Malcolm Cox

Our focus today is the man who runs up to Jesus and falls on his knees in front of him. However, it must be noted that this incident comes hard on the heels of the previous scene. Children were brought to Jesus - only for the disciples to rebuke them. Jesus in turn rebukes his disciples and declares that “the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” (v14). Mark is showing us the ideal kingdom-candidates before we encounter the flawed kingdom aspirant. ‘Paradoxically, the least powerful, least wealthy, least influential have a greater prospect of entering the kingdom than do those who are most powerful, wealthy, and influential.’ Word Biblical Commentary receive the kingdom Why are the children able to ‘receive the kingdom’ (v15)? We are not told precisely here, but perhaps we get a clue by looking at the contrasting example of the man on his knees. He looked good. He sounded good. He ran to Jesus, he fell upon his knees, he addressed Jesus respectfully (‘good teacher’), he kept the law. Yet something was