Will We Suffer the Little Children? - Mark 10:13-16

Introduction

Tomorrow some of us brave folk set out for camp. And when thinking about that, my mind pondered on this passage of Scripture.

(set the table) At this point in His earthly ministry, Jesus is within 3 months of His crucifixion. Which means He’s been ministering for over 3 years.

Jesus has:

Healed various disease

Cleansed Lepers

Cured the blind, lame, mute, deaf

He healed a woman who simply touched His garment

He walked on Water, fed the multitude & raised the dead

All of this without even taking into account His teaching & preaching

This is important for a few reasons:

It helps us understand that the people as a whole knew Jesus and knew what He could do

Also, we understand what Jesus had sent His disciples to do

Today we’re going to examine these three verses of Scripture and preach on the thought ‘Suffer the Little Children’, to which there are many things to look at and consider. The first thing that I want to look at is ‘The Obedience of Some’

I. The Obedience of Some

‘They’ - only God knows who ‘they’ are - but rest assured... God DOES KNOW!

I label this point, because to bring souls to Christ is to be OBEDIENT unto Christ’s command: Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

The ‘gospel’ is the ‘good news’ that though we are sinners, we may be saints in the eyes of God through the Salvation found in Christ Jesus!

They Put forth the Effort

It takes effort to lead people to Christ - let alone children.

You must have Interest

You must care… If you don’t care about getting people to Jesus, YOU WON’T GET PEOPLE TO JESUS! Leading people to Christ does not happen by accident.

You must care that people are being led away from God by their lusts & this world

You must care that there is a fire that will never be quenched awaiting all those who leave this world without Christ

You must care that God has called Christians to stand in the gap

You must care that God has called Christians to tell the lost about Jesus

You must care that you are the only thing standing between the sinner and Hell-fire

You simply must care. You have to be interested in both their plight and God’s Commands

‘THEY’ cared about the little children. And BECAUSE they cared about the children, they Invested in them.

You must Invest

Time

Time you could be doing something else.

Time you could be spending on something that brings you pleasure

Time is the most valuable commodity we have in this world (not money or possessions). And part of the effort that we must put forth involves taking some of that precious, limited resource called ‘time’ and spending it on someone else - for their Spiritual benefit & betterment.

Energy

Whether it’s walking up and down neighborhood streets knocking on doors, preaching from a pulpit or tracking down kids at VBS, you’re going to exert energy if you’re going to bring souls to Christ. It is not a spectator sport, nor will you accomplish anything sitting around on your rear end.

Humility

The Bible tells us: Proverbs 22:4 By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life.

You must be willing to humble yourself.

You must be willing to take the criticism of the world

You must be willing to take rejection by some

In other words, we need to BE LIKE CHRIST!

Jesus humbled Himself: Philippians 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Jesus was willing to be ridiculed of the world: Mark 14:65 And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him, Prophesy: and the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands.

Jesus was willing to be rejected of men: Isaiah 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

THEY put forth the Effort

They had an End in Mind - ‘…to him...’ - v13a

Their goal was to bring them to Jesus

They Cared enough about the children that they Invested their time & energy - but there was a purpose for it all. And the purpose was to bring them to Jesus!

(Ill.) We are getting ready to go to camp. While camp itself can be fun, when you’re 47yo and you’re not in quite the same shape you once were, it’s not so much fun. I do enjoy watching the kids & most of all, spending time with them. However - the goal of camp is not simply to go and have fun - the goal is to bring them to Jesus!

Master Club & Teens will be starting up in about a month or so - we’ll have a big kick off event, we’ll invest anything time, effort & money into those programs - but not simply to attract children to church, but to get them to Christ!

VBS - same thing. We labor several hours each night for a week, we decorate, we feed the children and play games & sing - but not simply to give them something to do, BUT TO GET THEM TO CHRIST!

Everything that we do in this church - both concerning children and adults - should be focused on & centered around bringing people to Jesus - either to the saving knowledge of Christ or a closer walk with Him - and if you think there is some other goal, then you’re not thinking properly!

Sunday School - bring them to Jesus

Worship Services - bring them to Jesus

Youth programs - bring them to Jesus

Van route - bring them to Jesus

Visitation / knocking on doors - bring them to Jesus

Missions - bring them to Jesus

Feed the team - bring them to Jesus

And church let me add this - this shouldn’t just be a ministry philosophy, it should be a personal philosophy as well. Our purpose as Christians should be that in all we do, we do in a manner that will bring people to Christ!

They had an End in mind

They held fast to an Expectation - ‘that He should touch them’ - v13b

They were looking for Jesus to touch them.

This was the expectation. This is the expectation that we have when we exert the effort of bringing souls to Christ! And with good reason:

Jesus is ABLE

Hebrews 7:24-25 But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. 25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

The vilest of sinner can be made clean by the blood of Christ! Isaiah 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Regardless of what you’ve done, where you’ve been or who you are - JESUS IS ABLE TO SAVE! I needed that for me, and we need to tell that to the world!

Jesus is WILLING

The Bible tells us that the LORD: 2 Peter 3:9 ... is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

You will not waste your time on giving the Gospel to someone who is outside the Will & Want of Christ!

But here’s the thing: Jesus can never touch them, if no one brings them to Him.

If they weren’t brought to Christ, then Jesus would not have been able to touch them. It’s the same principle that I have spoken on of late simply stating that if we don’t share the Gospel, the Holy Ghost has nothing to work with. If we speak not the words unto their ears, the Spirit cannot use those words to penetrate their hearts.

They had an Expectation - that Jesus would touch them!

So we see First the Obedience of Some. Secondly, I want to look at the Obstruction of Others

II. The Obstruction of Others

The Obstructionists

The first thing that we need to recognize is just who the obstructionist were. They weren’t the Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes… they weren’t even the Romans, the Samaritans, or the non-believers. IT WAS HIS DISCIPLES!

Think about that for a moment - His disciples were actively preventing some from coming to Christ!

Question: ‘Have you ever been guilty of keeping someone from coming to Christ?’

Many might say ‘No, I’ve never done something like that, I’m too good to keep people from Jesus’.... yeah, if so, that means you’re a better Christian than Peter, John, James & Andrew.

Remember, those disciples were sent specifically by Jesus Himself who gave them power to work miracles - they knew the mind and desire of Christ to reach souls - yet they still obstructed some from coming to Him. Now whether they meant to or not is another question. But unfortunately, many of us have been guilty of doing the same thing.

Paul warns us: 1 Corinthians 10:32-33 Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God: 33 Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.

The Obstructionists were His Disciples

Their Obstructions

One of the amazing things to consider is this question: ‘WHY’ - ‘Why would His disciples rebuke others from bringing children to Jesus?’

Was Jesus’ time too valuable to spend on children?

Were the children not worth the effort?

Were they more concerned with their wants over the children’s needs?

I’m not sure what their reasoning was, but I know that this type of thinking hinders people from coming to Christ all the time.

We spoke how it takes effort to bring souls to Christ - to all too many Christians, those souls are just not worth the effort.

To all too many Christians, they are too concerned with their wants instead of the need of the lost.

Lets examine how they hindered them

The Model of their Behavior

Church let me tell you something that you hopefully already know - there’s nothing worse than a Christian noticeably unconcerned about the things of God.

We have the power Christians to turn people toward Christ - or turn them away - simply by the way we behave around them.

The disciples didn’t rebuke the children - they rebuked those that brought them… but the children surely saw it. What type of impact do you think this had on them?

They hindered them by the model of their behavior.

The Mindset to which they Exhibited

Whatever the reasoning was as to why they rebuked those that brought them to Jesus, the fact was SOMETHING was more important than these children coming to Jesus.

(Parents) Now I want to take a moment and focus on you parents. We’re talking about hindering the little ones from coming to Christ, and let me tell you something parents - you can be the greatest blessing or greatest curse unto your children Spiritually. And it’s because you have the greatest influence on them. You can lead those precious souls unto the Saving Knowledge of Christ and demonstrate the importance of living unto God and not unto self - OR, you can teach them that Spiritual things are unimportant. We influence them by not only what we say, but what we do.

If you don’t want to hinder them Spiritually:

You must put forth Effort

You must be Interested in their Spiritual well-being

You must Invest in their Spiritual life - investing time, energy & humility

You must have the End in Mind

Everything you do for your children should be centered around Christ

You must have Expectation

Pray for them, seek God’s face for your children!

No parent MEANS to hinder their child, but many do just the same. It takes a concerted effort - the only question you need to ask is, Are they worth it?

We see their Obstructions

So we’ve looked at the Obedience of Some, then we’ve examine the Obstructions of Others. Lastly, let’s look at the ‘Order of Christ

III. The Order of Christ

The Condemning Attitude of the Christ

He was ‘displeased’ with His disciples.

His Command to Allow them to Come - AND DON’T HINDER THEM

It’s a two fold directive that we’re speaking about.

‘Suffer the little children to come unto me’ - Jesus says ‘let them come’!

‘AND forbid them not’ - Jesus says ‘don’t hinder them!

We see His Command to Allow them to Come & not hinder them

His Charge to Approach in Like Manner (v15)

So how do we receive as a little child?

Simple Faith

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Remember the words of Paul & Silas: Acts 16:31b ...Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved...

You are saved by your Faith in the one who Performed the Work on Calvary and at the tomb, not in the work of your hands.

Simply Come

Revelation 22:16-17 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. 17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

If you’re lost today - salvation is simple. The reason that Jesus said you need to come as a child is because it’s not some great calculation that only scholars can figure out - no, just in simple faith, simply come to the Cross - place your faith in the LORD Jesus. If you will come, He will cleanse!

Conclusion