The Kingdom of God

Of Such Is the Kingdom

When his own disciples tried to keep the children away, Jesus was displeased, and gathered them in. ‘Of such is the kingdom of God,’ he said. Then he made it a doorway for us all: unless we receive the Kingdom like a little child, we cannot enter it. The Kingdom is not earned by the impressive; it is received by the small, the trusting, the empty-handed.

What Jesus said

A reflection

A little child brings nothing to earn a welcome and does not need to. She simply comes, trusts, and receives. That, Jesus says, is how the Kingdom is entered, not by achievement but by open hands. The proud find this the hardest door of all, because it asks them to lay down what they were sure would recommend them.

There is such gentleness in the scene. Grown men thought the children were a distraction; Jesus thought they were a picture of the Kingdom. He took them in his arms and blessed them. If you have ever feared you are too small, too unimportant, too ordinary for God, hear him: of such is the Kingdom of God.

Frequently asked questions

What did Jesus mean by 'of such is the kingdom of God'?

When Jesus welcomed the children in Mark 10:14, he meant the Kingdom belongs to those who are like them: humble, trusting, and dependent, not the self-sufficient or self-important. The Kingdom is received, not earned.

What does it mean to receive the Kingdom like a child?

In Mark 10:15 Jesus said we must receive the Kingdom 'as a little child.' A child comes with empty hands, simple trust, and no claim to earn a welcome. To enter the Kingdom is to come to God that way, humbly and trustingly.

Why did Jesus welcome children?

Jesus was displeased when the disciples turned children away, took them in his arms, and blessed them (Mark 10:13-16). He honoured the small and overlooked and made childlike humility the pattern for entering God's Kingdom.