Jesus Blesses Little Children, Part 1

In this part of the sermon: Martin describes the disciples' stern rebuke of the adults, using the strong biblical term. He speculates their motivation was to protect Jesus from what they perceived as…

The disciples are compared to secretaries filtering access to an important executive, illustrating their perceived role in protecting Jesus from 'unwarranted intrusions' on his time and energy.

And here's where we get a hint of what the actual physical circumstances may have been. Verse 14 says, but when Jesus saw it, now that word saw could mean observed by all of the faculties of observation, hearing as well as sight, or it could be that the disciples had gone outside of the house, seeing people approaching, they were acting like a secretary to an important executive who tries to filter out access to that executive. Well, it may well be that out of real concern for their Lord, they were desirous of protecting him from unwarranted intrusions upon his time and unwarranted expenditure...

14:19 - 15:15 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin describes the disciples' stern rebuke of the adults, using the strong biblical term. He speculates their motivation was to protect Jesus from what they perceived as…

Martin describes the children as 'fat, red cheek, chubby, gurgling little babes in arms' to emphasize that they were not sick or deformed, thus highlighting the disciples' misjudgment of Jesus' priorities.

No indication that they are bringing deformed and seriously ill little ones. They're bringing healthy babes in arms. Fat, red cheek, chubby, gurgling little babes in arms. The Lord doesn't have time for that.

16:47 - 17:04 Read in full sermon

Driving home: And the marvel of it is that if we may put it in physical terms if our Lord experienced a hundred pounds of vexation and indignation there wasn't one millionth of an ounce of sin in it.

Martin quotes B.B. Warfield's principle that gospel writers describe Christ's emotional responses by observing outward manifestations, not by playing 'junior psychologists.' This explains how Mark could describe Jesus' 'indignation'.

First of all, His emotional or inward response, verse 14. But when Jesus saw it, He was moved with indignation. Now on previous occasions I have quoted to you or given a paraphrase of a tremendous principle articulated by B.B. Warfield in his masterful essay called The Emotional Life of Our Lord. And in that essay, Warfield makes the point and I believe indisputably makes the point that the gospel writers never played junior psychologists. They didn't try to read into the inner life of our Lord and penetrate areas that they could not penetrate by mere natural faculties. Whenever they describe ...

19:31 - 20:40 Read in full sermon

Driving home: And the marvel of it is that if we may put it in physical terms if our Lord experienced a hundred pounds of vexation and indignation there wasn't one millionth of an ounce of sin in it.

The disciples' observation of Jesus weeping at Lazarus' grave, leading them to say 'behold how He loved Him,' is used as an example of inferring inward emotional states from outward actions.

They reasoned backward to the inward state from the outward manifestation of that peculiar emotional response. It's when Jesus was observed weeping at the grave of Lazarus that they said, behold how He loved Him.

20:40 - 21:01 Read in full sermon

Driving home: And the marvel of it is that if we may put it in physical terms if our Lord experienced a hundred pounds of vexation and indignation there wasn't one millionth of an ounce of sin in it.

Martin uses the metaphor of Jesus' words being 'tinged and flavored' and 'thramblesated with the passion of holy vexation and righteous indignation' to convey the depth and purity of his emotional response.

but it was a holy ruffling and all that it expressed was holy but we are given to understand in this text that whatever our Lord said with His words was tinged and flavored to choose to change the imagery thramblesated with the passion of holy vexation and righteous indignation. So much for His emotional or inward response then note His verbal response and Mark describes it in three parts His verbal response started with a two-fold command or imperative notice the language notice the language He was moved with indignation and said unto them unto the disciples suffer or permit the little childr...

26:00 - 27:27 Read in full sermon

Driving home: And the marvel of it is that if we may put it in physical terms if our Lord experienced a hundred pounds of vexation and indignation there wasn't one millionth of an ounce of sin in it.

Jesus speaking to his disciples 'like a drill sergeant to some unruly person' illustrates the sternness and directness of his command to permit the children to come.

but it was a holy ruffling and all that it expressed was holy but we are given to understand in this text that whatever our Lord said with His words was tinged and flavored to choose to change the imagery thramblesated with the passion of holy vexation and righteous indignation. So much for His emotional or inward response then note His verbal response and Mark describes it in three parts His verbal response started with a two-fold command or imperative notice the language notice the language He was moved with indignation and said unto them unto the disciples suffer or permit the little childr...

26:00 - 27:27 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The kingdom belongs to such as these because they receive it as a gift the ground of Jesus' surprising statement is not to be found in any subjective quality possessed by children but rather in their objective humbleness…

The example of a babe needing to be fed, changed, bathed, and protected, and rooting around for its mother, vividly illustrates the 'essence of dependant-ness' and 'receptiveness' that mirrors the spiritual state required for the kingdom.

the little one in arms and surely we have constant vivid multiplied reminders of this reality in this place must be fed with the bottle or breast placed in its mouth it can't even go and get its own bottle it roots around in the arm of its father doesn't know the difference many times when it's a very young infant hoping somehow to find in the father what only the mother can give him every father here of a nursing child has had that humorous experience it must be changed and bathed and clothed and laid to rest and protected it is the very essence of dependant-ness the very essence of receptive...

31:52 - 33:19 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Verily, amen, I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom, whosoever shall not be found in the posture of receptiveness, the receptiveness mirrored in the dependantness of the child, he shall in no wise enter…

Martin visualizes Jesus taking 'one child after another into his arms,' laying a hand on each head, praying, and pronouncing blessing, to explain how he could 'intensely and earnestly blessing them while all the while laying his hands both upon one and then upon another'.

He takes the word for blessing and he puts a preposition in front to make a compound word that really should be translated, he was intensely or wholeheartedly with heart and soul engaged. he was continually blessing them and while doing that he was placing his hands upon them now I pondered that for a long time if he's got them in his arms how does he take his hands unless he calls them to levitate and put both hands on them well that surely isn't what Mark is saying I believe what we are to understand is this that as he would take one child after another into his arms as he would pray as he w...

43:50 - 45:17 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not view entering the kingdom as something you can achieve through good breeding or Christian heritage.

Paul's testimony in Philippians 3 about his impeccable bloodlines is used as an example of someone who once thought he could climb into the kingdom through heritage, only to count it as 'refuse'.

Paul once thought that. You read the record of it in Philippians chapter 3. And he said, my bloodlines were impeccable. If bloodlines can form the rungs of a ladder to enter the kingdom, surely I would have entered.

49:42 - 49:57 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not think you can build a ladder to heaven with your own deeds, virtues, or lack of sin.

The Pharisee who thanked God he was not like other men and boasted of his deeds is used as an example of someone trying to build a ladder of 'own deeds and doings and virtues' into the kingdom, but failing.

That was the error of the Pharisee who stood in the presence of God and said, I thank you. I'm not as other men. I do. I do. I do.

50:27 - 50:35 Read in full sermon

The point: For those in the kingdom, the disposition of dependence that marked your entrance must continue to grow and develop.

The common insult 'you're acting like a little baby' is used to highlight how much we resist the very posture of dependence that God desires for us, turning a negative into a positive spiritual goal.

And oh, how quickly we move from that posture of dependantness. I mean, the worst thing someone can say to you. Is, hey, you're acting like a little baby. You kids, you know how that feels when someone says to you, you're acting like a little baby.

55:18 - 55:34 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not resent the shaking of your religious experience if it reveals self-deception; instead, come in all your dependence to Jesus, prepared to receive what you cannot earn.

Relying on one's own performances for salvation is likened to weaving a 'fabric on the loom of your own performances' that will 'whither with one glance of His eyes that there is a flame of fire,' emphasizing its utter inadequacy before God.

Well, may the Lord take this portion of His Word, burn it into our hearts. And if that question has found us this morning and left us confused, feeling that someone has shaken the very pillars of our religious experience, my friend, don't resent that shaking. I've spoken to you as a friend who loves your soul and who does not want to see you go deceived to judgment, thinking you can enter because you've woven a fabric on the loom of your own performances with which you will dare to appear in the presence of God. That fabric will whither with one glance of His eyes that there is a flame of fire...

56:42 - 58:05 Read in full sermon