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Mark | 1:1-11 | 1:12-34 | 1:35-45 | 2:1-20  | 2:21-3:12 | 3:13-35 | 4:1-20 | 4:21-41 | 5:1-20 | 5:21-43 | 6:1-13 | 6:14-29 | 6:30-44 | 6:45-56 | 7-12| 13-16 |

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Mark 10:13-27 Bible Study and Questions – Children, Faith, and Money

Outline

I. Receive God like a child (13-16)
II. True discipleship means giving up our strongest desire (17-27)

I. Receive God like a child (13-16)

Discussion Questions

• Why did they want Jesus to touch their children?
• Why do you think the disciples didn’t want them to?
• What was Jesus’ response?
• What does it mean that the kingdom of God belongs to such as these?
• How does a child receive the kingdom of God?
• What qualities do children have that we need to have?

Verse by Verse Commentary

1. Bringing children so that Jesus might touch them – Jesus’ touch could heal the sick, make the lame walk, cure the blind, and raise the dead. Parents wanted their children to be blessed by Jesus and therefore took them to Jesus to receive His blessing. There is no record that Jesus imparted any tangible blessing such as exceptional health, but nonetheless, it would be an exciting thing to take your child to Jesus for a divine blessing! Those children would have quite a story to tell!

2. The disciples rebuked them –Jesus and the disciples were very busy. He had a lot on His plate. He would spend days teaching massive crowds. Lines of people would come for healing. When possible, He would withdraw to more private places for in-depth training of His disciples, and then retreat to a remote area for some time of prayer. When He came back massive crowds would be waiting for Him again.

Likely the disciples were trying to conduct some crowd control in order to keep Jesus from being too busy by allowing only the most pressing cases to Jesus. They probably thought that Jesus was too busy to deal with these kids.

Therefore only the most pressing cases or VIPs would make the cut. Perhaps they even doubted if the children could understand Jesus’ message. In any case, they weren’t a high priority to the disciples. But they were to Jesus.

3. Jesus was indignant –

Mark 10:13-14 – And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant.

Jesus did not agree with them. Children were very important to Jesus and He was willing to set aside time in His schedule to spend with them. Children are not just the future of the church; they are the now of it.

It is increasingly common for people to dislike children. Many consider them an inconvenience. They take a lot of time to care for. Sometimes they are loud. They make messes. They break things. They wake you up in the middle of the night. They cost money. But Jesus likes children. They are a blessing. He didn’t say He was too busy. Neither did he say they couldn’t understand.

Reflect – What is your view of children? Do you welcome them as Jesus did or consider them a nuisance?

Thankfully, Jesus did not have this attitude toward people. He could have stayed in His clean, tidy, and orderly heaven. It was harmonious and peaceful. But He lowered Himself to come and spend time with us. Will we do the same for children? Even if it is inconvenient?

Psalms 127:3 – Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.

Children are a blessing.

Reflect – Share five reasons why children are a blessing.

4. Let the children come to me –

Mark 10:14 – Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.

I have heard people ask questions like the following:

• “Shouldn’t you let your child grow up first and make a decision by himself?”
• “Can a child really understand the Bible?”

To answer these questions, we need to look no further than this passage. Jesus has answered them already. He said, “Let the children come to Me…for to such belongs the kingdom of God.”

The answer is very clear. Children can be part of the kingdom of God. In fact, in some ways, they are the kingdom’s model citizens!

This means that they can understand the Bible and that “yes,” they should be taught it.

The world does not want us to teach our children the things of God.
When the world says, “Wait to teach your child about the Bible until he grows up” what it means is, “Wait until we have finished brainwashing your child so that by the time you teach him the truth, he will not believe it or you anymore.”

Understand this very clearly. Jesus wants the children to go to Him. Satan does not. There is a huge battle for the minds and souls of our young ones. And Satan uses the world to try to prevent our children from coming to the Lord.

Schools brainwash our children with atheism, evolution, materialism, and relativism. The entire system is in direct opposition to the teaching of God’s Word.

This type of brainwashing is nothing new. In Daniel 1, Nebuchadnezzar takes a group of Jewish teenagers. He sends them to a three-year Babylon University course. They were to learn the culture, knowledge, science, and religion, all from the Babylonian perspective. Their names which showed their belief in God were changed to names honoring Babylonian gods. For most people, this brainwashing was very successful. Almost every single official in the kingdom bowed down to the idol the king set up.

The same thing is happening today. Many people claim to believe in themselves. They believe in evolution. They seek wealth. They say truth is relative. Why? It is not a complicated answer.

This is what they have been taught from when they were a child. If you do not faithfully teach your children the things of God while they are young, the world will do your job for you, and by the time they grow up, it will be too late.

Media also heavily influences children. According to a study, children between eight and twelve in the US spent six hours per day on digital media and teenagers spent nine. That does not include homework. I have met parents who tell me that they regularly use iPads to babysit their children. When I asked why, the answer was: “He cries if I don’t give it to him.”

What are kids learning? They are learning what the world wants them to learn.

Jesus said, “Let the children come to Me.”

Application – Parents, you have a very important responsibility before God to do everything you can to raise up your child to know the Lord.

The world says, “Wait until they grow up when they can make up their own minds.” Do you wait until they grow up to teach your child not to eat too much candy? Do you wait until they grow up to teach your child not to hit his friends? Or should you wait until he is old enough to discern if they are true or not? Your job is to teach your children the truth. Yes, teach them the truth of math or other academics. But far more important, teach them the truth of the Word. And it is never too early to start.

Proverbs 22:6 – Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

One day you will stand before God and give an account of how you raised your children. The worst possible thing I can imagine as a father is if one of my children stands at the judgment and fails and is sentenced to an eternity in hell. What can I do, what can you do, so that they can be ready?

• Teach your children the Word from a young age. Make it simple, clear, and fun. Use voices or ask them to draw out what they learn. Do a skit. Show them a Bible Project video to make it interesting.
• Ask them lots of questions. Through questions, you can make sure they understand. It is more powerful and easier for them to remember than simply telling them all the answers.
• Talk about the things of God wherever you are (Deuteronomy 6). In addition to having time of family Bible study, you should make it a habit to talk with them at home or out on the way. By talking about the Word in natural settings they can better understand how to apply it to their everyday lives.
• Do not rely on the pastor, Sunday School teacher, or Christian school teacher. These can be good helpers. But it is your responsibility first and foremost.
• Pray!

5. The kingdom of God belongs to such as these –

The kingdom of God is not reserved for the elite, highly educated, rich, or superstars. It is for everyone. Children possess certain qualities that we also need if we want to enter the kingdom of God. These include humility and faith. If we don’t trust in God like a child does her father, then neither can we enter into the kingdom of God.

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

A child does not generally think about the big decisions her parent makes. She doesn’t consider where the money is coming from to get food on the table. She just trusts her parents to care for her. God calls us to the same type of faith.

Being around children is not only an opportunity for teaching, but it is also an opportunity to learn.

6. He began blessing them –

Mark 10:16 – And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.

We should seek God’s blessing in our own lives as well as in the lives of our children. How do we go about it?

If we want to be blessed, we need to first follow God’s commands. We cannot expect His blessing if we disobey what He has already told us. In addition, we need to spend lots of time in prayer and petition. Parents should raise children according to the principles of the Bible. Yet this doesn’t guarantee that their children will grow up to be believers.

Application – A parent can lead his child, but cannot make his child follow Jesus. That is why prayer for God to soften the heart is critical!

II. True discipleship means giving up our strongest desire (17-27)

Discussion Questions

• What was this man’s opinion of who Jesus was?
• Why did Jesus say He shouldn’t call Him good? Wasn’t Jesus God? Since Jesus, is God, what was the problem with referring to Him as good?
• Do you think this man really kept all of these commands?
• If he did, does that mean he was perfect? Why or why not?
• Why did Jesus tell him to go sell everything? Was He teaching good works salvation?
• If we give what we have to God, does that guarantee eternal life?
• What is the point Jesus is making here? What can learn from this about true discipleship? How is this different from the often-taught idea of “just raise your hand to the pastor’s invitation and you will be saved forever” idea?
• What does the Lord expect of someone who wants to be His disciple? Are you doing it?
• Why is it hard for a rich man to enter heaven?
• Is it possible? How?

Cross-References

Matthew 5:21-22 – You have heard that it was said to those of old, You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.

Matthew 5:27-28 – “You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Malachi 3:8 – Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions.

Romans 13:7 – Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Mark 7:11 – But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God)

Verses on discipleship

Matthew 5:14-16 – “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

John 8:31-32 – So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Matthew 16:24-25 – Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1. What shall I do to inherit eternal life? –

Mark 10:17 – And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

This guy’s pride is already evidenced from his very first statement. He thought that there was something he could do to earn eternal life. This is human nature. It is somehow an integral part of our logic that we think we can compensate for our sins by doing something to earn salvation.

This is the essence of all man-made religion. People think if they can just be good enough, give to the poor, attend church time, or give some money, they can make it.

The young man starts off with the wrong assumption. His assumption is that he can do something to get salvation.

Later Jesus will show him that if we try to do something to get eternal life, we can never reach God’s standard and therefore we can never get it.

Reflect – Before you came to faith, did you think you could do something to earn salvation?

2. Why do you call Me good? –

Mark 10:18 – And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.

This is an interesting question.

Luke 1:35 – And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.

Based on this and other verses, Jesus is holy.

Then why does Jesus ask this? Was He not good? Was He not God?

In fact, Jesus was. It seems that Jesus was bringing attention to the contradiction in the way that this man addressed Him and the way that He was often viewed by the people. This man called Him a “Good Teacher.”

Jesus is essentially saying “If I am just a teacher, then I am not good because only God is good.”

Jesus did not say that He wasn’t good or that He wasn’t God. But He instead focused on why this man called Him good if He didn’t recognize that Jesus was in fact divine. Believing that Jesus is merely a good person or a good teacher is a cop-out. Jesus didn’t leave this as an alternative because it is an obstacle to genuine salvation.

C.S. Lewis wrote on this exact point in Mere Christianity.

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

According to C.S. Lewis, because Jesus claimed to be equal with God, He is either the Lord, a Liar, or a Lunatic. There is no in-between. We see that not only did this man hope to do something himself to earn eternal life, but he also did not accept Jesus as the Son of God. He did not have a saving faith in Jesus but instead believed in himself and his own goodness.

3. You know the commandments –

Mark 10:19 – You know the commandments.

Jesus answered the question according to how it was asked. He was asked what the man could do to get eternal life. All he had to do was keep the entire law. In fact, if anyone can keep the entire law then they can have eternal life. If a person is perfect (ie: sinless) then in fact he is not separated from God and already has eternal life.

Of course, we know that this is impossible. No one can keep the whole law. It seems Jesus was trying to point this out to him, but the man didn’t get it.

Imagine your child is a prodigal. She comes up to you and says, “Give me mercy! What can I do to deserve your mercy?” You reply, “Be perfect.” She then replies, “But that’s impossible!” You then say, “Exactly. I give you mercy because I want to not because you deserve it.”

4. I have kept all these things from my youth –

Mark 10:20 – And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.”

Wrong answer! If this man humbly admitted his own failure Jesus may have answered differently and encouraged him to have faith for salvation. This man’s answer showed his prideful heart. It seems that he genuinely believed that he kept the entire law.

Reflect – Do you think he had or not? Why?

6. Go and sell all… and give to the poor –

Mark 10:21 – And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

Jesus saw to the core of the matter. Jesus is not showing us that the way to salvation is by selling what we have and giving it to the poor. That would be a good work, which cannot save (Ephesians 2:8-9). I believe Jesus’ statement has two purposes:

Firstly, he is answering the question how the man asked it (what can he do?). By answering like this Jesus shows him clearly that he cannot do what is required of his own strength. It is impossible for him to do something to inherit eternal life.

Secondly, Jesus probes to the heart of the issue, which is his pride and reliance on himself and his possessions. The man is very rich. Perhaps it was his intelligence and skill that helped him get rich. Maybe it was ethical business practices that were blessed by God. Yet he didn’t recognize that what he had was from God. And he wasn’t willing to give up his security, stability, and comfort in order to follow after God. Faced with a decision to serve God or money, he chose money.

Application –

Be humble. Accept that there is nothing you can do to deserve eternal life. Instead, have complete faith in Christ alone for salvation.

Belief in God requires sacrifice and commitment. If we want to be His disciples, we must be willing to give up everything for Him. Do not choose money or materials over God. This is one of the dumbest and short-sighted decisions we can ever make.

Thank God for the material blessings He has bestowed upon us and resolve to use them for His glory rather than for our own comfort.

7. Entering the kingdom of God is difficult –

Mark 10:24-25 – Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.

Following Jesus requires humility. It means confessing our sins and submitting ourselves to God’s authority. This is not easy to do. Rebellion against God is the first sin. Adam and Eve attempted to cast off God’s authority and declare their independence. “No” is one of the first words most children learn.

Rebellion against God’s authority is the cornerstone of the philosophy of evolution. Evolution makes man out to be the highest instead of God.

A rich person finds it even more difficult to follow God. He tends to trust in his own abilities and wealth.

Jesus compared the way of God to a narrow gate.

Matthew 7:13-14 – Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

It is impossible to enter that gate without God’s help.

Mark 10:27 – With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.

Reflect – Share about how God helped you go through the narrow gate. How did He convict you that you could not rely on yourself and needed His help?