Let The Kids Come
Mark 10:13-16 NET.
13 Now people were bringing little children to him for him to touch, but the disciples scolded those who brought them. 14 But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me and do not try to stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 I tell you the truth, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” 16 After he took the children in his arms, he placed his hands on them and blessed them.
When the Holy Spirit inspired the Gospel authors to tell the story of Jesus, he did not have them list his commands. Each of the commands of our Lord came within a context, and the Gospel authors were careful to fill in the details of their stories so that we could understand what Jesus commanded and why.
In today’s story, Mark tells us that the disciples were doing something that made Jesus angry. When he saw what they were doing, he was indignant. The last thing any employee wants to do is to make the boss indignant. It is better not to be seen at all than to be seen doing something that makes the boss mad.
Today’s lesson tells us something about the importance of Jesus’ command. It is important enough for Jesus to underline, highlight, and put in bold print. Our attitude toward children is something that our Lord cares very much about. It is a priority for him. Let’s take a closer look at today’s passage to understand why.
Jesus loves little children (13-14,16).
People (presumably, their parents) were bringing little children to Jesus for him to touch. It was a tradition for prominent people in Israel to bless little children, just like for grandparents to bless their grandchildren. Jesus sometimes criticized the Jews for unthinkingly following their traditions, but he had no problems with this tradition. He loved little children. They were not a nuisance to him. He would smile at them, and they would smile back at him. He enjoyed spending time with them.
I’m sure by this time, the disciples knew that Jesus would want to spend time with children typically, but they had just heard him predict that he was going to be betrayed and killed in Jerusalem. Mark records that prediction in chapter 9, verse 31. Hearing something like that would naturally make a person sad. So, the disciples were not in the mood for frivolity. When they saw the children lining up to be blessed by their master, they probably thought he didn’t have time to waste on them. He was important and had an important message to share and limited time to do it.
But Jesus always has time for the people he loves. I am so grateful for that fact, and I know you are too. Jesus was not just formally touching the foreheads of these kids. He was taking them in his arms and embracing them. He loved kids, and he still does.
That fact should challenge us as a congregation. We should make time for the kids. We should figure out how we can help their parents raise kids in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. We should minister to the children. They are not just the future of the church. They are essential to Jesus now and should be just as important to us now.
One of the reasons that kids are so important is that we adults can learn something from them.
Children can teach us how to receive the kingdom (14-15).
Jesus said that we should let the little children come to him and not try to stop them because the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Little kids can show us how to respond to the gospel. It’s not that they are sinless and innocent. We know they are not. But little children know how to depend on others. Unless they have been harmed, they naturally trust others. Children seem to have a supernatural ability to forgive even if they are harmed.
I think it is this ability that little kids have that Jesus draws his disciples’ attention to. He tells them that children instinctively know how to receive the kingdom of God.
When Jesus taught his disciples about receiving the kingdom, he used many illustrations to help them understand how it was done. He talked about different soils and their capacity to receive the seed and produce crops of different levels. He spoke of sacrificing things in this life to receive eternal life at the resurrection. He talked about the simplicity of asking for and seeking the kingdom.
Kids are not ashamed to ask for what they want. I saw a commercial the other day about a man at an ice cream truck who was trying to tell a bunch of kids about a football game. The kids were not interested at all in football. They wanted ice cream. The man kept talking about football, but the kids kept bringing the conversation back to ice cream.
What Jesus was talking to his disciples about here was receiving the kingdom. The kingdom of God is coming to earth in the future, but it can be received today. It is an inheritance promised by God for our future, but it is an inheritance we can put our faith in today. Kids take hold of a promise and get joy in it. They love sitting on the older man’s lap and reviewing their Christmas list. They love reminding us that next month is their birthday.
Jesus drew attention to the fact that children know how to receive the kingdom. We adults have lost this marvelous ability to accept a promise as a present reality. We have matured beyond the capacity for confident expectations. That is why we must return to school and learn from the kids. They know how to receive the kingdom.
We might miss the promise if we don’t learn this valuable lesson from the kids. Jesus said…
Only those with child-like faith will enter the kingdom (15).
Unless we learn to receive the kingdom today, it will not be waiting for us at the resurrection. Unless we live in confident expectation of it now, we will not be able to enter it when Christ returns. Matthew spends an entire chapter in his Gospel telling us that there will be many people when Jesus returns who will learn that they only thought they were true Christians. Five were ready when the Bridegroom came in the parable of the ten virgins, but five were not. In the parable of the Talents, one servant failed to invest what he had been given. His laziness earned the loss of everything he thought he had. One group inherited life in the parable of the sheep and goats, but the other did not.
That is what Jesus is talking about here. If we don’t receive the kingdom today, we will not be able to enter it when it comes tomorrow. There is only one way to receive the kingdom: like a child. When the disciples argued about who was the greatest, Jesus had taken a little child and had him stand among them. That child had been his visual aid. He represented what it is like to receive the kingdom. It’s not about who is the greatest. It doesn’t matter who is the strongest, the smartest, the wealthiest, or even the wisest.
The gospel of God’s grace is available to all of us. God has handled our sin problem by nailing it to a cross with his Son. Nothing stands between us and a future life of eternal joy and blessing. But we have to say yes. We must put our pride and self-importance aside and come to Jesus for his blessing. We can’t work our way into his kingdom. We can’t accomplish our way into his kingdom. We can’t achieve our way into his kingdom.
Jesus says for us all to come to him. We work hard and carry heavy burdens and must learn to accept his grace like little kids do. Jesus says for us to go to him, and he will give us rest. We don’t earn that rest. He offers it freely. All we have to do is go to him.
Jesus’ command for all of us today is to let the kids come. He is not too busy to spend some time with us. He wants to smile at us and to watch us smile back in return. He wants to bless us with his touch. He wants to take us in his arms. “Like a shepherd, he tends his flock; he gathers up the lambs with his arm; he carries them close to his heart.” You have a Savior, and he loves you, and he wants to bless you. He does not have a list of things you must do to win his approval. All he asks is that you come to him and receive him like a child.
For further study:
Barclay William. The Gospel of Mark. Revised ed. Westminster Press 1975. pp. 241-244.
Byrne Brendan. A Costly Freedom: A Theological Reading of Mark’s Gospel. Liturgical Press 2008. pp. 160-161.
Carrington Philip. According to Mark: A Running Commentary on the Oldest Gospel. University Press 1960. pp. 211-213.
France R. T. The Gospel of Mark: A Commentary on the Greek Text. W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press 2002. pp. 395-398.
Gundry Robert H. Mark: A Commentary on His Apology for the Cross. Eerdmans 1993. pp. 544-551.
Hughes R. Kent. Mark (Vol. 2): Jesus Servant and Savior. Crossway 1989. pp. 55-60.
Marshall F. The Gospel According to St. Mark (Revised Version). 1st ed. George Gill 1921. pp. 53.
Moloney Francis J. The Gospel of Mark: A Commentary. Hendrickson 2002. pp. 196-198.
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