13 Some people brought little children to Jesus to have him hold them. But the disciples told the people not to do that.
14 When Jesus saw this, he became irritated. He told them, “Don’t stop the children from coming to me. Children like these are part of the kingdom of God. 15 I can guarantee this truth: Whoever doesn’t receive the kingdom of God as a little child receives it will never enter it.”
16 Jesus put his arms around the children and blessed them by placing his hands on them.
Read Mark 10:13-16 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
The event we are looking at in this passage is probably one of the most culturally upsetting maneuvers that Jesus ever did. Second only to the washing of His disciples’ feet, inviting children to being close to Him was completely against how society, at that time, functioned.
In the Jewish culture of the time, and in many cultures today, the hierarchy flowed from men at the top, to women, then children, then babies.
Jesus here completely upsets this norm by telling the disciples to let people bring their children to Him.
With this action, Jesus is elevating the status of these “lower” groups into the place of being equal. With this action, Jesus is making the statement that we are all equal in His sight – and that we all can come directly to Him, instead of needing a mediator.
With Jesus, adults and children can have a personal relationship with Him. No mediator required. Jesus loves children and in this event, we can see Jesus giving children equal status in God’s Kingdom.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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