Who is Heaven for?

057 Who is Heaven for?

Mark 10:13-16

July 19, 2026

Tonight we come to another very familiar passage.

It is the passage where Jesus is asked to bless the children

And the disciples foolishly try to stop it.

It is the passage that yields the famous line,

“Let the children come to Me”.

It has been a verse used

·        To defend infant baptism,

·        To verify childhood salvation,

·        To support the salvation of children who are aborted, miscarried, or die young.

While there may be a place for some of those discussions here,

The point in Mark’s gospel remains consistent.

Mark is still outlining why Jesus came,

And how the disciples simply do not understand it.

From the moment Peter confessed Jesus to be the Messiah

The disciples have shown nothing but total disregard

Regarding the reason for His coming.

The disciples have rebuked Him, ignored Him,

And tried to totally redirect Him.

They are filled with:

·        Stubbornness

·        Arrogance

·        Snobbery

·        Ambition

·        And as we saw this morning, hard heartedness as it relates to the heart of God and His will for creation.

The disciples know who Jesus is,

But they do not know what He came to do or,

As we learn tonight, who He came to do it for.

It is hard to be a disciple of Jesus if you don’t know that.

·        If you don’t understand that the Christian calling is a calling of sacrifice.

·        If you don’t understand that the Christian calling is a calling of service.

·        If you don’t understand that the Christian calling is a calling of humility.

·        If you don’t understand that the Christian calling is a calling of self-denial.

Of if you don’t understand

·        Who Christ came to save

·        Or why He came to save them

·        Or how He came to save them…

If we don’t know those things then we are not ready to make disciples,

We still need to be discipled.

And that is where we are in Mark’s gospel.

Jesus is making disciples out of the disciples.

Tonight is a lesson on who is being saved.

Or who did Jesus come to save?

I know we like to just throw out words like “everyone”,

But that is not totally accurate.

James 4:6 “But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

There is a description of someone God is actually opposed to.

·        It’s certainly not difficult to see that type of opposition in Jesus as He deals with

                  the Pharisees.

Or we think of what Jesus said earlier in Mark’s gospel:

Mark 2:16-17 “When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they said to His disciples, “Why is He eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners?” And hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

·        Jesus there definitively stated that He did not come to call the righteous or

                  those whom we might call the “self-righteous”.

What we find then is that

There are those who are definitely candidates for salvation

And there are those who are not.

And it will be beneficial to you and I in our calling to follow Jesus

To understand who that is.

WELL THAT IS WHAT WE COME UPON HERE TONIGHT.

The disciples still don’t have the faintest idea who Jesus came to save

And tonight He will instruct them again.

We’re going to break this passage down into 4 points.

#1 EAGER PARENTS

Mark 10:13a

“And they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them…”

This is a beautiful scene for sure,

·        But I think one that is perhaps even more beautiful when you understand the Jewish culture.

I want you to think back for a moment to that famous story Genesis 27.

It’s the story of two boys, twins actually.

·        The younger twin had already traded a bowl of soup for the birthright,

·        But the older twin didn’t care much; in fact Scripture says he despised it.

But while the birthright was of little consequence to Esau

The blessing did matter to him.

You know the story.

·        Esau went out to hunt wild game.

·        Jacob dressed up like Esau and went before his father.

·        And when Isaac was convinced that Jacob was actually Esau we read:

Genesis 27:28-29 “Now may God give you of the dew of heaven, And of the fatness of the earth, And an abundance of grain and new wine; May peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you; Be master of your brothers, And may your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be those who curse you, And blessed be those who bless you.”

In the Jewish culture,

It was far more than just sentimental well-wishes.

·        There was a prophetic nature to it.

·        There was a sort of destiny attached.

THAT IS WHY when Esau came in Jacob could not revoke it,

And why Esau desperately pleaded for another one.

Genesis 27:38-40 “Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father.” So Esau lifted his voice and wept. Then Isaac his father answered and said to him, “Behold, away from the fertility of the earth shall be your dwelling, And away from the dew of heaven from above. “By your sword you shall live, And your brother you shall serve; But it shall come about when you become restless, That you will break his yoke from your neck.”

It mattered

It shaped the direction and even destiny of the child.

LATER

Jacob would be the one blessing his own sons.

·        You can read the end of Genesis 48 how Jacob crossed his hands and put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.

·        You can read Genesis 49 and see all the blessings for all the sons, and certainly there are prophetic ramifications.

For example:

Genesis 49:8-12 “Judah, your brothers shall praise you; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father’s sons shall bow down to you. “Judah is a lion’s whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He couches, he lies down as a lion, And as a lion, who dares rouse him up? “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes, And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. “He ties his foal to the vine, And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine; He washes his garments in wine, And his robes in the blood of grapes. “His eyes are dull from wine, And his teeth white from milk.”

Jacob actually called for the “scepter” and “ruler’s staff”

To come from Judah’s line.

THE POINT IS THAT THE BLESSING MATTERS.

It was a big deal for a son to receive his father’s blessing.

·        It directed a son’s destiny.

·        It had prophetic value.

·        It spoke to the sons potential.

·        It spoke to the sons future success.

And so we really like what we see here

With these parents bringing their children to Jesus.

·        Who better to bless them?

·        Who better to speak into their lives?

·        Who better to set their direction and their destiny?

Parents today enroll their kids in sports camps of famous athletes

·        In hopes that if their kid goes to the Patrick Mahomes football camp it can greatly affect his future.

Well these parents wanted their kids to be directed by Jesus.

There is certainly no complaint here!

This is a great parenting move.

Unfortunately the disciples did not agree

Eager Parents

#2 FOOLISH DISCIPLES

Mark 10:13b

We simply read, “but the disciples rebuked them.”

Sometimes Mark writes like he’s in a time loop.

Didn’t we just read this?

Mark 9:38-42 “John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us.” But Jesus said, “Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me. “For he who is not against us is for us. “For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because of your name as followers of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward. “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea.”

At the time it certainly seemed like

That was the type of correction and warning that would stick with a man for a while…

·        Apparently not.

It only took a couple of weeks and a trip to Perea

To get the disciples to totally forget the lesson.

·        Jesus just warned about hindering or stopping those who were serving Him.

·        He just explained that the smallest actions in His name were rewardable.

·        He told them that anyone who was for Him could not be against Him.

·        He warned them about being snobs.

·        He warned them about being stumbling blocks.

Clearly the disciples didn’t get it.

For here are parents wanting Jesus to bless their children, and…

“the disciples rebuked them”

“rebuked” is (epi-tee-MO-o)

It literally meant “to tax upon”

It could be used of “placing honor upon a person”,

But it could also be used of “placing shame on a person or something”.

You’ve seen the word before.

Mark 1:25 “And Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!”

·        It was Jesus casting shame and reproach on that demon and demanding him

                to come out.

Matthew 8:26 “He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm.”

·        It was Jesus rebuking the wind for being so out of control and told it to settle

                 down.

And oddly enough:

Matthew 16:22 “Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.”

·        Peter shamed Jesus for talking so negatively.

That is what the disciples are doing here.

They are taxing shame upon the parents

For having the audacity to bring their children to Jesus.

“Jesus is too busy to have to put up with blessing all your kids.”

And the GREEK here indicates it to have been an ONGOING THING.

·        The parents “were bringing children”

·        And the disciples were rebuking them as they did.

This wasn’t some one-time blanket announcement,

They were all out there shaming those parents

For bringing their kids to Jesus.

I suppose in the mind of the disciples

Jesus needed to be doing kingdom work, not kid work.

·        In their minds children did not deserve the attention of Jesus.

·        In their minds children were not the priority.

·        In their minds children were insignificant.

They saw no value in taking time to minister to children.

What could they do to help usher in the kingdom?

What the disciples didn’t understand is that

These children had a better understanding of the kingdom

Than the disciples did.

But there is the foolish disciples none the less.

#3 INDIGNANT SAVIOR

Mark 10:14-15

“But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant…”

“indignant” translates (agon-ak-TAY-o)

That (agon) at the first intensifies it.

Jesus was really angry at the disciples for this.

Just a few weeks ago He had warned them

Against being a stumbling block to little ones

And here they were doing that very thing.

They are trying to run parents and children off away from Jesus.

Could we imagine a greater work of the devil than that?

All throughout the bible Satan is trying to kill children.

·        He’s got Pharaoh drowning babies in the Nile

·        He’s got Herod killing babies in Bethlehem

·        He’s got pagans burning their kids in the fire

·        Today he pushes abortion and pedophilia

JESUS IS SAVING KIDS, SATAN IS KILLING THEM.

So which side were the disciples on here?

NO WONDER JESUS IS INDIGNANT!

And His response is incredible.

I want to break it down a little further

1) A DOUBLE REBUKE

“Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them;”

He addresses it twice.

·        First in a positive sense, “permit”

·        Then in a negative sense, “do not hinder”

You can almost hear the anger in His voice as He yells at them to stop.

·        Peter, “Let that kid come through!” “Stop it!”

·        John, “Quit hindering those kids!”

Is there any doubt in your mind what Jesus wants here?

·        He wants the children.

·        He wants them to come.

·        He wants to bless them.

·        He wants to interact with them.

He’s not too busy.

He’s not too important.

I just want you to see what a serious deal this is to Him.

2) A DEFINITE REALITY

“for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”

In his commentary, John MacArthur goes on a long segment using that verse to defend the salvation of children who die young.

I have no problem whatsoever with his take.

His points are strong and valid.

Things like how God often refers to children as innocent.

Jonah 4:11 “Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?”

Deuteronomy 1:39 “‘Moreover, your little ones who you said would become a prey, and your sons, who this day have no knowledge of good or evil, shall enter there, and I will give it to them and they shall possess it.”

Jeremiah 19:4-5 “Because they have forsaken Me and have made this an alien place and have burned sacrifices in it to other gods, that neither they nor their forefathers nor the kings of Judah had ever known, and because they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent and have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, a thing which I never commanded or spoke of, nor did it ever enter My mind;”

Or how God refers to children sacrificed in the fire as “His”.

Ezekiel 16:21 “You slaughtered My children and offered them up to idols by causing them to pass through the fire.”

I think there is clear evidence in Scripture

That children who die are redeemed.

And I know we can go on a long theological debate about it.

1) If we believe we all “fell in Adam”, and are “conceived in iniquity” like David says then wouldn’t children be born sinful?

And the answer is “Yes”

And you say, well if they’re sinful, how can you say that God is saving them before they profess faith in Christ?

And the answer is, “by grace”, the same way He saves all of His elect.

You’ve probably noticed over the last several months we’ve been printing segments of the 1689 London Baptist Confession in the bulletin.

Here is what Baptists have confessed for 337 years:

“Infants dying in infancy are regenerated and saved by Christ through the Spirit who works when and where and how he pleases. So also are all elect persons regenerated who are incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the word.”

(Chapter 10: EFFECTUAL CALLING)

I don’t think it’s a stretch at all to speak of aborted children,

Or miscarriages, or still-born, or even young children who die

To be welcomed by God into the kingdom of God.

And I don’t have a problem with this verse being used to explain that.

But I will say, that even though you can make that point,

I don’t think that’s the main point Jesus is making here.

In fact, I think it’s much bigger than that.

He is talking about the types of people that are saved.

He says “such as these.”

When you look at these children

You see an example of the type of people that He came to save.

And this requires some work on our part.

We think of all the ways that children are spoken of in Scripture.

One way, as we just read, is that they are innocent.

·        But sometimes they are spoken of as stubborn or sinful.

Matthew 11:16-17 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places, who call out to the other children, and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’”

Sometimes they are spoken of as trusting,

·        But other times as immature.

1 Corinthians 3:1-3 “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?”

Sometimes they are spoken of as naïve.

1 Corinthians 14:20 “Brethren, do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature.”

Or we think about the writer of Hebrews who rebukes us for “being like an infant who only needs milk and not solid food.”

I just point those out to you

Because I want you to see that we don’t get the luxury

Of just picking how we want to use children here.

You can’t just see Jesus grabbing a child and say,

·        “See Jesus is talking about child-like faith”

·        “See Jesus is talking about innocence”

One could just as easily say

·        “Jesus is talking about the stubborn and selfish” 

·        “Jesus is talking about the naïve”.

What we learn here is that

However Jesus is using children,

They are an example for the type of people that He came to save.

THIS IS IT.

“If you don’t know who Jesus came to save,

It can be found in looking at this child.”

So what does Jesus mean by holding up this child as an example?

3) A DIVINE REVELATION

(15) “Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”

WELL THERE IT IS.

Jesus is talking about how children “receive”.

We watch it play out twice every Sunday.

We see this line of kids come over here to the front pew

Where they approach Peggy and ask for candy.

·        I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of them offer to pay for the candy.

·        I don’t think I’ve ever seen one explain why they deserve the candy.

·        I don’t think I’ve ever seen one offer to exchange services for the candy.

They just come to receive free candy.

·        They see that Peggy is generous and kind.

·        They see the candy there.

·        They recognize that they can have it because she delights to give it to them.

I’ve never seen them turn around tell the other kids,

“Peggy won’t give you candy.” 

They know better.

Jesus uses this child as an example

Of one who trusts that salvation is by grace alone.

Kids don’t expect to pay.

Kids don’t expect to work.

Kids don’t expect to prove.

Kids understand the love of the parent and trust that they are covered.

·        They trust the parent has done the work.

·        They trust the parent has earned the right.

·        They are content to live off of the labor of the parent.

THAT IS WHAT JESUS IS REFERRING TO.

These kids are here and representing the unworthy

Who believe that blessing is for them in spite of their unworthiness.

And Jesus says to the 12, “whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”

If you don’t come with that same mindset there’s no way you’re getting in.

·        If you come expecting to work your way in.

·        If you come expecting to pay your way in.

·        If you come expecting to prove your worth.

FORGET IT.

God is opposed to the proud.

Isaiah 66:2 “For My hand made all these things, Thus all these things came into being,” declares the Lord. “But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.”

Isaiah 57:15 For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite.”

That has always been who God accepts.

And that is who Christ came to save.

How often have we seen it.

Luke 7:39 “Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner.”

·        And yet Jesus forgave that woman.

Luke 18:9-14 “And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. “The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ‘I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ “But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ “I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Incidentally, that text is the one immediately preceding this story in Luke’s gospel. It’s like Luke linked them together.

Luke 19:7-9 “When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham.”

Or how often have we read this passage in James recently?

James 2:1-7 “My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives? Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court? Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called?”

The poor and lowly and unworthy are exactly who Jesus came to save.

YOU GET THE POINT.

What fine missionaries the 12 were setting themselves up to be.

They were going to go out not knowing WHAT Jesus came to do,

WHY He came to do it, or WHO He came to do it for.

They were trying to turn away

The very type of people that Jesus came to save.

HOW DANGEROUS THIS IS IN OUR WORLD.

It is so tempting to us to pursue those in the world

Who we think might be helpful to us.

·        Someone with a good reputation…

·        Someone with money…

·        Someone with experience…

·        Someone with fame…

·        Someone with charisma…

If we could just get that type of person into our church,

How helpful they would be to the ministry.

But Jesus went out looking for a whole different class of people.

·        He called adulterous women to salvation…

·        He called tax collectors to follow…

·        He called fishermen to be His disciples…

·        Samaritans…

·        Canaanites…

·        Centurions…

·        And here we add children to the list.

Make sure that your evangelistic efforts

Aren’t intentionally overlooking

The very people Jesus said were His main mission field.

The disciples were doing that and it angered Jesus.

These insignificant, unqualified children

Were exactly the type of people He came to save.

And that is what makes this last verse so awesome in my mind.

#4 BLESSED CHILDREN

Mark 10:16

“And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them.”

At the very beginning when I started reading through Mark

Just getting ready to study it so that I could preach through it.

Very early on, I read this verse and wrote a question in the margin.

Jesus was “blessing” these children.

What were the ramifications of that?

I mean, seriously,

·        If Isaac’s blessing sent Jacob down a line of prosperity…

·        If Jacob’s blessing sent Judah down a kingly line…

What might the blessing of Jesus do for these children?

I’ll tell you straight out that

I think every one of the kids that Jesus blessed that day

Ended up being saved.

SERIOUSLY, if Jesus lays His hands on your child and says,

“May you seek God and serve God and be a child of God all your life.”

I would fully expect that to come to absolute fruition.

I can’t imagine a scenario

Where Jesus spoke anything less than salvation over these children.

And I can’t imagine a scenario

Where Jesus spoke an empty blessing that never came to fruition.

If Jesus blessed these kids,

Then rest assured they were blessed.

Not only did Jesus rebuke the disciples

For trying to stop these children,

But Jesus promised the future salvation of these children

Right there in their presence.

He picked these kids up and gave them that hug.

·        He uses that same word “took them in His arms” that we saw back in chapter 9 and Jesus granted them entrance into the kingdom.

“Peter, you want them to go home,

I want them to join Me in the kingdom!”

WHAT A MESSAGE!

WHAT A LESSON FOR US

Regarding who we see as worthy of salvation

And who we see as valuable to the church.

When we go out, we must understand WHY we go,

WHAT we offer, and WHO we are offering it to.

I also think it’s fitting here to encourage parents a little.

We talk often times about ELECTION.

·        We love it.

·        That God elected before the foundation of the world those who are His.

But we also talk about the preaching of the gospel

As the method God uses to call out the elect.

Well parents can I encourage you here?

Bring your children to Jesus.

You say, “I don’t know if my child is elect.”

I’m saying, “Bring your child to Jesus, for that is the method by which He calls out the elect.”

These parents brought their children to Jesus

And their children were saved.

So by all means, take Jesus to your children.

·        Teach them, train them, educate them.

But take your children to Jesus too!

·        Pray for them.

·        Lift them up before Him.

·        Place them in His arms.

·        Ask Him to bless them.

This is the method He has ordained

Through which He saves your children

AND HERE AGAIN WE LEARN ABOUT BEING A DISCIPLE.

We have to know who He is.

We have to know why He came.

We have to know who He came for.

We have to eradicate our stubbornness

We have to eradicate our arrogance

We have to eradicate our snobbery

We have to eradicate our ambition

We have to eradicate our hardened hearts

We have to eradicate our prejudice

The disciples are learning all of that.

May we learn it too!