Mark 10:13-16

Rachel Workman: ¹³ People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on 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 Truly I tell you, 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, placed his hands on them and blessed them. I guess the first thing to look at here is what it means to come to Jesus like a little child. Expectantly, my children look at me expectantly. Whether it's disciple, love or a promise I've made them. They expect something from me. I think when we've put our belief if Christ and repented of our sins we can expect salvation because that's what he's promised us. Innocent, my children are innocent. That's exactly how we need to come to Christ. And we can if we've asked for forgiveness and repent of our sins. Trusting, my children trust me to do what I say I am going to do. They trust me to love and take care of them. They don't question why I do it. They just trust that I do it. They don't want to know why I would love them and care for them the way I do they just trust that I do without question. Never once does a child wonder how their parents could possibly love them even after they've thrown themselves down on the floor in a tantrum.

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John Burnett:  ¹³ People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on 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 Truly I tell you, 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, placed his hands on them and blessed them.   We should be looking forward to the kingdom like a child looks forward to Christmas morning.  Keeping a little child from having the opportunity to know who Jesus is, is not a good thing to have on our record but it is not only little children, we should be sharing the gospel with everyone we come into contact with.  We have the good news of the gospel and we are supposed to share it with everyone.

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Allen Michaels:  ¹³ People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on 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 Truly I tell you, 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, placed his hands on them and blessed them.

I often ask myself if I really seek to help others draw near to the Lord and how often? The parents who brought their children to Jesus wanted Jesus to lay his hands upon them.  They knew of the healing power, both physical and spiritual, which came from Jesus' touch.  Jesus, in turn, rebuked his disciples for hindering the children from coming.  No doubt the disciples wanted to shield Jesus from the nuisance of noisy, bratty, sticky, snot nosed kids.  But Jesus delighted in the children and demonstrated that God's love has ample room for everyone.  No one is unimportant to God, especially children, as evident in Matthew 18:3 “And he said: "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”  He comes to each person individually that he might touch them with his healing love and power.  I’m not a big fan of kids and don’t often pay a lot of attention to the youth I encounter in my neighborhood, home, and church as I just try to avoid them. However, I do pray for them that they may grow in the knowledge and wisdom of Jesus the Christ. This is just another area that needs to be addressed in my life.

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Tomorrow's reading for Mark 10:17-23

¹⁷ As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
¹⁸ “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. ¹⁹ You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’^[d]”
²⁰ “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”
²¹ Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
²² At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
²³ Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”