Sermon: The Kingdom of God and Children

Lectionary: Proper 22(B) 
Text: Mark 10:2-16

Jesus Welcomes the Children

Rather than speaking specifically on the text that was read, I will be reading extended selections from Mark 8:31 through 10:45 today. Today’s reading is a part of this extended section. The reading selections will be broken up with some comments after each.

This section of Mark’s account is this gospel’s narrative of Jesus’ final journey from Galilee to Jerusalem, where Jesus will be crucified. As such, the Passion is the background and the foundation on which this entire section is to be interpreted.

If I was speaking each Sunday from September through October, this survey of Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem would be divided among seven Sundays. There are repetitions of key thematic elements that occur in this narrative, that is difficult to see when only focusing on a single Sunday’s lectionary reading. To highlight those repetitions and gain insight into this gospel’s key themes, I am taking a 30,000 feet overview of the text today.

The text I read is from the Common English Bible translation.

8:31 Then Jesus began to teach his disciples: “The Human One^[a] must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and the legal experts, and be killed, and then, after three days, rise from the dead.” ³² He said this plainly. But Peter took hold of Jesus and, scolding him, began to correct him. ³³ Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, then sternly corrected Peter: “Get behind me, Satan. You are not thinking God’s thoughts but human thoughts.”

As Jesus begins his journey toward Jerusalem, we see several major thematic elements highlighted. These include his crucifixion and resurrection, the dichotomy between the ways of God’s kingdom vs. the ways of worldly power, and how there is misunderstandings even among those of Jesus’ inner circle. Perhaps there are lessons for present-day Christians among these themes.

The next story is Jesus’ transfiguration.

9:2 Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and brought them to the top of a very high mountain where they were alone. He was transformed in front of them, ³ and his clothes were amazingly bright, brighter than if they had been bleached white.

The glory of Jesus and his identity is confirmed by a voice from heaven. The disciples see the glory and they, especially Peter, are convinced this is the kingdom of God. But the vision fades and they return to the world as it is. Once more, is there a lesson for us here?

As Jesus and three disciples descend the mountain and return to among the people, they are immediately thrown into a tense situation.

9:14 When Jesus, Peter, James, and John approached the other disciples, they saw a large crowd surrounding them and l egal experts arguing with them. ¹⁵ Suddenly the whole crowd caught sight of Jesus. They ran to greet him, overcome with excitement. ¹⁶ Jesus asked them, “What are you arguing about?”

¹⁷ Someone from the crowd responded, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, since he has a spirit that doesn’t allow him to speak. ¹⁸ Wherever it overpowers him, it throws him into a fit. He foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and stiffens up. So I spoke to your disciples to see if they could throw it out, but they couldn’t.”

9:25 Noticing that the crowd had surged together, Jesus spoke harshly to the unclean spirit, “Mute and deaf spirit, I command you to come out of him and never enter him again.” ²⁶ After screaming and shaking the boy horribly, the spirit came out. The boy seemed to be dead; in fact, several people said that he had died. ²⁷ But Jesus took his hand, lifted him up, and he arose.

For some unstated reason, the legal experts are arguing with the disciples that remained below. Perhaps they were pointing out the ineffectiveness of the disciples in treating the boy’s condition. Here we see the thematic element of conflict between Jesus, his works, and those who see Jesus as a threat to traditional forms of order and power.

We also see arise the thematic element of a child and what children represent. Here we witness the boy as an innocent victim, the cause of his condition is unstated and frankly, it shouldn’t matter. The child is oppressed, and Jesus restores him to wholeness.

Continuing, Jesus reaffirms the reason for his journey to Jerusalem. It is to demonstrate that the ways of human power is opposed to God’s kingdom.

9:30 From there Jesus and his followers went through Galilee, but he didn’t want anyone to know it. ³¹ This was because he was teaching his disciples, “The Human One^[e] will be delivered into human hands. They will kill him. Three days after he is killed he will rise up.”

9:33 They entered Capernaum. When they had come into a house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about during the journey?” ³⁴ They didn’t respond, since on the way they had been debating with each other about who was the greatest. ³⁵ He sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be least of all and the servant of all.” ³⁶ Jesus reached for a little child, placed him among the Twelve, and embraced him. Then he said, ³⁷ “Whoever welcomes one of these children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me isn’t actually welcoming me but rather the one who sent me.”

And we see repeated themes. The disciples are arguing about power in the kingdom. And we see the theme of the child. The kingdom of God turns upside down the human notions of power. Our understanding and practice of power is “power over.” Those who have the most power wield control over others or use the promise and delegation of power to keep underlings in their thrall. But in the kingdom of God power is earned by serving, by letting go of the need to control, and by being hospitable with no expectations of reciprocity.

The next set of texts were read last week. Here are a couple of verses to remind us.

9:38 John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone throwing demons out in your name, and we tried to stop him because he wasn’t following us.”

9:42 “As for whoever causes these little ones who believe in me to trip and fall into sin, it would be better for them to have a huge stone hung around their necks and to be thrown into the lake.

The disciples want to control Jesus’ power. They want exclusive use of it. Jesus tells them that is not how God’s power works. And once more is raised the theme of children, or “little ones” here – those who have no power in the worldly sense. They are the ones who are most valuable to the kingdom of God.

Next we come to today’s reading. Here are a few verses to remind us of the reading.

10:2 Some Pharisees came and, trying to test him, they asked, “Does the Law allow a man to divorce his wife?”

10:13 People were bringing children to Jesus so that he would bless them. But the disciples scolded them. ¹⁴ When Jesus saw this, he grew angry and said to them, “Allow the children to come to me. Don’t forbid them, because God’s kingdom belongs to people like these children. ¹⁵ I assure you that whoever doesn’t welcome God’s kingdom like a child will never enter it.” ¹⁶ Then he hugged the children and blessed them.

There is plenty of interesting details about the test that was posed to Jesus, but for now, the key point is that the questioners are asking Jesus to take sides in the ongoing debate between two or more groups at that time. Jesus refuses to do so and takes a third position by appealing to God’s original intention for loving relationships.

And again, the theme is brought up of children who exemplify the kind of individuals that will inherit the kingdom of God.

This is followed by the story of a man (sometimes identified as the rich ruler) who questions Jesus.

10:17 As Jesus continued down the road, a man ran up, knelt before him, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to obtain eternal life?”

¹⁸ Jesus replied, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except the one God. ¹⁹ You know the commandments: Don’t commit murder. Don’t commit adultery. Don’t steal. Don’t give false testimony. Don’t cheat. Honor your father and mother.”^[k]

²⁰ “Teacher,” he responded, “I’ve kept all of these things since I was a boy.”

In Mark’s account, the questioner appears to be asking sincerely. Other gospel accounts turn him into a negative foil. There is much that could be said about each writer’s agenda and editing, but we will leave that for another time.

This is the first time reading this story where the man’s response, “I’ve kept all of these things since I was a boy,” struck me as fitting in with the broader theme of adults vs. children in this extended section. Jesus tells the man that he must give away his possessions, and the man’s response is to walk away in dismay because he is wealthy.

When I read this, what drew my attention was an unspoken question, “What happened to that child-like innocence where wealth didn’t matter to you? What only mattered was pleasing God.” And perhaps that is another lesson and question that we need to ask of ourselves as well.

The disciples are confused and dismayed. In response,

10:29 Jesus said, “I assure you that anyone who has left house, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, or farms because of me and because of the good news ³⁰ will receive one hundred times as much now in this life—houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and farms (with harassment)—and in the coming age, eternal life. ³¹ But many who are first will be last. And many who are last will be first.”

Again we see the theme of the reversal of conventional (human) ideas of power.

As their journey continues, Jesus repeats the foundational theme of his death and resurrection.

10:32 Jesus and his disciples were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, with Jesus in the lead. The disciples were amazed while the others following behind were afraid. Taking the Twelve aside again, he told them what was about to happen to him. ³³ “Look!” he said. “We’re going up to Jerusalem. The Human One^[l] will be handed over to the chief priests and the legal experts. They will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles. ³⁴ They will ridicule him, spit on him, torture him, and kill him. After three days, he will rise up.”

The theme of confusion continues. The disciples still don’t understand.

10:35 James and John, Zebedee’s sons, came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”

³⁶ “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

³⁷ They said, “Allow one of us to sit on your right and the other on your left when you enter your glory.”

³⁸ Jesus replied, “You don’t know what you’re asking! Can you drink the cup I drink or receive the baptism I receive?”

³⁹ “We can,” they answered.

Jesus said, “You will drink the cup I drink and receive the baptism I receive, ⁴⁰ but to sit at my right or left hand isn’t mine to give. It belongs to those for whom it has been prepared.”

⁴¹ Now when the other ten disciples heard about this, they became angry with James and John. ⁴² Jesus called them over and said, “You know that the ones who are considered the rulers by the Gentiles show off their authority over them and their high-ranking officials order them around. ⁴³ But that’s not the way it will be with you. Whoever wants to be great among you will be your servant. ⁴⁴ Whoever wants to be first among you will be the slave of all, ⁴⁵ for the Human One^[e] didn’t come to be served but rather to serve and to give his life to liberate many people.”

Following the world’s ideas of power – striving for it, acquiring it, and maintaining it – is diametrically opposed to God’s kingdom. It was human quest for power and control that led to humans murdering God.

If we want to live, to have life, and to be free, we must forsake the ways of worldly power and embrace serving and to empower others to live free from the clutches of the temptations of worldly power and wealth. We must become as vulnerable and powerless as children.

Christians, churches, and religious organizations are not immune to the appeal of worldly power. It doesn’t take, but a brief survey of the political structures around us, to see that.

Can we resist the temptation to utilize power for ourselves and to advance our own agendas through means of control, manipulation, and threats? Can we learn to rise above the methods of this world? And can we then be examples and witnesses of what it means to be fully whole and human? Through our service to those that the world often discards – the “little ones” and the “children” in the eyes of this world’s powers – can we restore dignity, agency, and hope to them? Are we prepared and willing to live out God’s kingdom in our world?