"Jesus Blesses the Children" on Mark 10:13-16 by Neil and Virginia Lettinga - Nov. 16, 2025

We have really been enjoying these messages about encounters with Jesus!  It's been good to reflect on things we share with people who encountered Jesus when he walked on earth and so interesting to hear one another's personal stories,

We'd like to open with a familiar little episode -- just a few verses long.  Mark chapter 10:13-16.  The NIV translation uses somewhat old-fashioned words, but I'm sure it will make sense to you.

¹³ People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴ When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁵ Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” ¹⁶ And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.

Q: Who are the people who encounter Jesus in this account?    Children?  Parents?   disciples? 

Q: If you had been there, which group would you have been part of?  Children? Parents? disciples?    All three?

As I was reading through the gospels, I realized that I was a child like the children in this story.  Maybe you were too? As a baby or very young child, an adult who loved you wanted you to meet Jesus, and wanted him to bless you.  If you grew up with Christian parents or grandparents, or as part of a church, you were probably a child like this, too.  It is a good way to think about how God shapes us.

The children who squirm beside us on the Telkwa church pews and are part of our families, they are some of the children people are bringing to Jesus.  We long for him to touch and bless our young ones, don't we?  We empathize with the parents in this little story!

If you've taught young children Sunday School or Vacation Bible School, you have probably taught children this story.  The basic lesson for children here is clear and true: Jesus loves and welcomes and blesses children.

All the same, it is not a lesson that I have usually enjoyed teaching!  There is just not much plot to it.  It is a story that feels flat after telling about the feeding of the 5,000 and Jesus calming the storm.

But there it was in the summer Bible School story line-up.  About a decade ago.  Maybe some of you here taught the same curriculum?  I came up with what I hoped was a creative way to share the great truth of Jesus' love for children -- teaching what was a tricky crowd of kids to hold together at the best of times.  About half of them were "church kids" and were inclined to be squirrely and bored.  The other half had never been inside a church before and had next to no idea about who Jesus was.  They needed the basics that so bored the other kids.  

But what can one do?   You may well have taught some little group like this yourself.  We prayed about it, asking God to use whatever happened -- though I can't imagine that I prayed with much hope.

But this time, after telling the story of Jesus blessing the children, a slender little girl near the front row raised her hand and hesitantly asked, "but what is a blessing LIKE?"  Her parents were Chinese exchange faculty teaching at UNBC for 1 year.  The girl's English was limited.  My mind jumbled around all the big theological language to explain what a blessing means. 

And then I said, "Come stand in front of me and I'll show you."  She pushed her way around the squirming kids at the front.  I said, "look me in the eyes." She did, and I put my hands on either of her shoulders and said something like 

"I see you and I love you and I carry the love of Jesus to you.  He wants the best for you." The girl's eyes grew big and her face broke into a huge smile. Somewhere in the middle of saying this, I was aware that the fidgety church kids had calmed down.  I looked up at them, all sitting quietly and the most fidgety and obnoxious of them sighed and quietly said, "Can I have a blessing, too?"

They all lined up and patiently waited for one another as I looked each child in the eyes and told them they were seen and loved and precious to Jesus.

And then the next crew of kids came running in, and I was finished for the day.  But I felt like I had been on the edge of a miracle, and the experience is still sweet and tender.  Jesus let me share a moment when he used me to share his blessings to children who'd come to him.  Jesus loves and welcomes and blesses the children who are brought to him.

The children encountered Jesus and were blessed. And I pray that they have encountered him again since then.  (As I have encountered him again and again in my life...)

Who besides the children encounter Jesus in this story? Let's listen again to the story as Mark shares it.  I'll use a more contemporary translation this time.  Mark 9:13 starts... 

¹³ One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him.

¹⁴ When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. 

¹⁵ I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” ¹⁶ Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them.

When we read about this moment, would you have been among the parents who came hoping that Jesus would touch and bless your child?  What would it have felt like to hear the disciples -- the men of Jesus' inner circle -- scold you and tell you to not bother the teacher?  Did you catch Jesus' eyes as you started to turn away?  

I thought about this question and remembered an elder in a church scolding me because our 3-year old was wearing old tennis shoes to church.  He said something like, "you wouldn't let him visit the Queen wearing shoes like that, would you?"  (I won't share my response...it's not something I'm proud of.)

There are subtle ways that parents can feel discouraged when they try to bring their children to Jesus.  And some less subtle.  Verse 16 is an encouraging close to the episode: Jesus took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them. Thank you, Jesus!

If you were here last Sunday, you heard Mike say a bit about our church wrestling with welcoming children to share in the Lord's Supper.  We don't want to be gate-keepers in ways that block anyone's access to Jesus.  But as a community church we bring different practices and theologies to our church life.  We BOTH welcome the children to share the bread and juice...  but we also want everyone -- including kids -- to join in the Lord's Supper thoughtfully and prayerfully with hearts that meet the Apostle Paul's instructions about examining ourselves before we share communion.  And sometimes this gets tricky.  We know this and we try to do the best we can.

Let's consider one last group of people who encountered Jesus here.  WHO, besides the parents and the children, 

have an encounter with Jesus in this story?  His disciples.   The disciples have been following Jesus for years at this point.  He's been teaching. They have been listening.  They want to honour him.     They are people like you and me.  We can all find ourselves in this moment of an encounter with Jesus, can't we?  But this is not a flattering moment for the disciples.

Let's listen to the text again, this time in Eugene Peterson translation it in the Message:

^13-16 The people brought children to Jesus, hoping he might touch them. The disciples shooed them off. But Jesus was irate and let them know it: 

         “Don’t push these children away. Don’t ever get between them and me. These children are at the very center of life in the kingdom. Mark this: Unless you accept God’s kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in.”    Then, gathering the children up in his arms, he laid his hands of blessing on them.

The disciples "rebuked" the parents with young children. "Shooed them off" makes it instantly clear, doesn't it?

And Jesus' reaction to what disciples are doing is also instantly clear.  He is indignant. Angry. And irate -- to use the three words different translators have used in verse 14.  In Greek, it's the word that describes Jesus' reaction to the money-changers in the temple before he started overturning their tables. Jesus is seriously cross with his disciples.

Imagine the faces of the disciples at this moment?     Shocked?  Flustered?  Embarrassed?  Defensive?

Given the number of disciples, there is room for all these emotions.  Maybe others?  Let's give the disciples credit for trying to do what they thought was honouring to Jesus and the right thing to do.  What respected teacher and great miracle worker worries about the kids in the nursery?

Except he does care.  A lot.  And Jesus expected disciples to understand this.  This wasn't the first time that Jesus had tried to make the disciples see that he valued who a child was and valued the kind of faith a child held.

In the three gospels that work off same basic outline -- Matthew, Mark, and Luke, called the synoptic gospels -- 

the account of the disciples rebuking the parents and sending the children off is tucked within a series of teachings and parables about who is welcome and who belongs in God's Kingdom.  There are fascinating connections and layers to all of these! 

Mark adds a few more words in his account of Jesus blessing the children than do Matthew or Luke. (You could check out Matt 19 and Luke 18 later)  This is unusual for Mark.  Mark is the shortest of the gospels and is famous for being a fast-paced narrative.  But at THIS point, Mark slows down a little.  Here he fleshes out the emotions and shows us a little bit more of what is happening.

Mark shows that the lesson that Jesus makes when he scolds his "gate-keeping" disciples and opens his arms to bless the children is a lesson that he had tried to teach them earlier.  

Just one chapter earlier in our Bibles.

In Mark chapter 9, starting with verse 33 we read that Jesus and his disciples

...came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, [Jesus] asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” ³⁴ But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.

(There are all sorts of interesting lessons to learn from this argument...but for the moment we'll continue with what Mark is saying here.  Jesus clearly understands what the disciples had been arguing about.  And just as clearly, they feel ashamed for the argument.)  But Mark continues (chapter 9:35)

³⁵ Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, 

and the servant of all.”

³⁶ He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, 

³⁷ “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me 

does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”

Wow.  Can you see why Jesus felt indignant, angry and irate at his disciples when they shooed away the young children!?  The disciples seem unable -- or unwilling -- to apply a major lesson that he had carefully tried to teach them not long before!  

If one of the clear lessons from Jesus blessing the children is 1. that Jesus loves, welcomes and blesses children. Another clear lesson is that 2. Jesus wants his disciples to follow him in humility and to welcome the small and status-less. How well are we -- am I?  Are you? --acting on these lessons?

It is clear Jesus' disciples don't find it easy to follow him in this.  The inclination to be "gate-keepers" and keep the dirty riff-raff away and to make sure that those who draw near to Jesus are polite and respectful seemed natural and right to the 12 chosen disciples.  And often it seems natural and right to Christians today, doesn't it?  

Maybe you've met this?  Maybe you have behaved like this to someone? 

(V: I'd say "yes" to both those questions.

 N: I've found it easier to be guilty of the second) 

But Jesus wants his disciples -- those from centuries ago AND us today -- to stop the gate-keeping and the status-climbing.  Can we hear him talk to US when he says... “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.” [Unless you] "receive the Kingdom of God like a child you will never enter it.”

I've pondered what is implied in the statement that we need to receive the Kingdom of God "like a child."  I've heard good sermons on it.  But rereading Mark 9&10, I've come to wonder if I'm missing a more basic lesson about  being welcoming to others.  The very next story that Mark shares in chapter 9 --immediately after Jesus's first attempt to teach the disciples to drop the status-seeking and gate-keeping and to welcome children -- repeats the theme.  And shows again that the disciples don't really understand Jesus.

Mark 9:38:

³⁸ “Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”

It's an odd little tidbit of a story, isn't it?  Who was this guy?  "Not one of us?"  What did that mean?  How could he do these miracles?  What did he know about Jesus?  Wasn't John right to be concerned?

There are no answers to these questions.   But we know how Jesus responded!   ³⁹ “Do not stop him,” Jesus said.  “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, ⁴⁰ for whoever is not against us is for us. ⁴¹ Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward.

We're going to leave a lot of tidbits up in the air in our message today!  We'd be delighted to email or Zoom about the interwoven themes Mark 9 and 10 if you'd like to do that.

The parables and stories surrounding the account of Jesus blessing the children not only show us that 

1. Jesus loves, welcomes, and blesses children and 

2. that Jesus wants us to follow him by stepping into humble, childlike servant attitudes, but also  

3. that trying to do this can be complicated and difficult!

And Jesus is pretty patient with his disciples, even when he's exasperated.  He is willing to teach his lessons again and again.    That feels like good news to us. 

And it matches our experience with God.

Let's pray together....

Great Father, Saviour, Spirit,

We thank you for your patience with your disciples... and

for your patience with us.  We are sorry for our reluctance to take what you say at face value. Truly, we feel confused sometimes about what simple statements should mean for us, today, as we try to follow you in our day-to-day lives.

But we thank you for the children in our lives.

and we pray that you will touch and bless them!

We thank you for the words of Scripture

and pray that you will make them touch our hearts

We thank you for the signs of your Spirit in one another,

it is amazing to be shaped into your body together..... Amen