“13-Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. 14-But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. 15-"Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it." 16-And He took them up in His arms, put His hands on them, and blessed them.
(Mark 10:13-16)
As always, when Jesus entered any town or village, it was only a matter of time before crowds of people would begin to press in close. People would come from near and far to get close to Jesus - fathers with dieing daughters, mothers with sick children, demoniacs, lepers, lame, blind, deaf and many others with various afflictions and sickness.
On one particular occasion, it seems that a group of people brought a group of little children to Jesus. Mark points out that they brought them for with hope that Jesus might touch them. We are not told that any of them were particularly sick or in some way deformed.
Apparently, they looked like normal children. For, when the disciples assessed the situation they sensed no urgency of crises. In fact, the disciples went as far as to rebuke those who brought them. Interesting. What did they say? How did they rebuke them? And, why?
What do you think was going on here?
Imagine: You’re a spectator in the crowd on this particular day. Perhaps you’d rather imagine yourself as one of the twelve disciples. Whatever the case, imagine this scene being played out before you. Try to envision it from various parties’ perspective. What do they want? What are they seeking? And finally, why and how did the disciples rebuke those that brought the children to Jesus?
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