Sermon Tone Analysis

The kingdom of God - “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Many of the core aspects of life cannot be adequately described in human terms - i.e.

- Life

Life

Life

Love

Happiness

Meaning of life

What happens when we die?

The functions of our bodies

From man’s very limited myopic human perspective, spiritual truths are even more difficult to grasp and describe: i.e.

God

Man

Fallen man

Sin

Salvation

A sin damaged creation

The kingdom of God

Eternal life

What we find difficult to understand and describe, the Word of God often explains in simple terms that even a child can understand and embrace by faith.

To be sure, there are truths that in the Scriptures that are beyond the grasp of even the most mature believers, but the basics of the Gospel and salvation are not.

In today’s portion, Jesus would remind us of two wonderful truths, which we need to take to heart and share with others.

The kingdom of God belongs to those who receive it in simple childlike faith -

Parents bringing their children

Unnamed parents and unnamed children underscored the fact that these folks were no one special.

But they were to Jesus.

On a recent earlier occasion in Capernaum - - Jesus had used children to remind his disciples that receiving children was a very clear picture of those who by receiving other believers, received Jesus and him who sent him.

:

The word used by Mark suggested children up to 12 years of age.

It was used of the boy/child in - the boy that had been possessed by the deaf mute spirit.

Some younger - infants -

Lk 18:

Jesus took them in His arms indicates that they were not large.

That he might touch them - whether religious or not parents wanted their children to be touched by those deemed important had been a pattern

Disciples rebuking them

Forgot what Jesus had emphasized re receiving a child is an indicator of receiving Jesus -

The disciples were slow and disbelieving

Jesus’ reaction, comments and actions:

Indignant

Let the children come to me, do not hinder them FOR to such belongs the kingdom of God

No reason to assume that these children or their parents had any special innocence, purity or virtue.

In this story children are not blessed for their virtues but for what they lack: they come only as they are—small, powerless, without sophistication, as the overlooked and dispossessed of society.

To receive the kingdom of God as a child is to receive it as one who has no credits, no clout, no claims.23

A little child has absolutely nothing to bring, and whatever a child receives, he or she receives by grace on the basis of sheer neediness rather than by any merit inherent in him- or herself.

Little children are paradigmatic disciples, for only empty hands can be filled.

No reason to assume that these children are expressing saving faith.

Rather children, unless they have been abused, are more than will to accept and embrace the care that they no they need and without which they cannot survive.

Children are all too aware that they cannot care for themselves.

What about children who die as infants or before they see their sin and need of a Saviour.

The eminent nineteenth-century theologian Charles Hodge wrote, “Of such [children] He tells us is the kingdom of heaven, as though heaven was, in great measure, composed of the souls of redeemed infants” (Systematic Theology [repr., Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979], 1:27).

B. B. Warfield, the respected nineteenth-century Princeton theologian, also argued that Scripture teaches the salvation of infants:

Their destiny is determined irrespective of their choice, by an unconditional decree of God, suspended for its execution on no act of their own; and their salvation is wrought by an unconditional application of the grace of Christ to their souls, through the immediate and irresistible operation of the Holy Spirit prior to and apart from any action of their own proper wills … And if death in infancy does depend on God’s providence, it is assuredly God in His providence who selects this vast multitude to be made participants of His unconditional salvation …

Likewise, there is no reason to assume that this portion supports infant baptism as some denominations and John Calvin himself incorrectly conclude.

10:15, especially, has played a significant role in the discussion of infant baptism.

The pericope about Jesus and the children, of course, is about blessing children, not baptizing them, but both the blessing of Jesus and the wording of the narrative establish a positive context in which to consider the question of infant baptism.

Calvin argued that if children were brought to Jesus to receive the kingdom, which is the sum of the blessing sealed through baptism, why should they be denied baptism?

Cullmann argues that the language of the pericope has been chosen by Mark in order to answer the question of the propriety of infant baptism.25

Although Cullmann’s point is possible, it seems more probable that the language of early Christian baptism was taken from this passage, for infant baptism was scarcely an issue at the time Mark wrote his Gospel.

Nevertheless, the correlations in language between this pericope and later church baptismal liturgies indicate that the church early perceived the significance of this story for the baptism of infants.

Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.

Kingdom of God - God’s sovereign rule

In salvation

In the hearts of His people

Future - literal earthly kingdom

Rev

Receive = believe -

Repent & believe

Took the children in His arms and blessed them, laying His hands on them

Took - word translated took means enfold in ones arms as one would a baby.

Blessed - suggests prayed for them one by one.

The ritual of blessings was well known in Israel.

Noah blessed Shem and Japheth (Gen 9:26–27), Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau (Gen 27; 28:1–4), and Jacob blessed his sons and grandsons (Genesis 48–49).

Such blessings tended to be officious in nature, related particularly to the passing on of one’s name or property.

“A father’s blessing establishes the houses of his children,” declares Sir 3:9.

The laying on of hands was also a priestly rite of investiture in Israel, whereby wisdom (Deut 34:9) and the spirit of office (Num 27:18–20) were conferred on the ordinand.

This rite was also continued in early Christianity (Acts 6:1–6; 13:1–3).

Jesus also touched those whom others refused to touch - lepers, the ill and unclean

So should we.

2. Eternal life is God’s grace gift received by faith -

A man, his actions and question - 10:17

A man - young - ; ruler - probably in the synagogue - ; rich -

Ran and knelt - haste suggests earnest and eager BUT

Seeking the Lord commended for those who seek genuinely.

Amos

But those seeking must seek all of their heart.

1 Ch

Ps 119:

Possessions, social status that prove a liability rather than an asset

Good teacher - Jesus - why do you call me good - no one good but God

In Judaism only God regarded as good and when although rabbis accepted many title, good not one of them for fear of blaspheming God - cc

What must I do? - indicates lack of selflessness - a product of the legalism and self righteousness of his day betrayed the lack of an accurate knowledge of true salvation.

Eternal life - not extent of life as far as length of life but quality of life that is found in Christ alone not what we do or even the church.

The Scriptures emphasize - 17 references in Gospel of John.

50 times in NT - literal means - life of the age to come - “participation in the eternal life of the living Word, Jesus Christ” (Dr John MacArthur.

Jn 3:

Phil

Jesus, His reaction, question, interaction and directive - 10:18-22

You know the commandments - quoted

“All these have I kept from my youth.”

- sincere but superficial - no sense of sin

Like the Apostle Paul saw himself outwardly blameless