Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me. Mark 9:37
Browsing through the doormats displayed in my local big box store, I noted the messages stamped on their surfaces. “Hello!” “Home” with a heart for the “o.” And the more customary one I chose, “Welcome.” Putting it in place at home, I checked my heart. Was my home really welcoming the way God desires it to be? To a child selling chocolate for a school project? A neighbor in need? A family member from out of town who called on the spur of the moment?
In Mark 9, Jesus moves from the Mount of Transfiguration where Peter, James, and John stood in awe of His holy presence (vv. 1-13), to healing a possessed boy with a father who'd lost hope (vv. 14-29). Jesus then offered private lessons to the disciples concerning His upcoming death (vv. 30-32). They missed His point—badly (vv. 33-34). In response, Jesus took a child atop His lap saying, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me” (v. 37). The word welcome here means to receive and accept as a guest. Jesus wants His disciples to welcome all, even the undervalued and the inconvenient as if we were welcoming Him.
I thought of my welcome mat and wondered how I extend His love to others. It starts by welcoming Jesus as a treasured guest. Will I permit Him to lead me, welcoming others the way He desires?
Mark 9:30-37
Jesus Predicts His Death a Second Time
30 They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, 31 because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” 32 But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.
33 They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” 34 But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.
35 Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”
36 He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”
INSIGHT
1. When and how did you welcome Jesus into your heart?
2. What effect should this have on the way you welcome others?
Prior to His death and resurrection, Jesus’ disciples believed He’d be the one to overthrow Rome and set up the kingdom the Jews had longed for. On the way to Capernaum, they’d debated who’d be greatest in that kingdom. Christ, however, turned their expectations on their heads. Jesus isn’t interested in building a kingdom that looks like Rome (John 18:36). He modeled for the disciples—and for us—that His kingdom grows from the soil of servanthood. And rather than conspire with the powerful, Christ’s kingdom welcomes the weak, the disenfranchised, the passed over, the oppressed, and the poor.
And lest His disciples get the idea that this is just Jesus’ own idea of heaven’s kingdom, He points out that the Father is the one who set the idea in place. By welcoming those deemed undesirable, we welcome Jesus and His Father. His kingdom is one of servanthood in weakness, not domination in power.
PRAYER
Dear Jesus, please make Your home in me as I make mine in You. In Jesus name I pray and believe. Amen.
Read: Mark 9:30-37 | Bible in a Year: Psalms 84-86; Romans 12
