Title Mark 10:13-16
In Jesus who appears in today's text, we can see an innovator who breaks the stereotypes and common practices of his time. At the time of Jesus, awareness about the existence and human rights of young children was not as high as it is today. Children of that time were powerless, weak, dependent, and insignificant. Children have nothing to offer and have nothing to offer, so they are often seen as insignificant and ignored by adults. These thoughts and practices at that time are clearly visible in the attitude of Jesus' disciples in today's text. Jesus' disciples rebuked those who brought children to Jesus. The word "rebuke" here has a very strong meaning, and is used in Mark's Gospel to cast out demons or to oppose God's will. In verse 14, Jesus said, "Let little children come to me, and do not forbid them." Judging by the fact that Jesus' disciples did not only verbally rebuke those who brought them with them, they stopped children from approaching Jesus. It looks like they were trying to block it.
However, Jesus expressed a position that was completely opposite to the thinking and practice of the time. Jesus stood by the children, welcomed them, made them the object of people's attention, and exalted them. When the disciples rebuked the disciples for bringing children to Jesus, Jesus said he was angry with him (13-14), which strongly criticized the thinking and practice of the day that Jesus not only stood by the children but looked down on and ignored them. You should see what you did. By holding the children in his arms, laying his hands on them, and blessing them (16), Jesus made it clear that they are the object of people's attention, love, respect and blessings. Jesus exalted children to the highest level by not only saying, "Let little children come to me, and do not forbid them", but also by saying, "For such is the kingdom of God.
Therefore, the love of children is a command that Jesus Himself exemplifies and gives us. Jesus referred to children and connected them to the kingdom of God. This means that the love of children is the law and principle of the kingdom of God. It is saying that in the kingdom of God, children will not be ignored or neglected because they are children. Therefore, anyone who ignores or neglects a child is not worthy of entering the kingdom of God. In Mark 9:37, Jesus said, "Whoever welcomes a child like this in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not receive me, but the one who sent me." To receive a child is to receive God. To receive God is, in other words, to be received by God and to enter the kingdom of God.
Children are a gift from God to us. Children themselves bring joy and happiness to adults by themselves, but they also become mirrors and tools for teaching adults the truth of the kingdom of God. In this regard, we need to look again at verses 14-15: "When Jesus saw it, he became angry and said, "Let little children come to me, and do not forbid them; for this is the kingdom of God. Truly I say to you, whoever He who does not receive the kingdom like a little child will never enter it.”
Verse 15 says, “Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will by no means enter it.” “Those who do not receive the kingdom of God like little children” are said to be, but it is more accurate to say “those who do not accept” as in Luke 18:17, rather than “those who do not accept the kingdom of God.” But what about accepting the kingdom of God like a little child? It is not anything else, but as mentioned above, accepting the kingdom of God like little children who have nothing to do with what they have, what they have to offer, and who can do anything on their own, and who have no choice but to depend entirely on others. In other words, it means confessing that you are just a sinner and naked before God, and praying only for God's grace to become people of the kingdom. The kingdom of God belongs to such people. Jesus taught that God gave children as gifts to adults so that they could understand it. That is why we should love our children and thank God for giving them them.