Sermon Tone Analysis

Sermon April 30 2017 Redeemer presbyterian Church

Mark 10:13-16

“Raising Up The Children of God”

Mark 10:13–16 (ESV)

*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.*

1)Jesus is raising children to place of honor

2)Jesus is also raising the faith of children as an example for us

Three accounts same details Mark Matt Luke

*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.*

Matt.

19:13-15*Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray.

The disciples rebuked the people, 14 but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”

15 And he laid his hands on them and went away.

*

Luke 18:15-17*15 Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them.

And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them.

16 But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 17 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

*

Peter speaks about the children of believers and the promise of Abraham

Acts 2:39*39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

*

Back to the text

A. Children (could mean infants to kids at the age of 12 13) were being brought for a blessing by Jesus

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A sign that the parents believed in Jesus

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Maybe not the whole picture, but there was belief

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Parents want their children to believe, to have eternal life

B. Disciples deny children to Jesus

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Not important for the King of kings

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Children were the lowest in Society

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Early Christians reversed this

Children occupied a precarious position in the Hellenistic society of the first century.

Sometimes children were loved and sometimes exploited, depending upon how they were perceived as benefiting the family.

For example, a papyrus letter written by a man named Hilarion (which ironically means “cheerful”) to his expectant wife, Alis, dated June 17, 1 b.c., instructs her: “if it was a male child let it live; if it was female, cast it out.”

This practice of infanticide was severely attacked by the Christian Church, which rightly boasted, for example in The Epistle of Diognetus, that it did not expose its children.

The practice was not outlawed in Roman law until a.d.

375.

Even then the law was not very effective.

Roman law gave the father absolute power (patria potestas) over his family—which extended to life and death.

As late as a.d.

60 a son was put to death by the simple order of his father.

Futher evidence of the nature of the world to which the gospel came is seen in the family abuses of the house of Herod and his public slaughter of babies at the Advent (Matthew 2:16–20).

Children clearly were not presumed to be blessings in the non-Christian culture of Christ’s day.

The text allows us to see how children were treated in Jesus time and how we come to saving faith

D. L. Moody once returned from a meeting and reported two and a half conversions.

“Two adults and a child, I suppose?” asked his host.

“No,” said Moody, “two children and an adult.

The children gave their whole lives.

The adult had only half of his left to give.”

C. Kingdom of God belongs to children

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Verse 14 indicates that Jesus saw what was happening, and “he was indignant.”

The Greek word translated “indignant’ occurs only here in the New Testament and is a combination of two words: “much” and “to grieve.”

He was much grieved!

The things which grieve us or make us indignant reveal much about the kind of people we are, and what Jesus said and did here tells us volumes about him, as well about our children and ourselves.

Jesus is “indignant”NLT=angryNKJV=greatly displeasedASB=moved with indignationKJV=much displeasedInternational standard says furious

#. ■ adjective feeling or showing annoyance at what is perceived as unfair treatment.

—derivatives indignantly adverb

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Jesus sees the unfair treatment and reacts to it, Clearing the Temple?

D. Jesus brings the example of faith

*

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Faith in Jesus REQUIRES child-like belief

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Not childish belief

Dependance and Trust

When we depend and trust in Jesus we are expressing our faith like a child

The ‘kingdom of God belongs to such as these’ (14).

The child is entirely dependent upon the parent in the very nature of things.

Total trust is the centre of a child’s existence.

So it must be for the disciple.

As Mark refers it to disciples, they cannot earn it or deserve it or make it, but only accept it thankfully as God’s gift.7

This is why group after group have so far in the story failed to enter in.

They have all brought their own agenda—religious leaders, family, crowd.

Only those helplessly needing to be healed, and occasionally the disciples, have burst through into the world of self-abandoning trust, like that of a small child.

It is they who receive the blessing (16

II.

Jesus shows the example of the faith of a child

A. The example involves 2 very distinct things

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The Invitation (“let the children come to me”)

#. the Receiving (“Whoever does not receive the Kingdom like a child”)

*/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./*

B. Children had been held back by false ideas of who Jesus is

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Disciples saw Jesus as a human King, too busy

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No time for “children” lowest of society

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Was different on both counts, Jesus was and is not a human King and his time is encased in grace.

C. look at how these 3 verses interact with each other

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There is the recognition of the Kingdom of God (v.14)

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There is the false assumptions about the kingdom of God ( only certain people)

#. then there is the invitation (Let the children...)

#. then there is the receiving (whoever does not receive…)

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Children are totally dependent upon their parents, we are totally dependent

nothing we do can bring Christ to us, Romans 8:8*8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God*.

Our dependance is total (learning that in our study on Doctrines of Grace)

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Children are given the faith to believe, (Belief is the gift, eternal life the result)

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The world shatters the belief, (we are set upon by the world to deny our beliefs)

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Jesus rebukes the world, (He is more powerful than anything the world has, he offers us the same invitation today)

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Jesus speaks the invitation

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Jesus receives us

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Final verse

10:16 Here Jesus is pictured as supporting his teaching with his actions, visually demonstrating that the blessings of the kingdom are available to those who will come to Jesus.

By taking the children in his arms, he did more than he was asked to do.

III.

Application

Jesus raise children in our text this morning he brings two different facts that we as Christians have to understand.