👇 Mark 10:15 | Children Then vs. Now

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Happy Wednesday, everyone!

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Today, we are doing some time traveling to Jesus’ time to find out what people thought about children 👇️ 

In today’s email…

• 👶 Background on “children” in New Testament times

• 👇 Becoming like lowly children

• 📚️ A few resources to go even deeper in study

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MEMORIZE 🧠 

Truly, I ___ __ ___, whoever ____ ___ _______ ___ kingdom __ ___ like a child shall not _____ it.

Mark 10:15

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CONTEXT 📕 

Let’s take a closer look at the word “child” in Mark 10:15.

The Greek term is paidion (pronounced PIE-dee-on).

To modern ears, “child” might seem warm and innocent — but in Jesus’ day, children stood on the margins of society for a few reasons:

1. How society saw children

• Society was highly stratified by age, gender, and status. Children existed at the very bottom of this hierarchy.

  • In today’s culture, society views the “peak” person as someone in their mid-20s.

  • In ancient Jewish culture, “peak” was a man or woman in old age surrounded by descendants.

• They could not make legal decisions, own property independently, or participate in religious ceremonies as full members of the community.

• They were economically dependent, considered foolish, and expected to be seen (but not heard) in most social contexts.

• In religious contexts, children were not able to fully participate in religious life until around age 12-13.

So the idea of learning something from children was foreign.

Proverbs speaks of the foolishness of children:

In short, childhood was a waiting room, valued for what it could become: adulthood.

2. What Jesus demands

When Jesus says that we must receive God’s kingdom “like a little child,” he isn’t evoking the cute innocence of children.

He’s upending social norms and expectations of the time.

He calls his disciples to:

• Lay down their sense of status or entitlement

• Recognize complete dependence on the Father

• Be willing to receive a gift they do not deserve

I love this quote from Bible commentator David Guzik:

By embracing the paidion’s lowly status — empty hands and open heart — we echo the upside-down logic of the Gospel:

the last are first, the weak find strength, and those who give up pride gain everything in Christ.

APPLY AND RESPOND 🏃‍♂️

In a culture where children were seen as voiceless “humans-to-be,” Jesus’ call to receive God’s kingdom like a little child shatters every expectation.

True discipleship means stepping off the social ladder, laying down our resumes, bank accounts, and self-reliance.

And giving it all to Jesus.

No matter what age you are, God wants us to approach the Throne with that kind of selflessness.

Pray 🙏

Father, strip away my pride. Teach me to depend on You as wholly as a child depends on a parent. Give me a wholehearted childlike relationship with you. Amen.

RESOURCES 📚️ 

Here are a few resources to help you dig deeper into the verse and its themes:

• 📚 N.T. Wright, Mark for Everyone (link)

• 📚️ William L. Lane, The Gospel of Mark (NICNT) (link)

• 📚 W.A. Strange, Children in the Early Church: Children in the Ancient World, the New Testament and the Early Church (link)

• 📘 For Kids: The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name. Highly recommend this one - our kids LOVE it! (link)

• 📹️ The Gospel of Mark by The Bible Project (link)

• 📰 “Children in the New Testament” by Bible Odyssey (link)

• 🎵 Like a Child (Spotify | Apple Music | Full Malachi Daily Playlist)

ANSWER KEY ✅ 

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

Mark 10:15