Mark 10:13-16--Let the Children Come to Me

Mark 10:13-16
English Standard Version
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Let the Children Come to Me
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.

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Recently, Jesus has used a child as a visual aid in teaching His disciples.  He's told them in Mark 9:33-37 that instead of arguing about who would be the greatest in the kingdom, they needed to be thinking about who receives a little child in His name.  Jesus said there that whoever receives such a child receives Him, and not only Him, but also the One who sent Him.

We're not sure how much time had passed between that passage and this one, but I don't assume it was much time at all.  The disciples however still saw the children as an annoyance and tried to keep them away from Jesus.  Jesus corrected the disciples and told them not to hinder the little children from coming to Him, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to people like them (who had child-like faith).

Jesus then repeats the truth in another way, "Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it."  Wow!  Jesus is telling His disciples who have been following Him for years that they need a transformation to have the faith of a little child (that kind of faith can only be given to us by God, we can't conjure it up in ourselves), or they have no hope of ever entering the kingdom of God.

Then Jesus took the little children into His arms and blessed them, laying His hands on them.  This is likely one of the passages that inspired the song, "Jesus Loves the Little Children."  We also love them because He loves them, and He did not refuse them when they came unto Him.  We also remember His words that we too must come with faith like a child that believes that the Father can do anything that He promises and is big enough and powerful enough to take care of all of our problems and those we perceive as our enemies.  He is the one who will give good gifts to us, His children, and He will always love us, but He will also discipline those whom He loves.  Little children will speak their mind quite clearly and want to talk to their parents (especially their father) about anything that's bothering them.  We should be that way with God too.  We believe that He will accomplish all things that He has promised to us, and that He is a great and mighty warrior who can take care of all of our enemies, our healer who can make all of our physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual wounds better.  He is our provider and sustainer, and the one who lavishes us with good gifts like each new day.  He is full of mercy, and even though we may have trouble approaching Him when we know we've done something wrong, we know we should talk to Him about it and confess and get things right with Him because He loves us.