190210 Lad de små børn komme til mig
Fra familiegudstjeneste med barnedåb
Indledning
BØN
Mellemmanden
Der er INGEN mellemmand
Thomas Sjödin
Paulus
Modtag Guds rige som et lille barn
Afslutning
Ideer
Why the disciples rebuked those who brought the children is not stated, but they probably thought Jesus was too busy or too important to be bothered by such insignificant persons. In any event Mark set forth another example of the lack of perception of the disciples
Jesus then added, “Anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it” (10:15). Jesus made an example of the childlike qualities of low social status and dependence. As children have no inherent credentials to make them acceptable, disciples also bring no resume of merited status that will commend them to God (“he is utterly helpless in his relationship to the Kingdom,” Lane 1974:360)
That the disciples desired to prevent Jesus from taking time with children reflected a cultural view of children as unimportant. Lane (1974:361) cites a papyrus in which a husband writes to tell his wife that if an expectant child is a boy she should let it live, but if it is a girl, she should cast it out (Oxyrhynchus Papyri 4.744, lines 9–10). In a culture in which children were devalued, they could be callously exposed to death.
10:15. Not only were the outcasts as important as others; Jesus also stated that everyone who desires the kingdom must be like these little children. Much has been written about how children act and what Jesus could have been referring to here. We could talk about a child’s total dependence and trust—two qualities needed for the kingdom. But Jesus point was, How do children receive gifts? They receive with anticipation. They receive joyfully and thankfully. They receive without believing they did anything to deserve the gift.
This is a picture of how we come to the Father. We know we do not deserve the great gifts he has in store for us, but he loves us and desires to give us good things. Rather than saying, “I won’t take your gift until I can earn it,” we need to receive the gift of Christ’s redemption with joy and thanksgiving. The kingdom belongs to such as these. Therefore, not only are disciples to receive little children (9:36–37); they are to possess childlike qualities themselves.
Note that the kingdom is both to be received and entered—two ideas that stand side by side throughout the Bible. The blessings of the kingdom are to be received as a gift, yet we enter the kingdom through responsive faith and obedience. Furthermore, the kingdom and Jesus, in whom it drew near, are virtually synonymous