Let Them Come June 4
Mark 10:14 But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.”
Jesus is displeased with the disciples for this service of turning away children. He again uses children to make a point, as He had done earlier (9:36-37).
The people are bringing little children to Jesus “that He might touch them.” We have seen previously in Mark (3:10, 5:28, 6:56, and 8:22) the desire for the union with Jesus by touch, that they might be made whole or given sight. The parents might have had a specific need for their children in mind, or simply the blessing of this holy Man.
The parents’ desire that a child be transformed at an early age in order to live a better and more perfect life is admirable in itself. Faith is required, as well as the will to act on that faith. Jesus expresses that such faith that a child of man can be molded into a child of God, should not be rebuked by the disciples.
Jesus makes the statement that the inhabitants of the kingdom of God are as these children.
This should make adults sit up and take notice. What qualities do children have that are desirable but lacking in adults?
Only Children Enter June 5
Mark 10:15 Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.”
What is required to receive the kingdom of God in the manner of a child?
We must look not only at what a child does have – humility, trust, acceptance, even love. But also what a child does not have – ambition, guarded beliefs, judgment, even jealousy.
Whether the words spoken directly to the children were beyond their comprehension is irrelevant. What the children heard was less important than what they received from Him – attention from an open and loving heart.
The hours of a day are in fixed supply. They cannot be lengthened, only measured out appropriately.
Jesus’ time was in fixed supply. He measured out the hours in a manner to achieve wholeness for those whom He touched. He did this for those in physical and emotional need; for those who needed to learn His message so they might carry it forward when He was gone; for those who would remember when the kingdom of heaven first came to them.
Each of us faces the same question: Am I willing and able to be such a child?
Receive in My Name June 6
Mark 10:15 Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, 37 “Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me.”
Relationships with others come easily for some and with more difficulty for others. Serving, helping others and lifting them up, comes easily for some and with more difficulty for others. Agapé love comes easily for some, and with more difficulty for others.
Jesus gives us an object lesson in relativity when He takes a child into His arms. Taking a small child into the agapé relationship is generally easy.
Note that Jesus says, “Whoever receives one of these little children in My name….” In other words, whoever receives one of these little children, not out of a natural impulse or instinct, but out of love for God and Christ, will receive the Son and the Father.
Luke 6:27-36 expresses a similar thought with regard to enemies. Loving those who love us is easy, natural. Loving someone we do not know, perhaps who is even our enemy, comes from obedience to the universal law of love, not from instinct or simply returning in kind what has been given to us by another person.
A child is to be received as the children in Jesus’ arms, with an open heart. And we should keep in mind that most of us are still like children in most aspects of life, still immature in things like faith and knowledge of the spiritual reality around us.
We must first recognize this immaturity in ourselves and others. Then we must forgive and accept ourselves and others. Then we are ready to enter the kingdom of heaven.
He Blessed Them June 7
Mark 10:16: And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.
He enfolded them in His arms and He blessed them.
How often does this happen to a child, particularly past the stage of infancy? How often did you or I experience this as a child old enough to remember the event?
Children seek attention. When they do not perceive that they are part of the lives of others, they will seek to be significant, to be worthy of the investment of time and focus. If positive ways of accomplishing this fail, they will use other means. Negative attention is judged better than no attention.
Jesus is modeling mature behavior, and not solely for the education of the children. He demonstrates parental love.
He gives the children a blessing, Strong’s G2127, eulogeo in Greek. From this comes our English word, eulogy, a speech of praise or commendation. We think of eulogy as a memorial given to the recently deceased. In other words, we think of it like peace, something that comes with death.
Jesus demonstrates peace as a way of being. And here he is demonstrating a eulogy, the affirmation and commendation of children into their future, as a living gift.
He does not give vacuous words of undeserved praise, but uplifting words to grow the children beyond the character each already is developing. He is caring for the seed already implanted even though He will not see it yield its fruit.
False Humility June 8
Mark 10:17 Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”
A man comes running to Jesus (urgency), kneels before Him (humility), acknowledges Jesus as both “good” and a “Teacher” (acknowledgment of a greater authority than himself), and asks for advice (teachable). This man gives the appearance of being the perfect candidate for Jesus’ ministry.
His question speaks of inheriting eternal life. The word inherit implies that there is nothing he need do in order to receive his inheritance. What is due to him will come in its own course.
The one flaw in his approach that gives us pause is the question of what he must do to inherit eternal life.
The works oriented philosophy of the Pharisees has made this man a successful student of their own school of thought. The man believes he must earn his inheritance. The words “do” and “inherit” contradict each other. This is an oxymoron, a word from the Greek literally meaning “pointedly foolish.”
This is not to call the man foolish, but to call into question any line of thinking that envisions the realm of eternal life as something which we can require of God because of our own efforts. This man has learned the art of control of God (irrational and impossible though it is) from his not so good teachers.
Jesus must wake the man from this delusional dream.
Who Is Good? June 8
Mark 10:18 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.”
When we think of “good” in the absolute sense, only God qualifies. The man has no conception of Jesus as more than a man, a teacher of men, and for such a person the word “good” does not apply.
The man addresses Jesus as “good teacher.” He really does not know Jesus, yet addresses Him with praising words. Jesus asks why the man has called Him good since the man clearly does not know Jesus. Jesus rejects the title of good for Himself as a man, a teacher, to emphasize that empty words of praise do the man no good.
Jesus is also showing the man that He does not aspire to praise from mankind. The man assumes pride and ego have a place in Jesus, that praise will result in a more favorable response, but Jesus curtly denies this assumption. With this denial he also dashes the young man’s self-perception as good, and any hope of earning that attribute.
We might judge the man harshly without considering that we each are guilty of such thoughts at times. “What did I do to deserve this bad event?” or “I must be living right for this good thing to happen!” are echoes of this man’s belief.
A seemingly courteous address has been hurled back into the man’s face like a splash of cold water. Perhaps the man is awakened enough to learn from the rest of the lesson.
Commandments Obeyed June 9
Mark 10:19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’”
20 And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.”
In Matthew and Luke, Jesus lists five of the six Commandments from the second tablet, the Commandments governing relationships with other men and women. There are six Commandments here in Mark, the unique one being, “Do not defraud.”
The sixth Commandment omitted in Matthew and Luke is, “Do not covet.” This is not the sixth command (fifth in the list) that Jesus mentions in Mark.
The word translated as “defraud” is Strong’s G650, apostereo, literally meaning, “deprive not.” This seems to be a summary statement, “Do not deprive people of what they are due,” of the previous four Commandments (as well as the next one).
The man affirms he has kept these Commandments from his youth. We can be sure that he has kept these Commandments in the same sense as the Pharisees have kept them.
Nothing is said of the missing Tenth Commandment, words that Jesus has held in reserve since they are the heart of the issue.
Covet Not June 10
Mark 10:21 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”
Jesus looks at the man with agapé love. He wants the best for this man who thinks he has earned heaven, so Jesus holds a mirror up to him. Whether the man looks into the mirror or acknowledges what the mirror shows is beyond Jesus’ control. Changing the man is not Jesus’ job.
All of the things and qualities that the man before Him has are based on the physical world. What the man lacks and desires is eternal life. The physical world and eternal life do not overlap.
Jesus tells him that he must give what the man considers to be his treasure to the poor, and to seek the treasure of the spiritual world, faith. With faith, a person needs nothing beyond acting inside of faith rather than outside of faith.
The man’s eternal life begins at the moment he lets go of control of his life. The man has made himself and his life what it is. The alternative would have been to allow God to mold him into His son. There is no place between the two roads.
Jesus gives the answer: Surrender attachment to things. Give them away and accept back what is required for life. Surrender the hold on the future, which is non-existent. This is the cross each must bear.
Next day
Mark 10:14 But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.”
Jesus is displeased with the disciples for this service of turning away children. He again uses children to make a point, as He had done earlier (9:36-37).
The people are bringing little children to Jesus “that He might touch them.” We have seen previously in Mark (3:10, 5:28, 6:56, and 8:22) the desire for the union with Jesus by touch, that they might be made whole or given sight. The parents might have had a specific need for their children in mind, or simply the blessing of this holy Man.
The parents’ desire that a child be transformed at an early age in order to live a better and more perfect life is admirable in itself. Faith is required, as well as the will to act on that faith. Jesus expresses that such faith that a child of man can be molded into a child of God, should not be rebuked by the disciples.
Jesus makes the statement that the inhabitants of the kingdom of God are as these children.
This should make adults sit up and take notice. What qualities do children have that are desirable but lacking in adults?
Only Children Enter June 5
Mark 10:15 Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.”
What is required to receive the kingdom of God in the manner of a child?
We must look not only at what a child does have – humility, trust, acceptance, even love. But also what a child does not have – ambition, guarded beliefs, judgment, even jealousy.
Whether the words spoken directly to the children were beyond their comprehension is irrelevant. What the children heard was less important than what they received from Him – attention from an open and loving heart.
The hours of a day are in fixed supply. They cannot be lengthened, only measured out appropriately.
Jesus’ time was in fixed supply. He measured out the hours in a manner to achieve wholeness for those whom He touched. He did this for those in physical and emotional need; for those who needed to learn His message so they might carry it forward when He was gone; for those who would remember when the kingdom of heaven first came to them.
Each of us faces the same question: Am I willing and able to be such a child?
Receive in My Name June 6
Mark 10:15 Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, 37 “Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me.”
Relationships with others come easily for some and with more difficulty for others. Serving, helping others and lifting them up, comes easily for some and with more difficulty for others. Agapé love comes easily for some, and with more difficulty for others.
Jesus gives us an object lesson in relativity when He takes a child into His arms. Taking a small child into the agapé relationship is generally easy.
Note that Jesus says, “Whoever receives one of these little children in My name….” In other words, whoever receives one of these little children, not out of a natural impulse or instinct, but out of love for God and Christ, will receive the Son and the Father.
Luke 6:27-36 expresses a similar thought with regard to enemies. Loving those who love us is easy, natural. Loving someone we do not know, perhaps who is even our enemy, comes from obedience to the universal law of love, not from instinct or simply returning in kind what has been given to us by another person.
A child is to be received as the children in Jesus’ arms, with an open heart. And we should keep in mind that most of us are still like children in most aspects of life, still immature in things like faith and knowledge of the spiritual reality around us.
We must first recognize this immaturity in ourselves and others. Then we must forgive and accept ourselves and others. Then we are ready to enter the kingdom of heaven.
He Blessed Them June 7
Mark 10:16: And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.
He enfolded them in His arms and He blessed them.
How often does this happen to a child, particularly past the stage of infancy? How often did you or I experience this as a child old enough to remember the event?
Children seek attention. When they do not perceive that they are part of the lives of others, they will seek to be significant, to be worthy of the investment of time and focus. If positive ways of accomplishing this fail, they will use other means. Negative attention is judged better than no attention.
Jesus is modeling mature behavior, and not solely for the education of the children. He demonstrates parental love.
He gives the children a blessing, Strong’s G2127, eulogeo in Greek. From this comes our English word, eulogy, a speech of praise or commendation. We think of eulogy as a memorial given to the recently deceased. In other words, we think of it like peace, something that comes with death.
Jesus demonstrates peace as a way of being. And here he is demonstrating a eulogy, the affirmation and commendation of children into their future, as a living gift.
He does not give vacuous words of undeserved praise, but uplifting words to grow the children beyond the character each already is developing. He is caring for the seed already implanted even though He will not see it yield its fruit.
False Humility June 8
Mark 10:17 Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”
A man comes running to Jesus (urgency), kneels before Him (humility), acknowledges Jesus as both “good” and a “Teacher” (acknowledgment of a greater authority than himself), and asks for advice (teachable). This man gives the appearance of being the perfect candidate for Jesus’ ministry.
His question speaks of inheriting eternal life. The word inherit implies that there is nothing he need do in order to receive his inheritance. What is due to him will come in its own course.
The one flaw in his approach that gives us pause is the question of what he must do to inherit eternal life.
The works oriented philosophy of the Pharisees has made this man a successful student of their own school of thought. The man believes he must earn his inheritance. The words “do” and “inherit” contradict each other. This is an oxymoron, a word from the Greek literally meaning “pointedly foolish.”
This is not to call the man foolish, but to call into question any line of thinking that envisions the realm of eternal life as something which we can require of God because of our own efforts. This man has learned the art of control of God (irrational and impossible though it is) from his not so good teachers.
Jesus must wake the man from this delusional dream.
Who Is Good? June 8
Mark 10:18 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.”
When we think of “good” in the absolute sense, only God qualifies. The man has no conception of Jesus as more than a man, a teacher of men, and for such a person the word “good” does not apply.
The man addresses Jesus as “good teacher.” He really does not know Jesus, yet addresses Him with praising words. Jesus asks why the man has called Him good since the man clearly does not know Jesus. Jesus rejects the title of good for Himself as a man, a teacher, to emphasize that empty words of praise do the man no good.
Jesus is also showing the man that He does not aspire to praise from mankind. The man assumes pride and ego have a place in Jesus, that praise will result in a more favorable response, but Jesus curtly denies this assumption. With this denial he also dashes the young man’s self-perception as good, and any hope of earning that attribute.
We might judge the man harshly without considering that we each are guilty of such thoughts at times. “What did I do to deserve this bad event?” or “I must be living right for this good thing to happen!” are echoes of this man’s belief.
A seemingly courteous address has been hurled back into the man’s face like a splash of cold water. Perhaps the man is awakened enough to learn from the rest of the lesson.
Commandments Obeyed June 9
Mark 10:19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’”
20 And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.”
In Matthew and Luke, Jesus lists five of the six Commandments from the second tablet, the Commandments governing relationships with other men and women. There are six Commandments here in Mark, the unique one being, “Do not defraud.”
The sixth Commandment omitted in Matthew and Luke is, “Do not covet.” This is not the sixth command (fifth in the list) that Jesus mentions in Mark.
The word translated as “defraud” is Strong’s G650, apostereo, literally meaning, “deprive not.” This seems to be a summary statement, “Do not deprive people of what they are due,” of the previous four Commandments (as well as the next one).
The man affirms he has kept these Commandments from his youth. We can be sure that he has kept these Commandments in the same sense as the Pharisees have kept them.
Nothing is said of the missing Tenth Commandment, words that Jesus has held in reserve since they are the heart of the issue.
Covet Not June 10
Mark 10:21 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”
Jesus looks at the man with agapé love. He wants the best for this man who thinks he has earned heaven, so Jesus holds a mirror up to him. Whether the man looks into the mirror or acknowledges what the mirror shows is beyond Jesus’ control. Changing the man is not Jesus’ job.
All of the things and qualities that the man before Him has are based on the physical world. What the man lacks and desires is eternal life. The physical world and eternal life do not overlap.
Jesus tells him that he must give what the man considers to be his treasure to the poor, and to seek the treasure of the spiritual world, faith. With faith, a person needs nothing beyond acting inside of faith rather than outside of faith.
The man’s eternal life begins at the moment he lets go of control of his life. The man has made himself and his life what it is. The alternative would have been to allow God to mold him into His son. There is no place between the two roads.
Jesus gives the answer: Surrender attachment to things. Give them away and accept back what is required for life. Surrender the hold on the future, which is non-existent. This is the cross each must bear.
Next day
