Mark 10:13-16 - Children and the Kingdom

This account naturally follows that of the preceding section because children belong naturally to marriage. Having elevated the sanctity of marriage among his disciples he now seeks to elevate their view of the importance of children. So this is an easy transition from one subject to the other.

In our culture children are almost revered. We often plan our entire lives around them. You see this especially among younger parents. Their whole lives, often, will revolve around activities for their kids. We also idealize childhood and look at those years as the most important years of our lives. Modern psychology has added to our propensity to do this, delving deeply into the memories of childhood and the events that shaped us to try to ascertain why it is we behave the way we do now.

We sometimes opine that we want kids to stay young longer and don't want them to grow up too fast. Crimes against children are the worst of crimes because we view children, almost, as innocent, or even virtuous, just because of their age. Some of this, no doubt, is due to the fact that the older we get the more cynical we become (as adults) and the more hardened toward the realities of a hard world, and we long for the days when we were not yet too calloused to see the wonder around us and to dream. Childhood—it’s idyllic. Children—to be enjoyed, and envied. Grandchildren—who doesn’t want grandchildren around? And babies—is there anything better than holding an infant?

But this is all modern stuff. This is a product of the influence that Jesus has had on our western thinking—because it was not like that in ancient times. In the pagan cultures of Jesus’ day children had almost no status at all. In Jewish culture it was a little better, but not much. In large part, the status children enjoy today in western culture is due to stories like this from the gospels. If you want to know what changed and how it changed then you can look to Jesus. It is due to him that we have such high views of children now. In those days they were nobodies. They were ‘the least of these.’

So someone is bringing children to Jesus. Why? What is going on? How do the disciples react to this? And what does Jesus have to say to them about their reaction? And is their some deeper lesson underlying all of this? There usually is.

I invite you to take the time to listen to the audio recording of this sermon preached at our church a week or so ago. Just click the link below and a new window will open in your browser where you will find this sermon. You can stream it or download it for later listening. I hope you do. God bless.


Click here: Mark 10:13-16 - Children and the Kingdom


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Mark 4:26-34 - Two More Parables

Mark chapter four is one of only two places in Mark's Gospel where we get an extended look at the actual content of Jesus' teachings. For the most part, in Mark, we only get snippets. But here and then later in chapter thirteen we get more.

Remember the setting? Jesus is on a boat and the crowds are on the seashore. Jesus is speaking in parables. Two weeks ago we looked at the first parable, that of the Sower and the Soils. Last week Jesus explained to his disciples why he spoke to the crowds in parables. The purpose of the parables was to reveal the secrets of the kingdom to the disciples while at the same time leaving the unbelievers in the dark. The parables, then, are not evangelistic in nature per se, but they are full of gospel nonetheless.

Now Jesus is going to give two more parables, without explanation, and with those two parables Mark will bring this section to an end. Both parables are similies and they describe the nature of the kingdom of God which the coming of Jesus inaugurated. In the sermon linked below we looked at them--the Parable of the Seed Growing and the Parable of the Mustard Seed.

So what are we to make of these parables and why did Mark choose these three, specifically, to record in his gospel? Think about his audience for a minute. Although he undoubtedly knew that his gospel would eventually be read by a wide variety of people, it was originally intended to be read by a fledgling Christian community experiencing persecution at the hands of the greatest empire ever known to the world. If Christ was King and had ushered in a kingdom, then where was it?

You and I need to understand this as well. Where is the kingdom of Christ and why hasn't it overthrown the kingdoms of this world yet? Here we are 2000 years later, where is this kingdom? And the answer is that it came in a person--Jesus Christ. And like a field that is sown or a garden that is planted it is coming gradually. And it is coming through the seed which is the word which is the gospel. It began in Galilee in the hearts of those disciples and it spread to Jerusalem. From there it went into all Judea and Samaria. From there it went into the uttermost parts of the earth. The kingdom is in you and in me and in all who hear the gospel and believe. And the word implanted in our hearts grows and produces fruit until one day the reaper comes and brings in the harvest. The sower was Jesus and so is the reaper and one day he is coming again and that is when we will see the kingdom in its fullness. That is when his work in us will be complete and that is when his work in this world will be complete.

And the surest sign that that day will come and that we will see the King in his glory and the kingdom in its fullness happened early on a Sunday morning about this time of year 2000 years ago, when Jesus came out of that grave. His resurrection is your resurrection is the resurrection of this dead and cursed world.

Take a few moments and listen to the sermon linked below where I expand upon all of these things. I know you will be blessed in the hearing.



Mark 4:26-34 - Two More Parables


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