Let the Children Come
Daily Scripture
Mark 10:13-16
“People were bringing children to Jesus so that he would bless them. But the disciples scolded them. When Jesus saw this, he grew angry and said to them, ‘Allow the children to come to me. Don’t forbid them, because God’s kingdom belongs to people like these children. I assure you that whoever doesn’t welcome God’s kingdom like a child will never enter it.’ Then he hugged the children and blessed them.”
Daily Reflection & Prayer
The disciples are trying to manage a crowd. Children slow things down when there’s important teaching happening and important people waiting on Jesus, so scolding the parents probably feels like good sense. In that culture, children had no social standing worth mentioning, they were among the least powerful people in any room. Jesus responds with anger, and that reaction says something about how seriously he takes what looks like a minor interruption. In his eyes, the ones with no standing at all are close to the center of what God is doing here.
Jesus doesn’t say children are cute reminders of innocence. He says the kingdom belongs to people like them, and that everyone else has to receive it the same way. Children trust before they’ve earned a reason to. They ask for what they need without hiding that they need it. They haven’t yet learned how to perform faith for an audience. Somewhere along the way, a lot of adults start treating that kind of open need for God as something to grow out of, like it belongs to kids and beginners. Jesus says the opposite. That posture isn’t something you outgrow on your way to real faith. It’s how you receive a gift you didn’t earn in the first place.
- Think of the last time a child interrupted something you considered more important, a meeting, a conversation, a plan for the day. What did that moment reveal about what you value?
- Children trust before they have proof, ask without hiding what they need, and haven’t learned to perform faith for anyone watching. Which of those is hardest for you to do with God right now? Try it this week instead of waiting until it feels natural.
Prayer
God, thank you for making it clear that children aren’t on the edges of your kingdom but close to its center. Forgive me for the times I’ve treated my own need for you as something to outgrow. Teach me to trust, ask, and come to you the way a child does. Amen.
GPS Insights
Darren Lippe
Today’s passage has several fascinating tidbits. Let’s take a quick look at some of them. (The word, “quick,” is being stretched here – Editor.)
The parents were bringing their children to be blessed by Jesus. This might seem a bit odd to us today, but in the Jewish culture it wasn’t uncommon to ask a respected elder to bless a child. In Genesis 48, we read of Joseph bringing his sons to the patriarch Jacob for a blessing. So, this wasn’t a flippant “let’s get a selfie with Jesus” kind of moment; this was an intentional act of great honor & respect by the parents toward Jesus.
Aside: One could easily imagine overhearing parental conversations amongst the crowd. “We are now limiting the amount of time Samuel spends on his tablet.”
The Disciples’ act as gatekeepers for Jesus & bar the children from seeing Jesus. Their behavior seems out-of-bounds to us. However, I don’t necessarily fault the Disciples, as they are becoming increasingly aware of the underlying tension Jesus is experiencing.
Aside: Oh really? Well, if everyone decided to jump off the cliff of Mount Arbel would you do that, too?
Jesus is indignant by the Disciple’ behavior. He orders them to let the children come to Him. This emphasizes the value of children in God’s Kingdom & continues the dramatic shift in the worldview of children. In the pagan cultures, children were often viewed as burdens at best or fodder for sacrifices at worst. In the surrounding Greco-Roman culture, children had very little respect or value. Judaism introduced the idea that all children were a blessing from God. Jesus & Christianity build on this concept & teaches that children are to be loved & nurtured, not just tolerated.
Aside: It’s lentil soup. Try it. You’ll like it.
Jesus then adds the tantalizing comment that believers are “to welcome God’s Kingdom like a child.” Some skeptics read this & conclude that Jesus is telling us that our faith must remain at an elementary level without question or scrutiny. However, that doesn’t really sync up with Jesus’ teachings. We do know that children are trusting & totally dependent on their earthly parents for their survival. Children can’t earn their status in a family. It has to be freely given to them by their parents. Sadly, we recognize that some earthly parents fall short of deserving this great level of trust. But Jesus is emphasizing that our heavenly Father is worthy of such confidence; we just need to surrender to Him & accept His gift of love.
Aside: You boys need to stop fighting. Don’t make me pull this donkey over to the side of the road.
Finally, the children come to Jesus & He hugs them & blesses them. The children weren’t afraid or intimidated of Jesus. He wasn’t some grumpy, curmudgeonly Rabbi. He must have been very friendly & very approachable. I love the adage that when a toddler invites you to see & play with his toys, “it is a sign of great respect in their culture.”
Likewise, the children in our scene intuitively give Jesus their stamp of approval.
So, what might this scene mean for us today?
- Jesus didn’t view the children as an interruption to His day; the children made His whole day.
- Entering heaven isn’t going to be some negotiation between us & God. It will truly be a gift from God & will not be earned.
- Our God is not some temperamental, finicky god like the gods of our culture. He loves us & welcomes us anytime & anywhere.
We’ll wrap up with one more imaginary conversation. Jesus is chatting with the children gathered around Him about the importance of fasting. One little boy pipes up & declares that “he doesn’t need to fast.” Jesus smiles & asks, “Oh really? Why is that?” The boy responds, “Because my Mom is a good cook.” I suspect that Jesus’ Mom, Mary, would have smiled at that response.
