Like a Little Child (Mark 10:13-16)

Intro

In Mark 10:13-16 Jesus was indignant when his disciples tried to keep little children away from him. The irony is that children – and those who share their qualities – are the only ones who make it into the kingdom of God. 

Mark 10:13-16 (ESV) And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.

• We saw this a couple weeks ago – children were second class citizens, not highly revered in ancient culture. 
• A contextual point that might matter later, when talking about the characteristics of children. These are not teens or even pre-teens (with cultural attitudes we’re used to).
  • Age of these children: small – Jesus able to take them in his arms
  • Luke uses the word for “infant” = Luke 18:15 says “little children” (NLT)
• (Pillar New Testament Commentary) v. 14 is the only passage in the Gospels where Jesus is said to be “indignant.” The word for “indignant” (Gk., aganaktein) means “to arouse to anger,” i.e., to vent oneself in expressed displeasure rather than simply brooding about it. The object of a person’s indignation reveals a great deal about that person. Jesus’ displeasure here reveals his compassion and defense of the helpless, vulnerable, and powerless.
• Jesus identifies the heart of the issue:: “the kingdom of God”. IOW what does God value? Who can belong to him? 
• Q. What does it mean to be “like a child”?
  • Innocence? NO (original sin)
  • Ignorance? NO (you don’t have to check your brains at the door)
  • The issue: what is it that is unique and admirable about children that is not often found in adults?

Unpretentious

Children are unpretentious, not given to putting on airs. God is looking for people who come as they are, not those trying to pad their resumes. 

• The disciples were pretending to be something they weren’t. Who made them the gatekeepers? They were parading / posing. We don’t know their motives entirely. Maybe they wanted to spare Jesus from some hassles. But maybe they wanted people to think they were important.
  • Children don’t do that. What you see is what you get. There is a certain modesty about childhood.
• Compare Matt 18:2-4. 
  • (ESV) At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I way to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
  • The disciples raised a question that probably reveals the underlying heart issue for them. Jesus’ answer: called a little child, placed the child in front of them. “Unless you become like children, you will never enter the kingdom…” The point: the child was not trying or pretending to be great. No ambition, pride, arrogance, hypocrisy.  Jesus adds, “Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
  • Note: Mark says “kingdom of God”; Matt says “kingdom of heaven.” They are the same thing. Matthew is writing for Jewish audience. Jews never used the name of God, but substituted a euphemism. So instead of saying “kingdom of God” it was considered more devout / reverent to say “kingdom of heaven.” Mark was writing to a more Gentile / pagan audience.
• Matt 11:25 elaborates this idea of unpretentious humility..
  • (NLT) At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children.”
  • Luke 18:9-12 (NLT) Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’
  • Clear contrast is made between 2 groups: the wise and understanding versus little children. What’s the difference? Wise, knowledgeable people have confidence in themselves. 
• Application: come to God just as you are. No pretense. No faking it. No padding your resume. 
  • Contrast to “religious” people everywhere. 

Powerless

Children are powerless, completely dependent on the grown ups around them. God is looking for people who admit their weakness and their desperate need for help. 

Notice → there’s an implied contrast between the disciples and the children they are not letting in to Jesus

What is the quality of a child that Jesus is referring to here? 

• Powerlessness. Dependence. Weakness. The disciples were throwing their weight around as gatekeepers of access to Jesus. (Pillar New Testament Commentary) The word for “rebuke” is a severe description, used elsewhere in Mark of exorcisms (1:25; 3:12; 9:25), opponents of God’s will (4:39; 8:30-33), or outright censure (10:13, 48). Like Peter, the disciples “do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men” (8:33).
• Why did the disciples rebuke the parents?
  • They were enjoying their little bit of power.
• The contrast is with the powerlessness of these children. Describe how children are powerless compared to adults.
  • Lesson: Only those who embrace their weakness are candidates for the kingdom of God.
  • What’s more, children are content to be dependent on others. (exception: the 2-year old who says “Do it myself!)
  • Thus people who think they measure up to God’s standards are automatically excluded. Religious people who start to crumble under the weight of worthiness or religious demands are starting to discover this truth. 
• Choose 1 or more of these verses for support:
  • Romans 5:6 (NLT) When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.”
  • 1 Cor 1:26-28 (ESV) For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are.
    • Disciples were thinking about the children like the Pharisees were thinking about them!
  • Titus 3:3-5 (NLT) Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other. But – When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.

• (Pillar New Testament Commentary) We are not innocent and eager, but slow, disbelieving, and cowardly. In this story children are not blessed for their virtues but for what they lack: they come only as they are – small, powerless, without sophistication, as the overlooked and dispossessed of society. To receive the kingdom of God as a child is to receive it as one who has no credits, no clout, no claims. A little child has absolutely nothing to bring, and whatever it receives, it receives by grace on the basis of sheer neediness rather than by any merit inherent in itself. 
• Side note: (Pillar New Testament Commentary) Verse 15, especially, has played a significant role in the discussion of infant baptism. The pericope about Jesus and the children, of course, is about blessing children, not baptizing them, but both the blessing of Jesus and the wording of the narrative establish a positive context in which to consider the question of infant baptism. Calvin argued that if children were brought to Jesus to receive the kingdom, which is the sum of the blessing sealed through baptism, why should they be denied baptism? Cullmann argues that the language of the pericope has been chosen by Mark in order to answer the question of the propriety of infant baptism. Although Cullmann’s point is possible, it seems more probable that the language of early Christian baptism was taken from this passage, for infant baptism was scarcely an issue at the time Mark wrote his Gospel. Nevertheless, the correlations in language between this pericope and later church baptismal liturgies indicate that the church early perceived the significance of this story for the baptism of infants.

What does it look like to be dependent or weak? The issue is how to “receive the kingdom of God” and thus “enter it”. The little children had nothing to commend them to Jesus. There was no reason in them why he should welcome them. They could do nothing for him. In fact, he became their advocate when others refused them. 

Receivers

Children are receivers, not contributors. God is looking for people who delight in him and trust that what he gives is good. 

Jesus: “whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” So the question is: how does a person receive the kingdom of God “like a child”?

Jesus talks about receiving something. So I’m going to ask: how does a child receive something offered? How does a child receive a gift? We can think of several answers to that. 

• I thought of “delight”. Describe how children take such delight in opening or choosing a gift.. And delight in the giver. Child might give you a big hug. Or want to spend time with you playing with the gift.
• Children are more receptive; they have not developed skepticism or cynicism. They don’t doubt the value of the gift offered. Don’t think about whether it is worth receiving the gift.
• But most people think of “childlike faith.” Call it “trust”. That phrase is not found in Bible. But “trust” or “faith” has a lot of support in the Bible as a key to entering God’s kingdom. Describe how childlike trust teaches us about faith in Jesus. Eph 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”
• Hebrews 12:28-29 (NLT) Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. For our God is a devouring fire.

Close

By nature all humans are “children of wrath”. But we become children of God when we receive Jesus like a child. Ephesians 2:1-3, John 1:10-13

Mark 10:16 (ESV) (Pillar New Testament Commentary) People wanted Jesus to touch their children (v. 13, see ESV). Jesus did more than touch them, however…. The ritual of blessings was well known in Israel. Noah had blessed Shem and Japheth (Gen 9:26-27), Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau (Gen 27; 28:1-4), and Jacob his sons and grandsons (Gen 48—49).

• (Pillar New Testament Commentary) In his healing of the sick and aid of the needy, Jesus laid hands on more common people and more frequently than did Jewish society in general. His touch brought blessings, but it was also a blessing, a tangible expression of God’s unconditional love for the unclean, foreigners, women, and children.
• Ephesians 2:1-3 (ESV) And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked… carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
• John 1:10-13 (NLT) He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.