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Mark 10:13–16
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.
Have you ever been chastised? You thought you were doing what your boss wanted. You thought you were doing it the way it was supposed to be done, only to have your boss show up and give you some gentle, or not so gentle, correction.
That’s what’s happening here with Jesus’ disciples. In Mark’s Gospel, the disciples are frequently depicted in a harsher light than the other Gospels. The disciples frequently get it wrong, fail to understand what Jesus is doing and teaching, constantly overstepping their authority, and often fail epically when it comes to following Jesus’ example.
But let’s not be too hard on them because, if we’re being candid here, that description could easily be applied to us as Jesus’ missional disciples. But that’s why I like Mark’s Gospel; I can relate to these guys in their failure.
Here in our passage, the disciples are acting with a bit of an attitude of arrogance born out of an assumed elitism on their part as those who are closest to Jesus. They are thinking of themselves as the gatekeepers to Jesus, that they are the ones who have the right to grant or refuse access to Jesus and here, they are rebuking people who are bringing children to Jesus so that He might touch them.
Jesus’ response is stunning. It’s the only time that Jesus ever responds this way. We’re told that Jesus is indignant with His disciples. The Greek word for indignant means to be aroused to anger and to vent one’s anger on those who aroused it in the first place.
That’s actually quite remarkable because we don’t often think of Jesus feeling this way, let alone expressing these kinds of feelings, and certainly not venting those feelings towards His own disciples.
But here’s the point Jesus is making as we soak in all that is happening. It’s a point made in one word in verse 15; “receive.”
Remember that children in that cultural context were extremely marginalized and so when Jesus says that we need to receive the kingdom of God like a child, He is saying that we must recognize that we are like children. All we can do is simply receive the gift of the kingdom of God in and through Jesus Himself. No wonder Jesus was feeling frustrated with His disciples!
Given that understanding, I think that this short passage challenges us in two incredibly powerful ways. First, we need to be willing to receive Jesus. We must lay aside anything that may hinder us in our relationship with the Lord or limit us from following where he is leading so that we can freely receive what the Lord is so freely giving to us through His Son Jesus.
Second, we are challenged to be the ones who open the doors, build bridges, and extend the invitations. John Ortberg once said, “God is in the open-door business; He loves adventure and opportunity.”
If that’s what God loves, if that’s what Jesus is doing, then that’s our calling as we see to follow Him.
How might you open the door of the kingdom of God for someone today?
God bless you and know that you are constantly in my prayers!
Scott
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