Let the Children Come: A Village of Belonging

Mark places Jesus right in the middle of a scene that ought to feel familiar, but maybe not quite as familiar as it first sounds. Women are bringing children to Jesus so that he might bless them, and that was not strange at all. Jacob blessed children back in Genesis, rabbis blessed children, and a child could grow up saying, “Jesus blessed me,” like somebody whose hand got shaken by Michael Jackson and never wanted to wash it again.

The twelve men, though, do not see blessing. The twelve men see interruption. In that first century world, women and children are treated as nonentities, nonpersons, folks who cannot advance the cause, cannot testify in the public way men expected, cannot make Jesus look more important. So the disciples act like bouncers. Jesus becomes indignant, not at the women, not at the children, but at those twelve men standing guard as if Jesus needs protecting from the very ones he came to welcome.

Jesus says, “Let the children come to me,” and the word reaches farther than children alone. Mark has already shown Jesus entering the lives of nonpersons: the blind man, the woman with a reputation, the ones pushed outside respectability. Jesus’ arms open wide for those the world calls waste, burden, inconvenience, or trouble. In this day and age, that word reaches the immigrant who is not welcome and the houseless person in a land of plenty. To such as these belongs the kingdom of heaven.

The call to the village becomes plain in the baptismal moment for Billie Kate. Evil, injustice, and oppression may rear their ugly heads in the world, guns may be pointed at children of color, immigrants may be told they have no value, flags may get wrapped around a cross, but the village says, “It’s not gonna happen here.” The village does not need to claim that God is on its side, because everybody is saying that. The better thing, the truer thing, is that everybody can be on God’s side.

Deuteronomy says, “Hear, O Israel,” and commands the love of God to be taught to the children. Proverbs says to train up a child in the way they should go. The children are watching even more than they are listening, so the village must mind its p’s and q’s. The village must live so that Billie Kate, Barry, Willa, Harper, and all the children can one day look in the mirror and remember the way they were trained, glad to go to the house of the Lord, knowing they are valued, affirmed, and named as children of the living God.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Jesus welcomes the counted-out ones Jesus does not treat the children as distractions from more important work. Jesus reveals that the kingdom belongs to the ones who bring no status, no leverage, and no obvious usefulness to the table. The measure of faithfulness becomes whether the church recognizes Christ among the nonpersons whom society has learned to step around. [23:08]
• 2. The twelve men missed the point The disciples had seen Jesus enter the lives of people pushed aside, yet they still tried to manage access to him. Their error was not merely bad manners, but a failure to understand the character of his mission. Religious nearness to Jesus can still become a way of blocking the very people Jesus is calling close. [24:29]
• 3. God’s side matters more The claim that God is “on our side” becomes dangerous when every side says it with confidence. The deeper question is whether a people are willing to stand where God stands, with the vulnerable, the burdened, and the ones denied worth. Faithfulness is not recruiting God for a cause, but being corrected until the cause lines up with God. [27:23]
• 4. Children learn by watching lives Deuteronomy commands the faith to be taught, and Proverbs calls for children to be trained, but the children are watching more than they are listening. The village forms them by habits, reactions, loyalties, and silences before it ever forms them by words. A child’s future memory of God is often carried in the ordinary conduct of the adults around them. [29:43]
• 5. The village must resist oppression The village’s promise to Billie Kate is not sentimental; it names evil, injustice, and oppression as real forces that seek bodies, homes, and communities. The church on the hill becomes a place where those powers are not allowed to set the terms. Baptismal belonging means a child is received into a people who must say, with their life together, “not here.”
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [11:33] - His Eye Is on the Sparrow
• [16:23] - Prayer for Holly, April, and Bob
• [17:18] - Children Brought to Jesus
• [18:22] - Women, Children, and the Twelve Men
• [20:03] - Why the Disciples Rebuked Them
• [21:11] - Jesus Opens the Kingdom
• [22:19] - Christ Welcomes the Nonpersons
• [24:04] - A Word for Billie Kate
• [25:27] - Not Gonna Happen Here
• [27:23] - God’s Side, Not Ours
• [29:09] - Teach the Children
• [30:50] - Train Up a Child
• [32:35] - The Village Comes Together
• [48:34] - Baptism in the Triune Name

1. In Mark 10:13-16, why did the disciples rebuke the people bringing children to Jesus? How does the sermon describe their mindset? [20:03]
2. What specific examples from the sermon show how Jesus welcomed people society treated as “nonpersons” (e.g., the blind man, the woman with a reputation)? [22:19]
3. According to the sermon, how do children learn about faith—through listening or watching? What habits or actions shape their understanding? [30:10]

1. Jesus says the kingdom belongs to “such as these” (children and marginalized people). What does this reveal about God’s values compared to societal values?
2. The sermon claims the disciples’ error was not just “bad manners” but a failure to understand Jesus’ mission. How might religious people today unintentionally block others from encountering Jesus? [24:29]
3. Why does the sermon emphasize that “God’s side matters more” than claiming God is on our side? How does this shift our focus in addressing injustice? [27:23]

1. Who are the “nonpersons” in your community (e.g., immigrants, unhoused neighbors)? How could your actions or attitudes unintentionally hinder them from feeling welcomed?
2. The sermon says children “learn by watching lives.” What habits, reactions, or silences in your daily life might be teaching others about God—for better or worse? [30:10]
3. Baptism represents a promise to resist evil and oppression “here.” What is one way your community could actively say “not here” to a specific injustice (e.g., racism, neglect of the poor)? [25:27]
4. When have you assumed God was “on your side” in a conflict or cause? How could you shift to focus on aligning yourself with God’s side instead? [27:38]
5. The sermon challenges the church to “live so that children…remember they are valued.” What practical step could you take this week to affirm a child’s worth in your family or community?