Princeton Presbyterian Church

Princeton Presbyterian Church (EPC) Sermon # 1695

July 27, 2025

Mark 10.13-16        Click here for audio worship.

Dr. Ed Pettus

(This is an extended outline, not a verbatim transcript.)

 

“Receiving The Kingdom of God”

 

And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; 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.” And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.

 

• Childlike Faith

 

Parents were bringing children so that Jesus might touch them. Imagine the scene and the number of parents and children around Jesus. Word was out about the Son of God, the Healer, the Preacher who spoke as one with authority. By the third chapter of Mark we see that great crowds were following Jesus. Crowd control was a potential problem. Perhaps that is why the disciples thought they should turn them away. Or maybe they thought Jesus would be worn out by the crowds and they were seeking to protect Him. But, this was another time when the disciples did not get it. They did not understand Jesus or the Kingdom of God or the mission of Jesus. So they rebuked all who were bringing their children. They tried to turn them away. Whatever they were thinking, Jesus rebukes them! He is said to be indignant, angry, upset with His disciples. He corrects them with what I would imagine was a touch of disappointment. It may have been even stronger than a touch of disappointment.

Indignation implies something stronger. We do not see Jesus angry very often. He was angry when He cleansed the temple, turning over the tables (Mark 11.15). He was angry with the religious leaders who remained silent when He asked them whether it was lawful to do good or harm on the Sabbath (Mark 3.4-5). And here in Mark 10 He is angry with the disciples for attempting to turn the children away.

There were probably multiple reasons why parents would have been bringing their children. They sought something like the woman who wanted to touch the fringe of Jesus’ robe in order that she might be healed (Matthew 9.20). Perhaps many of them had seen Jesus touch the eyes of a blind man who then regained his sight (Matthew 9.29). I would imagine the desire for Jesus to touch them was for a variety of reasons. Some may have just wanted a blessing for their child. What parent would not want the Son of God to touch and bless their child for the sake of good health or good character. Others may have come more desperately for a sick or injured child. They sought the touch of the Healer.

We may not consider the parents in this story because the focus is on the disciples and Jesus and the children. But consider the faith of the parents who are coming with their children just to get Jesus to touch them. They actually show a faith that is strong and willing and open and imaginative...just like a child. They are the ones who demonstrate awareness of Jesus, who He was and what He was there for, even more than the disciples who have it all wrong.

Jesus commands that they let the children come to Him. They are the ones to whom belongs the Kingdom of God. Theirs is the Kingdom...

 

 

 

• Theirs Is The Kingdom

 

The children are allowed to come to Jesus. The Kingdom of God belongs to them! It begs the question of what it means for us to inherit the Kingdom. For the most part we have interpreted this to mean that we come into the Kingdom with a childlike faith. I have always heard this to mean that we have a faith that is simple, innocent, teachable, and trusting. We should take on the attributes that are the best of what it means to be a child: playful, joyful, loyal, and imaginative.

Another aspect of receiving the Kingdom like a child is that we are dependent on the Kingdom of God in that we are dependent upon God for all things. Like a child who depends on the parents for all their needs, we are dependent on God and aware that we live in the realm of His Kingdom. We rely on the grace and love and mercy of God for our very lives. We cannot see the Kingdom without this childlike faith.

It is not being childish as in immature or silly or pouting when we do not get our way. Paul said that we are to give up childish ways as an adult (1 Corinthians 13.11). Yet Paul did not give up dependence upon His Heavenly Father. We are all children of God in that we belong to God and we are heirs of the Kingdom. We are welcomed just as a child is welcomed into the home.

 

The Bible also says quite a lot about who will not inherit the Kingdom.

 

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God (1 Corinthians 6.9-11).

 

Those who will not inherit the Kingdom are those who think they know better than God and better than God’s Word. They are the truly childish! They are unwilling to humble themselves and admit that they cannot live apart from God’s care and provision. They will not submit themselves to discipline or faith or to the Lordship of Christ.

What is important to our time, and to all generations, is that, in Christ, those who are listed here can we washed clean by Christ. Paul notes that some of those to whom he writes, those were once childish in their ways, and yet because of Jesus Christ, they are now cleansed of those sins and set free to live in obedience to Jesus in the Kingdom of God. All they had to do was receive the gift of the Kingdom of God like a child.

 

 

• Receiving The Kingdom

 

“Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

 

What does it mean to receive the Kingdom of God? When something is received, it is not an achievement, not earned, but like a child receiving a birthday or Christmas gift. The Kingdom of God is a gift to us, to be received as a gift, to be cherished, appreciated, and for which we are grateful. We receive the Kingdom like a child: humble, faithful, and dependent. Our tendency is to abandon all the best traits of childhood when we “become adults”. We lose something of the imagination, something of the innocence, something of the trusting nature of a childlike faith.

This is one of the reasons we must repent – repent of our arrogance, of thinking too highly of ourselves. Repent of our sin, our pride, and that we are above being like a child in the sense Jesus refers to. We are to become like a child in humility, become a servant, follow Jesus like a child playing follow the leader, seeking to grow in wisdom and knowledge. We continue to seek the Kingdom of God (Matthew 6.33) because we know that only in the Kingdom of God are we truly able to receive God’s gifts and provisions for daily bread, for daily mercies, and everything we need in spirit and body. I trust that it is only in the realm of God’s Kingdom on earth that we can truly grow in faith and life and wisdom. It is only in becoming like a child and receiving the Kingdom of God that we find our true lives and true selves as a people created in the image of God. It is only in the Kingdom that we can receive the wisdom of God as in a parent parting wisdom to his child.

The opposite of this childlike nature is being childish. Childish is following the ways of the world. Childish is refusing to receive the Kingdom in faith and hope. Childish is refusing admit that we are sinners and to repent in order to enter the Kingdom. It takes a great imagination to realize the Kingdom of God amid all the darkness of the kingdom of the earth. But the promise is sure that in Christ we have been transferred from that darkness into the light of God’s realm and rule (Colossians 1.13). He has done this great work of transferring us, given us the transfer ticket to ride, gifted us with His embrace that ushers us into His Kingdom. We come with nothing but open hands to receive, for we have nothing to give, that is, until we come into the Kingdom. Then we have everything to give: praise, thanks, blessing, devotion, our very lives. All this is because Christ gave His life that we might know life in the Kingdom of God. We have become citizens of heaven… “our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 3.20).

 

We are subjects of the King of kings in the Kingdom of God wherein all our needs are met and our cups overflow. We are provided for with daily bread and protected from enemies, delivered from sin and death, and given life in abundance. We are children in the family of God and we will always be dependent upon the Lord for our needs. As soon as we think we do not need God for our provisions, we have turned away from the Kingdom. As soon as we think we have provided all things only by our own power and might, we have lost sight of the Kingdom. As soon as we fail to give thanks to God for everything, we have abandoned our childlike faith.

 

“Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” Let us receive the Kingdom of God like a child, enter into the presence of God, in His Kingdom of blessing and joy, to receive the touch of Christ. May we seek the Kingdom of God fully trusting that He will provide for all our needs as a child trusts in parents to provide for them. We give thanks for our heavenly Father and His Kingdom, the realm of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14.17). Amen.