Episode Transcript
[00:00:24] Speaker A: Hi, I'm Josh.
[00:00:25] Speaker B: And I'm Gabriel.
[00:00:26] Speaker A: And today on reading the gospel, we are studying the event blessing children. This is found in three of the four gospels. Matthew, 1913 through 15, mark, 1013 through 16, and Luke, 1815 through 17. Today we're going to be reading from Mark, chapter ten, beginning in verse 13. Follow along with us in your Bible.
[00:00:54] Speaker B: And they were bringing children to Jesus, that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, let the.
[00:01:07] Speaker A: Little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child, shall not enter it.
[00:01:22] Speaker B: And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.
[00:01:29] Speaker A: This is a very short event, but a powerful event. And I can't help but think of the churches that I've been a part of in my lifetime, and the churches with little kids in them. The services tend to be a little louder. There's babies crying, there's little kids talking. And I've gone with a church where it transitioned from having very few kids to a lot of kids. And as the kids came in, they started talking. And the people who were there before talked about the reverence in the sanctuary that these kids shouldn't be here. They need to be quiet. They take them out.
But then I've been in churches where there's little to no children, and they would do anything for children. You know, they're so desperate to have kids in the church that they would gladly put up with a little bit of crying here and there. And so for me, whenever I read this parable, I think about the history of the churches I've gone to and how adults look at children during the worship service.
And so here Jesus is being kept from the children by the disciples. They think he's got a more important work to do. I feel they see Jesus as above and beyond children. Like, why should he care for children? It's other people's job to do that. It's not his.
But as they're rebuking them, don't bring them to Jesus.
Jesus intervenes and he says, let them come to me, for such belongs to the kingdom.
[00:03:15] Speaker B: So Jesus Christ is on his way to Jerusalem. He knows that he's reaching the climax of his ministry. Jesus Christ was born to die, to die for our sins. And he knew that this event is going to be very, very intense.
And even if Jesus Christ was laser focusing on this big event, he had time for children.
So in the context of his journey to Jerusalem, this event is even more significant.
[00:03:47] Speaker A: So why does Jesus say, for such belongs the kingdom of God?
Why does the kingdom of God belong to children?
[00:03:59] Speaker B: Belongs to people who have this kind of mindset.
Jesus Christ uses children to refer to purity, to innocence, to that clean heart that will allow you to see God as he is.
It is very interesting that this event happens after the story about the Pharisee and the tax collector who went to pray at Jerusalem. And it happens after the following event. Last episode, when the Pharisees ask Jesus, hey, can we really divorce a woman for absolutely any reason?
So this is a different mindset. Jesus uses these children as a metaphor for that kind of spiritual, mature thinking that is away from all these sophisticated thoughts that you are always looking for tiny little back door to achieve your desires. This is a clean, direct communication with the heart of God.
[00:05:11] Speaker A: Yeah. So, like you said, the Pharisees, they're looking for excuses to do what they want to do.
And as adults, I think we do this often. We try to find the gray areas. We try to find, like Jesus says, that we should be equally yoked.
And we try to find examples of successful marriages of people who aren't equally yoked and say, well, it can happen there. So I'm good here. Linking back to the previous.
Yet with children, the faith is not about what can I get away with? It's about God. And, you know, my kids faith. I've shared stories time and time again about their faith. And right now, for me, it's cars. I've got this week, two flat tires and an alternator that doesn't work. And just lots of issues. It seems like one thing on top of another. And when I get frustrated when something doesn't go my way, one of my children will just be there and be like, daddy, I just prayed for you.
And it puts everything into perspective. It makes everything all right. That, yeah, I'm in a place where I don't want to be, but God's in control.
[00:06:29] Speaker B: That simple, unsophisticated faith and trust in God, as exemplified by children, is very important. Go to a child and give him a big red apple, and he will stretch his hand and say, thank you, sir. Go to an adult and give him the same apple, and he will have many questions. Why in the world would someone give me something as a gift? There is no such a thing as free gifts. Free lunch or. So what is behind it? So we have acquired some sophistication, and some of it is justified. We want to protect ourselves from evil, to be heard. But children have that innocent faith that is being used by Jesus Christ as an example for this group of pharisees and scribes who are trying to test Jesus Christ, to catch him with something, because Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem.
[00:07:28] Speaker A: And so both Mark and Luke have this line that Matthew does not. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child, shall not enter it.
So it's our job to receive the kingdom of God like children. And again, that gets back to the faith. If they said it, I believe it.
I was driving with some kids. We were going to a social studies fair, and I had a little plastic circle. I was steering the car with my knee and pretending to drive with this little plastic circle, saying it was a wireless steering. And we were joking around about it, and the kids in the back believed it, like, oh, wow, this car has wireless steering. It's the coolest thing in the world. But kids faith, they're so ready to believe, no matter what we tell them, that that's what we need. We need a faith that is ready to believe God, no matter what he tells us.
[00:08:37] Speaker B: What you just said made me think about the beatitudes in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter five.
Most of them are about that childlike faith. Blessed are those who are poor in spirit. Blessed are the meek.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. And verse eight, blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
It is like in the eye, we are growing old, and all kind of proteins are growing and blocking the communication between the reality and the retina and the brain. And we go to a doctor, and the doctors remove those in the same way. We have to go to Jesus Christ and to have that surgery or spiritual reset when the heart becomes clean again like the child.
And this is how I see Jesus application to us, to adults.
[00:09:45] Speaker A: So, in reading this passage, the way I see God speaking to me today is, is along those similar lines, what am I doing? What can I do differently? But then, just that question. Am I hindering children from coming to God, or am I making the worship place open and ready? I'm facilitating their connection with God.
What can I do better to be a conduit so that children can see Jesus?
[00:10:24] Speaker B: I may not be cursing people and sending them to hell, but my behavior, and I pray that will never happen, might block other people's entrance to heaven.
And I like how this story ends. In the Gospel of Mark and chapter ten, verse 16. And Jesus took them in his arms and blessed them.
I see that in two steps, everyone has a place in God's arms. There is room for the whole universe.
And God's arms are represented by the open arms of the father, of the prodigal son who receives the Son, embraced him in the same way.
God is waiting for us like a father, ready to embrace us. And if the kids have a place in his arms, for sure, all the adults have. And the second is, and he blessed them, what is this blessing?
The previous episode was about still on the family issues, marriage and divorce. And Jesus Christ anchored his explanation into the story of Genesis from chapter two, verse 24, initial plan for manhood, that they will leave their families and they will cleave or will bond together into a new entity called marriage, and they will become one.
And when God created the animal, he blessed them and said, grow and multiply.
When God created the human being, he blessed them. Right.
And after that, the third category is the Sabbath, which was blessed by God. And the fourth category is the marriage.
These four initial blessings are being extended to the children, and God blessed them. And the blessing in the Bible is like a channel of power and resources and renewal that connects us, human beings in need with a heaven who is the fountain of all blessings.
[00:13:02] Speaker A: Yeah. So let us not hinder the children.
Let us not hinder adults. Let us not hinder anyone from coming to God. But let us try to be like children in our faith. Try to look for the positive, try to be simple, and try to lift others up. Father God, we thank you so much for this story that has made it into the text, that Jesus was concerned with the little children, that he took time, that he rebuked the disciples when they tried to send away the children, and that he blessed them.
Father, I know my children's faith, and I wish that I had the childlike faith that they do. And I pray that you will instill that in me, that we can receive your blessings and promises, just as you say it, without trying to read too much into it.
Help us to lift up those around us. In Jesus name, amen. Amen.
