And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.
This moment comes from the Gospel of Mark, one of the four accounts of Jesus' life. People in the crowd were bringing their children to Jesus hoping he would touch and bless them. His disciples — his closest followers — stepped in and tried to stop them, likely thinking Jesus was too busy or too important to be bothered with children. Jesus stopped them sharply and said the kingdom of God belongs to people who come with the openness of a child. Then, rather than offering a blessing from a safe distance, he physically took each child into his arms. In the ancient world, children had very low social status — this gesture was countercultural and deliberate.
Jesus, thank you for stopping for the ones everyone else waved off. Teach me to come to you with open hands, without the armor of needing to deserve it. And show me who I've been turning away — so I can move out of the doorway and let them in. Amen.
The disciples had logic on their side. Jesus was surrounded by pressing crowds. There were sick people, religious leaders asking hard questions, and more important things than toddlers who couldn't even articulate what they believed. Their gatekeeping made practical sense. And Mark tells us Jesus looked at them with indignation — a word that doesn't soften nicely into disappointment. He was genuinely bothered. Let them come. It's worth sitting with the question: who are you keeping from Jesus right now? Not literally — but in your own assumptions about who deserves access to grace. Who's too young, too messy, too ordinary, too far gone? The children in this story didn't argue their case. They didn't earn the blessing. They just came, and Jesus held them. Maybe the invitation today is to come that simply yourself — or to notice if you've been standing in the doorway, deciding who else gets through.
Why do you think the disciples tried to turn the children away, and what does that reveal about how they understood Jesus' mission at that point?
When you come to God in prayer or worship, do you tend to come with the easy openness of a child or with a more guarded, earned sense of access — and what shapes that for you?
Jesus says the kingdom of God belongs to those who receive it like a child. What do you think that actually means — and is there anything about childlikeness that feels genuinely hard to recover as an adult?
Think about the people in your life or community who tend to get overlooked or quietly turned away from belonging. What would it cost you to actively welcome them in?
What is one concrete thing you could do this week to make someone who feels like an outsider feel genuinely held and seen — the way Jesus held these children?
And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them.
Luke 24:50
At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.
Matthew 11:25
Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.
Ezra 8:21
And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them.
Luke 18:15
And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence.
Matthew 19:15
And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.
Luke 24:51
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
Isaiah 40:11
Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them.
Matthew 19:13
And He took the children [one by one] in His arms and blessed them [with kind, encouraging words], placing His hands on them.
AMP
And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.
ESV
And He took them in His arms and [began] blessing them, laying His hands on them.
NASB
And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.
NIV
And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.
NKJV
Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them.
NLT
Then, gathering the children up in his arms, he laid his hands of blessing on them.
MSG