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ប្រតិចារិក
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We've probably all either said or we've heard those words spoken to children or young people. What do you want to be when you grow up? What do you want to do when you grow up? As if to grow up is kind of the goal. At the age of 50, C.S. Lewis, he said this, when I was 10, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am 50, I read them openly. When I became a man, I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up. I know when our children were much younger, I remember adults would look at them in the same way now that I look at little children age one, two, three. in our church or elsewhere with their sort of adorable faces, curious actions, sort of unpretentious way about them. Children have a unique way about them. They seem unconcerned as they live, unconcerned about the things around them. And of course, children will say, All kinds of things that are quite funny. One person famously said, children will say the darndest things. Well, here's a few of them from some young people. This is a young man, Larry. He said, maybe Cain and Abel would not kill each other so much if they had their own rooms. It works with my brother. Here's Eugene. I didn't think orange went with purple until I saw the sunset you made on Tuesday. That was cool. Lucy, are you really invisible, or is that just a trick? Norma, did you mean for the giraffe to look like that, or was it an accident? Jane, instead of letting people die and having to make new ones, why don't you just keep the ones you got now? And then Nora. I don't ever feel alone since I found out about you." Well, we're in Mark's gospel. We've come to chapter 10, and perhaps not coincidence that last week in considering the subject of families, marriages, marriage and divorce, it moves into the subject of children, children. And so the text is Mark chapter 10, just four verses, 13 to 16. Mark 10 verse 13. Let's give our attention to God's Word. And they were bringing children to him Jesus that he might touch them. And the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, Let the children come to me. Do not hinder them for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it. And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them. This very short and for I'm sure many of us familiar passage really is powerful. It packs quite a punch. There's a lot of expression in just these four verses. A lot of emotion, if you will. You have those who are bringing children to Jesus. They seem hopeful. They're anticipating favor, the grace, the blessing of the Lord in some way. You have the disciples. They're stepping in and rebuking those who are bringing the children. You have, of course, Jesus, who becomes, we're told, indignant. He's upset, angered at what is happening here. And then you have Jesus's blessing. The bestowing of his favor upon these children, his hands laid upon them. But with all of it, maybe a central question that comes out of this text is, Who is the kingdom for? Who is the kingdom of God for? As he says, for to such belong the kingdom of God. And I want us to see a few things. One is sort of the embrace of the kingdom, the welcome to any potentially who would come, the misunderstanding that the disciples have of what this kingdom is about, and then also the character Perhaps arguably the central characteristic of those who are living in this kingdom, like children. So first we have this embrace. Recall, Jesus began preaching in Mark 1, behold, the kingdom of God is at hand, calling people to repent and believe in the gospel. In other words, the kingdom of God, planned and purposed, has come in its final stage. The Messiah, the King, the Lord Jesus has come, and the final stage of history has dawned. This is the King who is going to judge the nations and the rulers of the earth. At the end of history, we read in Matthew 25, the dividing of the sheep and the goats. And He's going to have a people, redeem a people for Himself forevermore. So who is in? Who is out? Well, as we survey and think about the Scriptures as believers, we know it's not by age that one is in the kingdom. It's not by their sex. Not by their social status. where they live in the world or their nationality or their ethnicity, none of those things, it's not who your parents are. Or is it? Or is it? Well, this is an interesting situation because most likely it's parents who are bringing these children to Jesus. Verse 13, they were bringing children to him. And the they is most likely parents. This is not a picture of parents who are sort of cajoling their teenage kids to get up out of bed to go to public worship. The word children here is paideia, usually referring to a younger child, probably under age seven. In Luke's account of the same story, Luke chapter 18, There, in our version of the Bible, it's the word infant that is used. Infants are being brought. Another word is used there in the Greek, brephos. It's referring to infants. At times, it even refers to those who are unborn. Here's the point. Any redemptive hope or blessing for these children rests on someone else. Someone else. someone advocating for them. And so whatever one understands by this term blessing, Jesus blessing these children, in verse 16, that blessing rests on the work of another, a means or human instrument that is used on their behalf. And that reveals and reminds us of a key characteristic in the Christian faith and of the gospel. By God's very design, it does not come, the gospel and saving faith does not come directly, it comes through a means. It always comes through a means. And so for us to say that salvation is by grace through faith in Christ is true, but that faith rests on a human instrument. Think about it. Your faith is the result someone else that's part of Paul's point in Romans chapter 10 as Paul unfolds the gospel of God's saving grace through Christ and then in chapters 9 through 11 how God in Christ is working out the inclusion of Jews and Gentiles and then you come to chapter 10 Verse 13, whether Jew or Gentile, Paul says, for everyone, quote, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, drawing from an Old Testament prophet. But then he says, well, how will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news. Not only is the believer dependent upon the grace of the Lord, but his grace at first works through human instruments and mouthpieces that are used on the behalf of those he saves. So we think about words like proximity or association. It's the proximity, the closeness or association that these children have with the parents or those bringing them to Jesus that makes the difference. In the Old Testament, people understood these ideas of association and proximity. They depend on others for their own well-being, their faith, interceding. We think about the system of priests set up offering sacrifice on behalf of God's people. And so the people's very entrance into the Holy of Holies or their reception of the benefits of what comes from the Holy of Holies, the ark and the mercy seat where blood was offered to atone for sin, that depended on the work of another. I think of my missions, Professor Steve Childress, He told us the story of his father. His father rejected the gospel throughout his life, strongly opposed to the Christian message, was hardened to it. And yet, in the last year of his life, in his failing health, confined to his bed, Dr. Childress would go there regularly, multiple times a week, praying for him, praying with him. And he was there, he said, when he broke down and his heart was open. And he had a real repentance and contrition and trust in the Lord Jesus. Working on behalf of another. Praying on behalf of another. We've seen some extreme measures already in Mark's gospel. We think of the bleeding woman in chapter five, her illness for 12 years, she risked much in order to get in proximity, close to Jesus, just being able to touch the garment. Even more relevant to our text here is back in chapter two, the four friends bringing the paralytic. Remember, they couldn't enter through the door. It was so packed, and so they made another way up to the roof, opening the roof, lowering him on the mat right before the Lord Jesus to get him into the presence of Jesus. This is the faith of others working on behalf of a friend that results in forgiveness. Here, in our text, we have parents, likely, working on behalf of their children, that they would be blessed. They would be blessed. And unlike our world, unlike our society today, in the Greco-Roman world, children did not have much standing in society. It's not like our culture today. They were not viewed as having the kind of value, certainly worthy of interrupting Jesus's important ministry. That's how the disciples viewed it, which is why we're told in verse 13 that they sought to rebuke the parents. Some important points emerge here. The reformer John Calvin says, if the parents had come to place a crown on the head of Jesus, they would have accepted the fact willingly with rejoicing. And then he says this, for they did not yet grasp what his real office was. We see the disciples continue to struggle. What is this Messiah about? They see Jesus, the disciples see him and his ministry as one merely of honor. of exaltation, of a glorious crown. These children, whatever their need is beneath him, is what they think. And so they see Jesus like the kings of the earth. He's to be untouched, protected. But that is not how our Lord Jesus came. He didn't come first to bear a crown. but the lowliness of a cross. The psalmist says, David in Psalm 38, though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly. We look at our own lives. Can we at times view our Lord similarly to that of the disciples? Surely he doesn't have room or space or concern for that person or for me, for me. Surely he doesn't have time or space for my issues, my burdens. He's got a huge kingdom to advance. But the truth is, there is no sin. There's no problem. There's no past. There's no issue in life that Jesus is unwilling to make room for, to hear, to sympathize. That's what we sing, what a friend we have in Jesus. All our sins and griefs to bear. Just reading two days ago through my own Bible reading in Hebrews, Hebrews four, familiar words. We don't have a high priest unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. And then we also see Jesus with this beautiful and winsome characteristic in his ministry and service. His focus is not first on a kind of program. It's on people. It's on people. He does have a big program to advance, to be sure. a glorious kingdom. I mean, just think, if we were told that we had just two or three years to set up a congregation, and from that congregation, eventually it needs to touch all the nations. And you've got two to three years to prepare to launch that. And then you're out. You've got to equip people. I mean, think about the men Jesus is working with. There's a lot of equipping to do. It's got a big program to launch, to be sure. With that kind of thinking, you're going to be very vigilant about your time. Distractions. What are distractions to the common man for Jesus? Those are opportunity for ministry. His kingdom pervades that. We see that the embrace of God's kingdom. We also see this misunderstanding among the disciples. The disciples think that it's about really position. That's of utmost importance in the kingdom. But Jesus demonstrates it's not about position. It is really about mercy and grace. Even later in the chapter, as we'll see in a couple of weeks, we see James and we see John, their insistence on position. Just perhaps turn the page and we read in verse 35, James and John approaching Jesus and saying, we want you to do something for us. He says, what is it? And they say, grant to us to sit at your right and at your left hand in your glory. And Jesus goes on to explain. That we are not to be like the rulers of the Gentiles among the Gentiles, lording over people. But who would be great among you must be servant. Who would be first must be slave. Even the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. But it's how this grace, it's how this mercy and favor is displayed in this scene that's quite unique. What do you understand by Jesus blessing these children? And in those words, to such belong the kingdom. Well, I would offer two errors that should be avoided. and thinking about that language. One, many would read this story, and I have at times past, and suggest there's really nothing more going on here than a spiritual parallel that Jesus is making between children and believers. Emphasizing the words of verse 15. Receive the kingdom like a child. That just as children have that kind of simple, willful trust in a parent, Believers must possess that in God. Well, that is true. That is true. But why does Jesus take the children in his arms and then bless them? What is this blessing from Christ? If it's only a spiritual point for the disciples, why is he conveying his divine favor upon these children? The second error would be to take the words in verse 14, for to such belong the kingdom, and conclude that all children of all times naturally belong to the kingdom. We know, as David says from Psalm 51, I was sinful from birth from the moment my mother conceived me. No one's born morally innocent. We're born in corruption. We're taught by Paul in Romans chapter five, by naturally united to Adam, the first Adam. Paul says in Ephesians two, we were all by nature children of wrath. We've probably all heard someone say children, ah, they're so innocent. That person either has not had children or is forgotten. I think about different scenarios, thinking about sleeping in the middle of the night and children crying. That's not necessarily sinful, but what about the children at, you know, sort of at the dinner table and you're asking them, just keep the food on the plate here. You know, just eat the food. The food just goes in your mouth. Out on the floor again. No, no, no, just keep it on. Or two children playing with each other. They're playing at first, but then one grabs the toy, right? He's not borrowing that. Well, a key to this blessing, I think, lies in the act of the parents. John Calvin says this, we must notice the purpose of those who brought the children. It would have been meaningless for them to have offered their children had there not been a conviction in their minds that into his possession was given the power of the Spirit, which he would pour out on the people of God. There's therefore no doubt that they asked for the children a participation in that grace. In Luke's account, Luke 18, the word also is included. As if to say, when the parents had learned that Jesus graciously, kindly helped adults, these parents hoped also that He would benefit and confer gifting from the Spirit on their children. Think about it. It's an act not unlike prayer that these parents are demonstrating. We think of Hannah, barren Hannah in 1 Samuel 1, without child, longing for the joy and blessing of a son. pouring out her heart, praying without end that God would provide. And the scripture later in chapter one says, and the Lord remembered her. Not that he forgot her, but in his kindness, he used her very prayer to extend his favor. That's what these parents are doing. As likely believers themselves, they understand the covenant with God, the covenant bond and dynamic that Jesus's presence and his prayers and blessing don't guarantee their redemption. But they know there's no place outside of his grace and blessing where salvation will be found. God's graciousness and blessing are not only among the redeemed, but the whole covenant community. It's from the covenant community that the Word of God goes forth, and we see and participate in the Lord's Supper, and we sing praises unto God, right? We bring our children into this. We bring others into this. We think of Hebrews later in chapter four and five, warning against those who have tasted of the Word of God. But they're not redeemed. They've tasted. They've come very close, it seems. There's grace sort of, we might say, in the atmosphere around the things of God that we cherish. And so the parents, if you will, were being an aroma of life. for their children. Remember Paul's words in 2 Corinthians 2, we are the aroma of Christ, an aroma of life to some, an aroma of death to others. As those bathed in the fragrance of Christ's offering for us, we possess the very gospel of hope. The Wednesday afternoon Bible study is reading a book that's centering on the historical figure, the 20th century figure, Leslie Newbigin, missionary to India for 40 years. He was first involved with the student Christian movement. And in his own diary, he tells of a story of an encounter in Glasgow in which a beggar on the streets accosted him, was begging him for a sum of money for a night's lodging. And Newbigin, as a humble man, and as the Lord had taught in the Sermon on the Mount, if someone asked you to go a mile, you go two. He gave him twice as much as what the man had asked for. The man started to walk away, and he realized what just happened. And after he kind of got out of his shock, he went back to Leslie and asked for a much larger sum. I see how this works. Leslie told him, I don't have that with me now, but come back tomorrow. And the man came back. And Newvigin says that began a lifelong relationship with George King. This man he came to know, become friends with. That's kind of how our Lord works. You're not going to out-ask the Lord of his favor and grace. Can't out ask that. Now to him who is able to do far more immeasurably. All we ask or think. What no eye has seen or ear heard nor heart of man imagined what God has prepared for those who love him. And then we see the character of God's kingdom. There in verse 15. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." We notice the language, as R.C. Sproul put it. We are receiving the kingdom, not achieving the kingdom. We don't walk into the kingdom. The kingdom, in a way, embraces us. Often that language in verse 15 is viewed as a child with some positive character quality. We might say a childlike faith or a childlike wonder, a childlike transparency, a childlike humility. But it seems to me it's not a positive character quality that Jesus is getting at. The little child is helpless. The little child is helpless. They have nothing to offer. Nothing to offer. As James Edwards put it, it is not their virtue, but their helplessness that is stressed. They have no position. They have no standing to advance themselves. They've accomplished nothing. There's a helplessness. If you've ever put a resume together for a job, or a position, especially if it's one you really want. You know how much attention you can give to that one piece of paper, how it's formatted. You can hire people to help you with this. You want to get the right words, right experience listed there, your personal qualities. We don't read on resumes parts where it says probably unfit, maybe unqualified. You know, if you're questioning, you're not putting that down. Known to fall down on the job from time to time. And yet Jesus, in requiring those who enter his kingdom to be like a child, is to say, there's nothing we can bring to the table. We have to come empty. Blessed are the poor. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Theirs is the kingdom, Jesus taught. The equivalent of the childlike dependence, the helplessness, the neediness, I think is found in Paul's words. They're in Philippians chapter three. Philippians chapter three, and we'll end with his words. Where Paul says in verse four, though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh, If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence, I have more. And he begins to list the kind of pedigree that he brings to the table. A Pharisee, zealous, blameless as to the law. But then he says, but whatever gain I had, I count as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as lost because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. For his sake, I have suffered the loss of all things. I count them as rubbish that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which depends, that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God. that depends on faith. Let's pray together. Lord, we thank You that it is by Your grace that You have called us, that You have enabled us to see our helplessness, our neediness, that we would come. Nothing in my hands I bring, only to the cross I cling. Lord, we thank You for your saving and abundant mercy in Jesus Christ. Thank you, O Lord, that you do not call us to accomplish, to achieve, to merit this redemption, but you have done and accomplished that great work of salvation through the person and the obedience of Jesus Christ in life and in death. And O Lord, how we are united to Him. having been crucified with him, having been risen with him, since you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above. Oh Lord, we pray that you would fill our minds with that which is pure and pleasing, excellent and good, that which is godly. Unite our hearts, Lord, to you and to one another as we feed both upon your word and the Lord's supper. For this we pray with thanksgiving in our hearts, in Jesus' name, amen.
The Character Of The Kingdom
ស៊េរី Book of Mark
Mark 10:13-16
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