The Kingdom? Kids’ Stuff! - Mark 10:13-16 Series

Mark 10:13 People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." 16 And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.

Introduction: Exclusive Club

If you want to join the Liberty National Golf Club, the initiation fee is a half million dollars. Why? Because it’s an exclusive club. They want to exclude people like me. To get into Mensa you have to be in the top 2% on IQ tests. Why? Same reason—to keep people like me out. The Denver Nuggets is a basketball club that discriminates against low-jumping, non-athletes like me. The thing that makes prestigious clubs prestigious is the fact that they are so discriminating in who they allow in. Groucho Marx: “I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member.”

Exclusive clubs have stringent entrance requirements, but those requirements are not just for entrance. They define the club. The Nuggets have high athletic requirements because they want the team to be good at basketball. However good you are when you join, you have to stay at least that good from then on, otherwise you’re out.

Today’s passage is about the entrance requirements for the most prestigious club there is—the kingdom of God. It is also an exclusive club, from which most people in the world are rejected because they can’t get past the entrance requirements. It’s crucial that we understand those requirements so, 1) we will know for sure if we are in or out, and 2) so when we do get in, we’ll understand what defines the club so that we’ll know what we’re supposed to be every day from the day we join until the day we die.

In this passage, Jesus speaks about receiving the kingdom and entering the kingdom. If you want to enter it, you first have to receive it. What’s the difference between receiving and entering, what are the entrance requirements, and what does God expect from us on a daily basis once we’re in? Let’s take a look.

Baby Blessings

Just to remind you where we are—we’re in the beginning of Mark 10 where Jesus is going toe to toe with the Pharisees again. The topic is divorce, and Jesus is teaching some revolutionary things. Then Jesus says something that makes the Pharisees look like someone just punched them in the gut. They’re speechless. You’re dying to know what Jesus said, but you missed it because the people behind you have a crying baby. Every time Jesus says something, all the people react, but you keep missing it. You turn around just in time to see John escorting those people out.

Now you’re so relieved that noise gone, you look back at Jesus, but now he stopped talking. You see his jaw tighten and his face is red. It scares you. He’s … angry.

14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant.

That Greek word refers to an anger that you can see.

Jesus drops the debate, turns toward the door, and walks out the door like he means business. Just before he gets to the doorway he grabs Peter and James by their tunics and jerks them outside with him.

Once they are outside, you can hear Jesus is having words with the 12. You can’t make out all of it. At one point you do hear Jesus raise his voice: “How long have you been doing this? How many have you sent away? Peter, did you know about this?”

So you step outside and ask someone, “What happened? What’s he so upset about?”

13 People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them.

Intercession

People wanted Jesus to bless their kids—to put his hands on them and pray for God to bless their lives. They wanted Jesus to pray for their babies. (I say “babies” because Jesus holds them in his arms. And Luke uses the word “infants” in his account ). It was common for people to want spiritual leaders to pray for their kids because God listens to the prayers of godly men. And Jesus clearly had a special relationship with the Father.

It was customary to do this on your child’s first birthday. Was that a good thing, or just a superstition? Did it actually make a difference in those kids’ lives? When that little kid grew up, would his situation be different because of that day Jesus prayed for him? Of course! If it didn’t make any difference, Jesus wouldn’t have gotten mad about the ones who got turned away.