Mark 10:13

And they were bringing unto him little children, that he should touch them: and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was moved with indignation, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me: forbid them not: for to such belongeth the kingdom of God.

JESUS BLESSES THE LITTLE CHILDREN

Evidently, the disciples thought that Jesus would not have the time to bless little children, and their efforts would appear to have been due to misguided efforts to protect Jesus from such an encroachment upon his time and strength. How wrong they were!

Moved with indignation ... Some translate this, "was sore displeased with them." They had totally misunderstood the Master's mind. As Clarke noted, the words here are the same as in Matthew 21:15, "where the chief priests were `sore displeased' at the children in the temple who were crying, `Hosanna to the Son of David.'"[14]

Suffer the little children to come unto me ... Christ loved little children, and the scene here is one of beauty, love, and concern.

To such belongeth the kingdom of God ... They are wrong who read this as if it said that the kingdom belongs to little children. Again from Clarke:

He does not say that children are in his kingdom. Membership (in that kingdom) as Christ was preaching it, and as we must preach it, implies intelligence and personal faith. Here is no allusion to baptism; and here was his golden opportunity if he had ever wished baptism to be associated with infants. This is a place where we are justified in drawing a negative conclusion from the silence of the Scriptures.[15]

Regarding the qualities Jesus might have had in mind by his statement that those who are "like" children possess the kingdom, there are three schools of thought. Some, like Barclay, thought Jesus had in mind such subjective qualities as humility, obedience, trust, and shortness of memory (not holding grudges, etc.).[16] Erdman rejected such subjective qualities as those cited by Barclay but accepted their trustfulness (a subjective quality), and the objective facts of their helplessness and dependence, as qualities in those receiving the kingdom.[17] Still others, like Turlington, see only the objective qualities as applicable. Thus: "The kingdom does not belong to the mighty, the strong, the influential; it belongs to the weak, the insignificant, and the unimportant.[18]

While not denying that the objective qualities of little children are included, this student cannot exclude the subjective qualities as also having a place in Jesus' thoughts. It was clearly the subjective qualities of "spoiled children" that he made the basis of a comparison in Matthew 11:16,17; and that forbids ruling out the subjective qualities here.

[14] W. N. Clarke, op. cit.. p. 146.

[15] Ibid.

[16] William Barclay, op. cit., p. 250.

[17] Charles R. Erdman, The Gospel of Mark (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1966), p. 153.

[18] Henry E. Turlington, op. cit., p. 348.