Their rebuke does not go unnoticed by Jesus. In fact, Mark’s recording of this incident says that it really affected Jesus (Mark 10:14). He became indignant. The Greek word gives an idea of anger, but also of grief. Jesus didn’t just get upset at the disciples, He was hurt (pained) because of their reaction. So Jesus used their reaction as an opportunity to teach His disciples, and all who were listening, a very valuable spiritual lesson.
He instructed them to not keep the children away but to let them come to Him because, “to such belongs the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:14). The KJV says: “to such is the kingdom of God.” In other words, God’s kingdom is made up of those like children. Jesus explains, “Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it” (Mark 10:15).
According to Jesus, children possess a key to the kingdom. This key, according to Him, is in they way they accept the kingdom. In a way, He is telling the disciples that they need to be more like these children.
Is He telling them to become childish? Will Heaven be filled with people acting in childish ways? I don’t think so. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:11, “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.” Can you imagine if Christian adults acted childish? Selfish and whiny adults—what a thought! Regrettably, such childish behavior is still found in too many adults. Yet, this is not what Jesus was asking us to do. Being childlike and being childish are not the same thing.
For example, Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 14:20, “Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.” Our thoughts are to become mature and adult-like (ability to continue to learn and understand deeper things), but we should be child-like, or innocent, when it comes to evil. Similarly, Peter says, “So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation” (1 Peter 2:1, 2). There should be, in us, a child-like desire for the pure Word of God, not evil things; a longing for the perfect things of God, not the things of this world.
Jesus is calling us towards a child-like faith, child-like hope, and child-like love. Just think about how children so quickly and willingly accept the marvels of Heaven. “Impossible” is not a word known to a child, it is only learned as we become adults. It is interesting, and sad, that many of the things that plague us as adults are learned. As children we are taught to doubt, taught that one group of people can be greater than another, taught to not trust, taught that promises can be empty. It is when we are children that we learn to hate, to fear, to lose hope, and to give up. But Jesus wants us to go back to the simplicity of childhood when it comes to our spiritual experience. As His disciples, He desires that we return to the innocence of childhood—to change back into being quick to trust, quick to hope, and quick to love.
Jesus also calls us to humble ourselves like children. God has to be the greatest in our minds—not ourselves. We should be in awe of Him like a child would be in awe of their parents. You’ve experienced, or at least seen, a child in complete awe of something their mom or dad had done, haven’t you? As disciples of Jesus, we must have this same sense of awe of Him.
We must also be careful to avoid the childish trap the disciples found themselves in: they thought they were great because they followed someone great. Remember their question: “who is the greatest?” They wanted to establish a barking order. They wanted a hierarchy list. Was John the greatest? How about Peter? Maybe Bartholomew? No, definitely not Bartholomew. Sadly, this question plagued them even until the last supper with Jesus. Jesus reminded them in that upper room what He had taught before: disciples are supposed to be servants. We are to be humble not prideful. We are to look for ways to serve not be served. As Paul said, we are to “count others more significant than yourself” (Philippians 2:3).
Jesus wanted us to be like children so we would humbly serve each other and be quick to believe, hope and love. He is our example. He humbled Himself and became our servant. He generously and equally loved everyone and had quick, unwavering faith in His Father. And He wants us to be the same. Not childish, but childlike: humble servants lavishly loving each other and quick to trust in God.