Jesus with Children, Mark 10:16 Wall Art Print

What is painted

Jesus sits in the grass, eyes closed and smiling, a sage green mantle over his cream robe. On his lap, held by one arm, a little girl in a pink dress with a ribbon in her hair presses her hands together in prayer. His other hand rests on the curly head of a boy who leans against his side. In front, a fair-haired toddler in blue kneels at his knee and looks up at his face.

Small white daisies dot the ground, and everyone is barefoot except Jesus in his sandals. Across the top, in simple brown letters: “And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them”, with Mark 10:16 below. Nothing else fills the page, so the eye rests on the faces.

Why the disciples tried to send them away

Mark 10:13 says people were bringing young children to Jesus so that he would touch them, and the disciples rebuked those who brought them. Perhaps they thought the teacher had more important work. Mark records that when Jesus saw it he was much displeased, a strong expression he does not use lightly.

His answer is one of his best known sayings: “Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.” In 1611 English “suffer” meant allow. He goes further in verse 15: whoever will not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall not enter into it.

Verse 16 is the conclusion, and it is physical. He does not simply pronounce a blessing from a distance. He picks them up, lays his hands on them, and blesses them. Many churches read this passage at infant baptism for exactly that reason.

For a child's room or a baptism day

This is jesus wall art made for young families, Christian wall art a child can understand before learning to read. It hangs well in a nursery or a playroom, at a child's eye level in a hallway, or in a church classroom where the story is taught. Grandparents often choose it as a baptism gift or for a first birthday, and it suits a Catholic christening as much as a Protestant dedication.

This Christian poster is made to order in the US on heavy archival matte paper, with a white border left around the picture, and it ships free within the US without a frame. Sizes run from 5x7 to 24x36, with metric and A formats as well, and you can also choose the digital file.