Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Prayer Meeting Lesson Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/pm/pm19961204.htm

MARK: GOSPEL OF THE SERVICE OF CHRIST, GOD'S SERVANT
Part XXXVIII: Valuing The Welfare Of Little Children As A Priority In Ministry
(Mark 10:1-12 with 10:13-16)
  1. Introduction
    1. In Jesus' day, the secular world looked upon children as having value only if they somehow contributed to the interests of the adult world. A papyrus dated June 17, 1 B.C. in Alexandria contains a letter from a husband to his expectan t wife, saying: "if it was a male child, let it live; if it was a female, cast it out." (W. L. Lane, The Gospel of Mark, p. 361 who quotes A. Deissmann, Light from the Ancient East, p. 167-170).
    2. As it was in Jesus' era, so it is in ours today. A woman can have a late term abortion, declaring the fetus to be a non-person simply because she doesn't want the baby, where doctors give a premature infant all sorts of care just to l et it live simply because its mother wants to have it as her child!
    3. Jesus had an interesting comment to make on the value of children in Mark 10:1-12 with 10:13-16:
  2. Valuing The Welfare Of Little Children As A Priority In Ministry, Mark 10:1-12 with 10:13-16.
    1. Jesus' discussion condemning divorce in Mark 10:1-12 is connected to His encounter of little children in Mark 10:13-16 which immediately follows it, cf. Ibid., p. 359; Bib. Know. Com., N.T., p. 149. The first section is complemented by Jesus' encounter with the little children.
    2. Well, in the section on divorce, Jesus argued strongly that marriage joined a man and woman into a single flesh, Mark 10:7-8: because they became one flesh, ultimately expressed in physical union, they were not to be separated by divor ce, Mark 10:9.
    3. In the section on children, Jesus is dealing with the ultimate result of a physical, one-flesh union of a husband and wife, that result being a small child. Accordingly, He addresses the value of the small child:
      1. People were bringing to Jesus little children to be blessed by Him in typical fashion as Jewish rabbinical blessings were wont to be given out, Mk. 10:13a, Ibid., Lane, p. 359.
      2. However, the disciples, in keeping with the value system of the day, felt people were wrong to interfere Messiah's ministry with having to bless insignificant little children; thus, they forbade people from br inging any more children to Him, Mark 10:13b.
      3. Jesus became very upset at this prohibition, giving two staccato commands to the disciples both to allow the little children to come, and not to forbid them, Mark 10:14a.
      4. He explained that little children are unpretentious and depend entirely upon adults for their every blessing and welfare: such a quality is an absolute necessity for all adults to enter God's Kingdom, for unless one comes on God's grac e in simple faith as does a child who trusts an adult, he cannot have eternal life, Mark 10:14b-15.
      5. Jesus then took the little children up in his arms unlike any rabbi would have done, and, putting both hands on the head of each, gave profuse blessings upon them. The word for "blessed" is emphatic in form (kateulogei ), meaning "warmhearted fervor" to show His warmth toward these little ones whom He obviously deeply valued, Ibid., Bib. Know. Com., N.T., p. 150.
Lesson: Christ placed as much value on the existence of a little child as He did on an adult. Accordingly, (a) marriage, which unites in flesh a husband and wife is to be indissoluable, for one reason is that it forms the welfare backdrop for t he children who come from such unions; (b) as Jesus showed great warmth to little children, stooping to gather them up and bless them with great warmth, so ought we to treat impressionable, emotionally focused little children for their welfare.

Application: (a) It is significant for a church to minister for the preservation of marriages that form the framework of a healthy childhood for those born in marital unions! Thus, standing for permanence in marriage and against divorce and remarr iage is a must. (b) Similarly, it is very right for the local church to put a priority on its Sunday School and Vacation Bible School ministries, for these ministries introduce little children to Christ, an introduction that God orders us not to forbid.