Title of the Article: Welcoming a Child as a Metaphor for Welcoming God’s Kingdom: A Close
Reading of Mark 10.13-16
About the Author: Peter Spitaler
Department of Theology and Religious Studies, Villanova University,
800 Lacancaster Ave, Villanova, PA 19085, USA
Bibliographic Data: Journal for the Study of the New Testament
JSNT 31.4 (2009) 423-446
Outline of the Article:
- The Problem
- The Literary Design of 10.13-16
- Narrative and Symbolic Levels of Meaning
- Five Concluding Thoughts
What Article is all About:
In Mark’s Gospel (10.13-16), we read that Jesus welcomes children despite his disciples’ opposition. Responding to their group rebuke, Jesus says, ‘whosever does not welcome God’s kingdom like a child will not enter it’(10.15). However, reports about children in Mark’s Gospel indicate that its author views childhood as a treacherous stage of life, ranking a child’s social status among the marginalized, poor, sick, powerless, dominated and exploited. The goal of this article to advance the research of a view authors who also interpret Mark’s references to children in light of their social status in antiquity, but render the figure differently—‘to welcome the kingdom to welcoming a child, the figure motivates social change. The disciples must act like adults, not like a children, and demonstrate hospitality toward persons whose status they do not share. In particular, entering God’s kingdom is dependent upon welcoming it. The latter (God’s kingdom’) is symbolic of a theological reality. That is, Jesus explains the significance of welcoming a particular ‘symbol’ with a metaphor or a simile. Verses 13 and 16 flame the story with references to Jesus’ physical encounter with children. In v. 13, the peoples goal (that Jesus touch the children’) is denied and brings about the opposite, undesired consequences: Jesus touch is blocked by the disciples’ rebuke. The instructions are inextricably interwoven with the narrative frame. First (v. 14b) responds to the disciples’ rebuke of people/children. Directly addressing his disciples, Jesus overrides their rebuke, commanding them to let children to come to Him. Second instruction (15) advances this rationale by formulating a general negative statement (‘does not welcome/will not enter), which echoes the preceding negative clause (‘do not hinder’). Now, Jesus relates ‘not welcoming children’—the essence of the disciples’ action to ‘not welcome God’s kingdom’, and declares ‘not welcoming God’s kingdom’ the reason for ‘not entering into it’. Their concrete action toward children is directly correlated with the action of the kingdom’s agent towards them. Thus, the phase ‘as a child’ unites two actions expressing opposite movements, ‘welcoming’ and ‘entering into’ the kingdom. Verses 13-16 are theology cast in a story. In these verses, the larger theological narrative of Mark’s Gospel concerning God’s kingdom merges with the concrete setting of a story about welcome children.
