Let the Children Come to Me
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Mark 10:13-16
Mark 10:13-16
13 And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. 14 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. 15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” 16 And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.
13 Καὶ προσέφερον αὐτῷ παιδία ἵνα αὐτῶν ἅψηται· οἱ δὲ μαθηταὶ ἐπετίμησαν αὐτοῖς. 14 ἰδὼν δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἠγανάκτησεν καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· ἄφετε τὰ παιδία ἔρχεσθαι πρός με, μὴ κωλύετε αὐτά, τῶν γὰρ τοιούτων ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ. 15 ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ὃς ἂν μὴ δέξηται τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ ὡς παιδίον, οὐ μὴ εἰσέλθῃ εἰς αὐτήν. 16 καὶ ἐναγκαλισάμενος αὐτὰ κατευλόγει τιθεὶς τὰς χεῖρας ἐπʼ αὐτά.
You know from a very early age in childhood we pick up this idea that what matters most about us, what makes us valuable, what makes us worthy is tied up with our capabilities; what we bring to the table, what value we offer, what strengths we have. And it’s these abilities that earn us the right to succeed, whatever success might look like. We learn that it’s our strengths that make us blessed. The one who comes to the table empty handed, with nothing to prove their worthiness, will leave empty handed.
That idea forms the philosophical root of the free market economy, it’s those who have the greatest strengths, who have the most to offer who succeed. In world religion, this idea also runs true, the one who gains the most knowledge, or receives the deepest revelations is the one who is the most blessed. The one who is able to live in strictest obedience to their particular religious creed is the one who receives something from God.
But here we have children, babies even according to Luke 18:15, receiving a blessing from Jesus Christ. These young children, who had to be brought to Jesus by their parents, couldn’t even understand the law let alone obey it, they couldn’t do anything to earn Jesus’s favour, they had neither position nor power to command a blessing from Him and yet this is what they received; Jesus says to such as these belongs the Kingdom of heaven. This is the gospel - this is the message that we preach, which is so radically different than any other religious creed or philosophy. It’s a message about God freely blessing, and giving His Kingdom to people who are unworthy - they have done nothing to earn it, they who haven’t deserved it. All who receive the blessings of the gospel must do so with an empty hand. That’s why it’s called the gospel of grace, that’s why it’s good news. And that’s also why it’s offensive to the worldly, carnal mind!
You see some of the latent worldliness in the disciples oozing out when these people start arriving at the front door with their babies and toddlers asking to see Jesus. They don’t take them seriously! “Hey - look, Jesus has had a busy day, he has been travelling, he’s been ministering and debating with the pharisees, he’s resting and he doesn’t have time for you lot! I wonder - would their response have been the same if a local ruler or a roman official had knocked the door - I doubt it. These were women and children - seen in that time as the least important, and least valuable in society, what could they have to offer? The disciples made the mistake of assuming that Jesus would feel the same about them! How wrong they were.
This is the only passage in all the gospels where Jesus is said to be indignant;
The Gospel according to Mark Discipleship and Children (10:13–16)
The word for “indignant” (Gk. aganaktein) means “to arouse to anger,” that is, 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
James Edwards
What upsets us reveals a great deal about what we value. What upsets you? Jesus in his anger, showed His value towards these lowly women and babies. He says to the disciples - ‘Let the children come to me; do not hinder them.’ Our Lord doesn’t just value these children in a kind of dispassionate way, he wants them to come to Him, He gives them His time, He is willing for them to disrupt whatever he was doing, in His eyes they are worth it.
Christ desires their company, He welcomes them in. This is an encouragement to all of you who feel small, insignificant and powerless. Maybe you doubt whether Jesus is very interested in you, ‘He’s probably too busy to take up His time with me, I’m no one special, He has more important people to be with.’ Jesus desires to be with you - He wants you to come to Him, He makes room for you, He loves you.
37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Christ here is specifically talking about children. He says - Let them come to me, do not hinder them. Jesus wants children to be able to come to Him;
That means they can come to Him. They can believe in Him, they can know Him, they can be saved.
But because of their vulnerability and age they need our help.
So we are not to hinder our children in any way from coming to Jesus, but are to help them to come to Him.
Since Jesus rebuked His disciples so strongly for hindering these children from coming to him - we want to be sure we don’t become a hinderance to children, or indeed anyone coming to Christ. There are some forms of hinderance that are done knowingly - just like the disciples knew they were hindered access to Christ for these little children. There are some that hinder people from coming to Christ knowingly. They do it in a variety of ways;
Through openly undermining the word of God. Just like satan in the garden - did God really say?
Through prejudice - not extending the gospel to someone or even a people group because you’re doing a Jonah - you don’t want them to repent because you feel they deserve judgement.
Some are knowingly teaching a false gospel which hinders people coming to Christ.
However, it’s also true that we can hinder little ones from coming to Christ unwittingly;
Through our example. Our lives are the only Bible that some people will ever read. When we consistently say one thing but do another we show that our words don’t actually need to be taken too seriously. So as parents, we have to realise that our choices, our actions, the things we consistently do as a family speak way more powerfully than our words. So is Christ being exalted by our life as well as in our words? Or might we actually be being a hinderance to them by our example?
Jesus commands us ‘Let the children come to me’. He says that the Kingdom of God belongs to them! Notice how the two things are connected - Come to me, the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. To come to Jesus is to come to the Kingdom of God. There is only one way to enter in, only one gate into God’s Kingdom and it is Jesus Christ.
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
And Christ says that these children share in the Kingdom of God - He says it belongs to them. There is no junior kingdom of God, no Kingdom lite. We all enter in the same way, and we all receive the same Kingdom, whether children or adults. Our kids are not distractions at church, they aren’t there to be seen and not heard - they are equal members of the Kingdom of God and we are to treat them as such.
Our children are to be treated as part of the church - not as outsiders, not as second class members. Jesus blesses all children who come to Him, He takes them in His arms, He embraces them, He lays hands on them. There is so much wrapped up in that statement - we heard from Sam last week about what it means for God to bless you. For God to bless you ultimately means for Him to bring you into His covenant, for you to be saved, for you to be in relationship with Him.
How might we help our children to come to Christ and be blessed?
Family worship at home
Share the gospel with them
Catechise them
Bring them to church on Sundays - show them that this matters, it’s Christs church after all - it’s His body on earth. We promise to do all we humanly can to teach your children the word of God here.
Be an example to them in your relationships with them
We must never allow ourselves to suppose that little children’s souls may be safely let alone. Their characters for life depend exceedingly on what they see and hear during their first seven years - JC Ryle
Jesus says whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it. Infact there is a double negative there in the Greek, it could be rendered - will never enter it.
So what did Jesus mean by this? How are we to receive the Kingdom like a child? In modern times we generally think of childhood as a time of innocence - is this what Jesus meant? That we need to have innocence to receive the kingdom? I don’t think that’s quite the right interpretation here. Or is it that child like spontaneity that receives the kingdom? Or child like joy or enthusiasm that inherits the Kingdom? Again - I don’t think that’s the right interpretation. Because In ancient times, childhood wasn’t celebrated in the way it is now. It was seen more as a time of vulnerability, of helplessness, powerlessness.
The Gospel according to Mark Discipleship and Children (10:13–16)
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 a child receives, he or she receives by grace on the basis of sheer neediness rather than by any merit inherent in him- or herself. Little children are paradigmatic disciples, for only empty hands can be filled.
Some have turned this whole thing on it’s head by saying if you want to receive a blessing from God you need to ‘be childlike’, you need to be joyful, be exhuberant, be innocent etc. This is to make God’s blessing dependent on certain virtues and qualities, which is certainly not the point Jesus is making here.
To receive Christ like a child is to come to Him needy, to come to Him without anything to offer Him, not good works of any kind, not social standing, not money, nothing but your sins and the empty hand of faith.
“Faith is like an empty, open hand stretched out towards God, with nothing to offer and everything to recieve.”
— John Calvin
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