Receiving a Child in Jesus’ Name (Evangelical/Protestant Caucus & Devotional)

Ligonier.Org ^ | 7/14/2016

[Gamecock]

“[Jesus] took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, ‘Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.’ ”

- Mark 9:36–37

Having told the disciples that the path to greatness is servanthood and humility (Mark 9:33–35), Jesus next provides an illustration of His point. Our Lord puts a child before the disciples and tells them that whoever receives a child in His name receives Christ and that the one who receives Christ receives the One who sent Him (vv. 36–37).

In the first century, children were among the lowest members of society in both Gentile and Jewish culture. Children—and women for that matter—were not viewed as having much worth. Like servants, any value they had was in connection to the head of the household. They were seen as having little intrinsic worth. Jesus calls His servants to such a humble estate. It is not that we are to view ourselves as having no worth whatsoever; after all, we are made in God’s image and by virtue of that have been granted great dignity (Gen. 1:26–27). Our Lord’s point is that we should not view ourselves more highly than we ought, that though we are servants with dignity, ultimately we are still mere servants. That is as true of the Christian who occupies the highest social rank as it is of the believer who occupies the lowest rung on the social ladder. Honor comes through service to others, through not asserting our “rights” every time we are wronged, through seeking the welfare of others before we seek our own. John Calvin comments, “Christ enjoins that the more a man abases himself, the more highly shall he be honored.”

That Jesus enjoins us to receive a child—one of the lowest members of society—in His name also demonstrates that Christians are not to seek in uence the way the world does—by going a er those whom the wider culture greatly esteems. The gospel is to go forth to everyone, even those who would qualify as the “movers and the shakers” in our society, but we do not transform culture or achieve kingdom objectives by focusing on the powerful. We receive into our churches those whom no one else wants—the powerless, the humble, the rejected—with the same honor with which we receive the powerful.

Finally, that receiving a child in Jesus’ name means receiving Him points us to an important truth about the Apostles. We cannot have Jesus unless we will have those whom He has sent, and receiving Christ is impossible unless we receive the Apostles and their teachings, which are found in the Scriptures.

Coram Deo

The kingdom of God has as its citizens people from all backgrounds and all walks of life. It is not a community for only the powerful and those who “have it all together.” In reality, it is a community for those who recognize that they are sinners, who know that in themselves they are nothing. Our churches must be places where society’s castoffs and leaders alike are welcome.

Passages for Further Study

Deuteronomy 1:17 You shall not be partial in judgment. You shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not be intimidated by anyone, for the judgment is God’s. And the case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.’

Romans 2:11 For God shows no partiality.

1 Timothy 5:21 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality.

James 2:1–9 My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called? 8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

[stockpirate]

I would love to read what Jesus said for 40 days after his resurrection, no doubt those texts exist some where, maybe locked in the Vatican

[SandRat]

Those Powerful words cancel Roe v. Wade!!!