Alexandria, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Luke.