Jesus' Honoring of the Children

An Exploration of Mark 9:33-10:31

I don’t typically share schoolwork here, but since some of you have already peeked at this paper-excerpt, a few of you asked if you could use it as a resource and for that I’m humbled. The following section was pulled from a paper on Mark for my Gospels’ class at DTS. Now that it has been graded and tweaked a little, I hope this perspective serves as an encouragement- particularly to my kid-min friends, teachers, and parents shepherding young disciples towards the love of God. Thanks for being here.

As we continue our deep dive into the book of Mark, it is essential that we first acknowledge how we’re approaching the text– because this posture determines both what we will find, and what we might miss. Who are we centering? Are we rushing to interpret and apply without fully immersing ourselves in the world of the author? In Four Portraits One Jesus, Strauss invites bible readers to treat the gospels like narrative literature with a theological objective, but handle them like a script, taking into account the setting behind the words. The reality is that just like the disciples in the passages we’re going to discuss here, when we become distracted by misaligned priorities, overtaken by our insecurities, and even when we miss the point entirely, simply centering Jesus in his own story and allowing it to come alive for us has the power to reveal so much otherwise easily overlooked truth.

So, lets center Jesus amidst the scene that develops in late chapter nine. Jesus and his disciples are travelling by foot through Galilee, and finally arrive at Capernaum (9:33). The distance that they walked was roughly thirty miles, so the journey likely spanned multiple days. Once the group finally began to get settled in the house where they were staying, Jesus strikes up a conversation. He asks some the men he was with “Hey fellas! What were ya’ll bickering about back there while we were walking down the road?” … As if he did not already know. Flustered and embarrassed, the disciples he was addressing hesitated to respond because they had actually been debating which one of them out of the bunch was the greatest (9:34).

Presumably exhausted, Jesus somehow manages to respond patiently and compassionately by sitting down to teach and calls all of the disciples over towards himself. Taking a young child into his arms, Jesus explains to them that whoever wants to be greatest or ‘first’, must both be last of all, and a servant of all…And whoever receives and welcomes a child into his arms such as this (as he was doing), in his name, receives Jesus and likewise the one who sent him (9:35–36). But as I was reading, I could not help but notice the section titles in my bibles. In both my amplified and NASB translations, the following verses 38–50 are under the heading “Dire Warning.” My Jesus Bible entitles this section “Whoever is Not Against Us is For Us,” and I tend to think that the NET translation entitles this section most accurately from the examples listed, as “Questions About Greatness.”

So, since these titles are not divinely inspired, let’s imagine for a second that there are no section divides because in Mark’s original manuscript there would not have been :). His gospel was intended to be read straight through without stopping, so, let us simply read the text straight through. As Jesus is teaching on the topic of welcoming and receiving with the child still in his arms, John interrupts with news that is completely irrelevant (9:38). It is as if he's looking to emnitize this mysterious unknown evangelist and attain praise from Jesus for attempting to dissuade him. But Jesus does not do that. Jesus, with the child in his lap essentially says “Do not worry about that. No big deal. Whoever is not against us is for us (9:40).” It is also safe to assume that since Jesus was navigating so much day to day conflict and persecution throughout the book of Mark, that a nonthreat was also of nonimportance.

When we see the section title read “Whoever is Not Against Us is For Us” our minds immediately register that phrase as important. But what if Jesus’ actual tone was dismissive in nature? Of course, we will never know for certain one way or the other. It’s therefor important that we acknowledge our non–scriptural biases we bring to the text, that we might approach the bible with an open–hearted posture to both learn and imagine with humility. Continuing on, in verse 41, Jesus refocuses his attention on the child and continues his line of thought that is reminiscent of the final judgement text in Matthew 25. But as he teaches his disciples, still referencing the little ones in their shared midst (9:42), he begins to use exaggerative language to get his point across (9:43–50), and the shift is stark.

So why would he do this? Well, in kid’s ministry, this is often something we do to tell stories to children so that they might grasp a particular concept. We use silly voices and dramatic hand motions. And here is where I would like us to think about potentially renaming this section in our brains from “Dire Warnings” to perhaps “Jesus Teaches With the Children in His Arms” or “Jesus Leads Children’s Church.” Because as someone who regularly teaches four, five, and six year old children, I can easily envision Jesus pantomiming the action of sawing off a body part (9:43) or pretending to pluck out his eyeball; perhaps while making a weird face (9:47). I can even picture him wiggling his arms like a worm to make sure that he was getting his point across (9:46, 48), as he reminded them of an Old Testament passage, they might be familiar with (Is 66:24). I can see my savior Jesus expressing the words “salted with fire” (9:49) in a bellowing voice with twinkling spirit fingers, and perhaps even bursting out in explosive giggling afterwards.

This isn’t irreverent laughter by any means, but it’s a way of inviting the kids into his teaching, centering their understanding, and connecting with them on an intimate level. While I recognize that this interpretation is hypothetical in nature, and there is of course no way to know for certain one way or the other, the most convincing textual argument I have for this type of setting exists in chapter 10 verse 1 which reads “Getting up.” Because Jesus had been sitting with the children present the entire time (9:35–10:1a).

So, let us keep going then. Jesus heads to Judea (10:1b) and is later confronted by scribes and pharisees attempting to discredit him (10:2). So as he’s managing the religious leaders and teaching about the Mosaic Law, divorce, and marriage(10:3–11)– Jesus noticed something. Parents were attempting to bring their children to Jesus so that he might bless them and be welcomed by him, but his disciples were actively obstructing them from doing so(10:13). The text says Jesus was utterly indignant (10:14) when he saw what was happening and reminds them what he literally said to them just a few days before. Did they forget so quickly? Was he unclear? Again, here I would like to infer a touch of holy sarcasm as Jesus was possibly incredibly frustrated with his disciples’ failure to grasp something that was so obviously important to him.

It is likely that many more children were present this time compared to the previous pericope, as the text states that Jesus took the children into his arms one by one and blessed them with kind encouraging words, while placing his holy hands upon them (10:16). Once again, as Jesus begins to leave (10:17), he is approached by the “rich young ruler–” a story which many of us know well. Some scholars even speculate this young ruler is Mark himself. But it is important to note once again that the children (10:21) were still among him and their presence affected his response. When the man refuses Jesus’ invitation to give away his belongings to the poor and follow him, the man leaves grieving (10:22). So, Jesus says first to his disciples “How difficult it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of heaven.” Then Jesus repeats himself, but this time his attention is pointed towards the children (10:24) “Children, how difficult is it for those who place their hope and confidence in riches to enter the kingdom of God!”(10:24)

Here, Jesus continues again with his astonishing and exaggerative storytelling as he prioritizes the understanding of the children in his midst (10:25). The text says they responded with awe, exclaiming “Well then who can be saved!?” much like children often do when they’re fully engaged with their teacher. Looking at them, Jesus said “with people, it is impossible–but not with God; for all things are possible with God.” (10:27) So, this time Peter interrupts (10:28). Seeking validation and with defensive undertones, he points out that the disciples had given up everything to follow him– their families, livelihoods, and reputations in their communities. And Jesus lovingly responds by assuring him that in the coming age, it will be worth their sacrifice one hundred-fold (10:29–30). Jesus ends this section once again by saying “Many who are first will be last, and last first.” (1:31) I imagine here, he had his eyes were fixed on the little ones around him, smiling.

As I’ve explored commentaries and various teaching on the text, I find it ironic that the children that Jesus is prioritizing in the text, are almost never prioritized elsewhere. Often, they are even overlooked entirely. And I wonder if in our efforts to dissect and exegete what Jesus meant by camels and needles and chopping off body parts, that perhaps we adults have missed the point. What if the children were the intended audience of what we adults would describe as some of his strangest passages? and what if Jesus was communicating with the children in ways that (10:22)children learn best? While approaching the text reverently is absolutely essential, we must acknowledge that the text was not written to us nor about us, but rather for us all to understand Jesus and grow closer to him as we learn about his character and priorities, including his tiniest disciples. I think that as we consider the hypostatic nature of Jesus, particularly his humanness, it is plausible to assume that when he was surrounded by children that he loved and blessed, their mere presence would have made him smile. And smiling and laughing with children fosters meaningful connection. This is important because these pericopes are wedged right in the middle of Mark’s core teaching on discipleship and what it means to follow Jesus.

While academics and theologians may be tempted to erase the children from the theological significance of the passage, as is true with the rest of Mark’s gospel, their prioritization is the theological point he seeks to make using the literary themes of irony and paradox (available only to those who are reading with the themes in mind). So, as we pay attention to the particularity of this context and read it as Mark wrote it, then we can clearly observe Jesus’ kingdom rearranging of the social hierarchy in his midst, in such a manner that elevated the children in a revolutionary way. It is also noteworthy that in both instances with the children, Jesus is communicating his most important priorities to the children– the priorities of service and compassion as they relate to salvation. In Matthew 25 the final judgement is essentially “what it all comes down to.” The sheep and the goats are sifted based on their willingness to see, serve, and care for their marginalized neighbors. It is this willingness that Jesus emphasizes for the children in his midst. I wonder if too often our eagerness to slice and dice the text into bite sized chunks (especially for our own purposes) inadvertently means we wind up missing the forest for the trees. Yes, Jesus teaches about marriage and divorce and life as a disciple, and so many important things in these chapters. And yes, these teachings are important! But reading these passages together clearly shows how Jesus prioritized the children in his midst and taught so that they might understand his saving power through comfort, silliness, and even questions.

In closing, we would be wise not only to willingly welcome children such as these– as Jesus did, and as he instructed– but also to assume their faith posture, and willingness to be wrapped up in his arms, ask questions, and receive his blessing and encouragement. Those of us as parents also serve a pivotal role in advocating for our children to pursue closeness with Jesus, and clear the way for him to work in their lives as honored heirs of the kingdom of Heaven. We would also be wise to resist the urge to ask questions of scripture that center ourselves before we even think to ask “Who was Jesus even talking to here? Why? What is going on at this point in the narrative?” In conclusion, it is my hope that we choose to follow Jesus’ example in ways that usher wonder, laughter, and compassion into our faith journeys. If the last are first in the kingdom of heaven, it is my hope that we would relinquish all earthly desire to be first both in this life and the next and reorient our perspective in such a way that Jesus’ priorities become our priorities too.

blessings for the week ahead,

Liz