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THE 60: Children Unexpected :: Mark 10:13-16

Children Unexpected:  Mark 10:13-16

Debrief

Debrief offers an abridged outline of the Sunday sermon for individuals or Community Groups alike, to re-engage the content of the Sunday sermon.  This outline is far from complete, but serves to give a track or road map to walk through the content of Sunday in another context during the week

Have you ever had someone misrepresent you?

This is what the disciples were doing to Jesus, and the reason why Jesus is so angry.  Jesus is with the 12 men he’s closest to at this point in His life, and they’re misrepresenting Him to the people around Him.  The people who are closest to Him are misrepresenting Him the most.......And on TWO very significant issues:  (1)  The way Jesus sees Children  (2)  The way Jesus sees Disciples.

How Does Jesus See Children

Some People See Children As DISRUPTIONS.  Even some religious people.  This is how most people in general, and some religious people in particualr, saw children in Jesus’s day.

Childhood in Jesus’ day was largely seen as an inconvienience and an unavoidable stage between birth and adulthood.  Kind of like Jr. High today

In actuality, it was much worse and much more serious than we think.  There was Abortion, Abandonment and Abuse in Jesus day, just as there is in our day.

The Disciples may not have been suggesting the abortion, abandonment or abuse of children, or that Jesus would suggest ANY of thes things.  FAR FROM IT.  BUT they were suggesting the children were an ANNOYANCE (disruption) to Jesus in the midst of all the other “adult” things He had to do.

The Disciples were taking their cue on children from culture, to some degree, rather than transforming the way their culture saw children by taking their cue on children from Jesus.

How much are we taking our cue on children from culture?

The Disciples may have seen these children as a disruption to the “more important” things they thought Jesus had in mind.  MORE LIKELY, they saw these children as disruptions to the “more important” things THEY had in mind (10:35......”we want you to do for us whatever we ask”

The children were getting in the way of what they wanted......of what they thought they were entitled to.......Power, Success, Fame, Recognition, et

Because they saw the children as a disruption to their end game, they became angry with them.  We become angry about the things we love.  They loved themselves, so they became angry at the children because the children were getting in the way of what they really loved........themselves

Rebuke: severe scolding; used elsewhere in Mark to rebuke demons (1:25; 3:12; 9:25), the demoically charged storm on the lake (4:39) and Peter telling Jesus not to go to the cross (8:33).

Just like Peter didn’t have the mind of God about Jesus and the cross because of his self-interest, now all the Disciples prove they don’t have the mind of Jesus about children because of their collective self-interest.

Do you have the mind of Jesus about children?  Do we as a people?

Jesus is LIVID!!!

Indignant (aganaktein): to arouse to anger; to vent your anger instead of just brooding on it.

Jesus is indignant when children are seen as an annoyance.......especailly to the people of God, because it distorts the image of God to them at the most impressionable age.

Some of our children are growing up believing that God is annoyed with them because we’re annoyed with them.

If this is you, make sure the FIRST thing you do when you see your kids after church is to apologize to them and ask their forgiveness and tell them that God is not annoyed with them, but affectionate toward them, and that you commit to modeling that better to them.

For some of us this is hard to relate to because we’ve gone to the opposite extreme.  Instead of seeing children as disruptions, we see them as Demi-Gods.

Some People See Children As Demi-Gods.  Even some religious people, who are claim to be adamently against idolatry, make their children little idols.  This is how many people in general, and some religious people in particular, see children in our day.

How much time and treasure do you think we tithe to the worship of our children?

It’s no wonder that so many of our kids struggle with idolatry.......because we have made them idols.  They’ve seen us make idols out of them, and now they’re making idols out of other things.......other peoples

Some People See Children As DISRUPTIVE.......Some People See Children As DEMI-GODS

Jesus See’s Children As DISCIPLES

This passage of Scrpture is the prototypical description of what Jesus wants for children as His Disciples:

1.    Jesus wanted them to COME TO HIM.

2.    Jesus wanted to BLESS THEM.  (Laying on of hands – The Blessing)

3.    Jesus wanted to SEND THEM.  (Laying on of hands – Commissioning)

What Jesus is saying about seeing Children as Disciples is also tremendously relevant to their parents, who have the responsibility to disciple them.

Jesus is here speaking to parents who are already committed to Him, who bring their children to Him, much like we do.

The first five years are most important for the development of children physcially, emotionally, socially, etc.  Likewise, the first five years of Discipleship are in many ways the most important years spiritually.......the most important years of discipleship.

5 Important Things About The First Five Years of Discipleship:

1.    Teaching them it’s all about Jesus

2.    Teaching them it’s all about the Cross

3.    Teaching then it’s all about Grace

4.    Teaching them it’s all about Scripture

5.    Teaching the it’s all about God’s Love through Discipline

How are you discipling the children in your life?

  • If we are OVERBEARING with our children, treating them as Disruptions, we distort the heart of God and misrepresent Jesus.
  • If we are OBSESSED with our children, treating them as Demi-gods, we distort the heart of God and misrepresent Jesus.
  • If we are OPPORTUNISTIC with our chidlren, always looking for opportunities to Disciple them and teach them about Jesus as His Disciples, we display the heart of God and rightly represent Jesus.

How Does Jesus See Disciples?

Jesus Not Only Sees Chidlren As Disciples, He Sees Disciples As Children

Jesus was indignant because the Disciples’ distortion of the way Jesus saw children also served as a distortion of the way we are supposed to see our coming to Jesus.......as children.

What Jesus is NOT saying:

Jesus is NOT saying that coming to Him as a child means coming simply or continuing to have a simple faith. (Hebrews 5:12)

In this story children are not blessed for their virtue of simplicty, BUT by virtue of the fact that they have no ability to do anything for themselves.

Children had no standing, no merit in Jesus’ day.  If they were to receive anything, it wouldn’t be because of their rights or merit, but only as a gift.......only by grace.  In the same way, if any of us are to reveive the Kingdom of God, we have to do so outside of any rights or merit of our own, but as a gift of God’s grace.

A little child has absolutly nothing to bring, and whatever a child receives, he or she receieves by grace on the basis of sheer neediness rather than by any merit in him or herself.  In this way, little discipels are the model for ALL disciples.

In laying his hands on these children and blessing them in this way, Jesus was saying that they were part of His family, by grace, and would inherit all that is His, by grace.

Jesus had already told His Disciples, “Blessed are the poor in spirit...... for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3)

It’s no wonder Jesus was so Indignant with the Disciples.  They were turning His message of the Gospel of Grace into a message of a merit.

5 Important Ways Disciples Are Like Children:

1.    Disciples can’t ‘birth’ themselves, they must be ‘conceived’ as it where from the Father.

2.    Disciples depend on the Father’s Provision and Protection.

3.    Disciples depend on the Father for Correction

4.    Disciples come Confidently to the Father for Anything and Everything

5.    Disciples always want to be with their Father

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. – 1 John 3:1

Diving In

Diving In offers a few questions to help you re-engage the concepts from Sunday. Feel the freedom to use all of the questions, or to simply camp out on just one. These questions aren't intended to answer all the issues that surface through the thrust of this weeks' message, but to simply raise them and allow you time and space to process them, ideally in the context of your Community Group.

  • Is there any way you sense you see the children in your life as Disruptions?  If so, how?  What are they 'disrupting' in your mind?  What does the way you see them say about the way you see yourself?
  • Is there any way you sense you have been treating your children as Demigods?  If so, how?  Why do you sense your children have become 'little gods' in your mind?
  • Do you truly see the children in your life as Disciples?  What are you doing to disciple them to Jesus?  Are you doing something to disciple them to someone or something other than Him?
  • Are you approaching God as a child?  If so, how?  What does approaching God like a child really mean?  Is this different than what you've expected it to mean in the past?  If so, how?

Deep End

The Deep End is a short and simple formation exercise you can use to dive deep into your heart before God. Feel the freedom to divert from the directions if that makes it easier for you to connect with Jesus in this exercise.

  • First, quiet your heart before the Lord. If you find yourself distracted by various thoughts (things on your “To Do” list, etc.), don’t “fight” the distractions, but rather spend some time praying over those things. Hopefully soon your heart will quieted down and you will be able to hear the Lord speaking to you.
  • After this, take 5-10 minutes to read and meditate on Mark 10:13-16.
  • After you do, ask the Holy Spirit to show you if you are treating the children in your life as Disruptions or Demigods.  This may be a painful exercise.  Be open to what the Holy Spirit show you here.  The way you're imaging God to your children and grandchildren, or someone else's children, depends on it.
  • Next, ask the Holy Spirit to bring to your remembrance a recent example.  Consider that circumstance.  What would it have looked like for you to treat your child as a disciple instead of a disruption or demigod in that circumstance?
  • Last, schedule a time to get some time with your child or children, to apologize to them for treating them like Disruptions or Demigod's, and committing to treat them more like Disciples.

Digest

Our digest section is all about helping you to memorize and meditate on God's Word so you'll be able to better digest it.  Take some time to commit these short verses to memory this week:

Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." – Mark 10:15

My hope is that these simple exercises in The 60 will help what we discovered during this week be distilled, and deepened in your heart and life with Jesus.

Matt

For The Elders