Albert Barnes Commentary Mark 10

Should touch them. That is, should lay his hands on them, and pray for them, and bless them. Compare Matthew 19:13. It was common to lay the hands on the head of a person for whom a blessing was asked. See the case of Jacob, Genesis 48:14.

Saw it. Saw the conduct of his disciples.

Was much displeased. Because:

1. It was a pleasure to him to receive and bless little children.
2. They were doing what they were not commanded to do—interfering in a case where it was evidently improper.

Whosoever shall not receive. Whoever shall not manifest the spirit of a little child.

The kingdom of God. The gospel. The new dispensation by the Messiah, or the reign of God through a Mediator .

As a little child. With the temper and spirit of a child: teachable, mild, humble, and free from prejudice and obstinacy.

Shall not enter therein. Shall not be a Christian; shall not be a real member of the family of Christ on earth, though he may be a professor; and shall never enter heaven.

Took them up in his arms. These were small children.

Blessed them. Prayed for them, sought a blessing on them, or gave them the assurance of his favour as the Messiah.

How happy it would be if all parents in this way felt it to be their privilege to present their children to Christ! The question with a parent should be, not whether he ought to present them by prayer, but whether he may do it. And so, too, the question respecting infant baptism is not so much whether a parent OUGHT to devote his children to God in this ordinance, as whether he MAY do it.

It is an inestimable privilege to do it, not a matter of mere stern and iron-handed duty; and a parent with right feelings will come to God with his children in every way, and seek his blessing on them in the beginning of their journey of life. Our children are given to us only for a short time.

They are in a world of danger, sin, and woe. They are exposed to temptation on every side. If God is not their Friend, they have no friend that can aid them in the day of adversity, or keep them from the snares of the destroyer. If He is their Friend, they have nothing to fear.

The proper expression, then, of parental feeling, is to come and offer them early to God. A parent should ask only the privilege of doing it. He should seek God's favour as the best inheritance of his children; and if a parent may devote his offspring to God—if he may daily seek his blessing on them by prayer—it is all that he should ask. With proper feelings, he will rush to the throne of grace, and daily seek the protection and guidance of God for his children amid the temptations and snares of an ungodly world, and implore Him to be their guide when the parent is laid in the silent grave.

So, children who have been devoted to God, who have been the daily objects of a father's prayers and a mother's tears, and who have been presented to Jesus again and again in infancy and childhood, are under the most sacred obligations to live to God. They should never forget that a parent sought the favour of God as the chief blessing; and having been offered to Jesus by prayer and baptism in their first days on earth, they should make it their great aim to be prepared to meet him when he will come in the clouds of heaven.

Verse 17. Gone forth. From the place where he had been teaching.

Into the way. Into the road or path on his journey.

Running. Thus showing the intensity with which he desired to know the way of life. Zeal to know the way to be saved is proper; nor is it possible to be too intense, if well directed. Nothing else is so important, and nothing demands, therefore, so much effort and haste.