Spiritualitas Anak Usia Dini dalam Perspektif Yesus: Analisis Eksegetis Markus 10:13-16 dan Relevansinya bagi Pedagogi Pendidikan Agama Kristen

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53547/prg7sr63

Keywords:

Markus 10:13-16, spiritualitas anak, pendidikan agama Kristen, eksegesis naratif, pedagogi iman anak

Abstract

The development of pedagogy in early childhood Christian Religious Education (CRE) often emphasizes the cognitive transmission of doctrine, while the spiritual dimension of children as theological subjects has not been sufficiently articulated through exegetical readings focused on Gospel texts. This article analyzes Mark 10:13–16 to explain how the passage presents children as those who are received by Jesus and presented as a model for receiving the Kingdom of God, and to examine its relevance for the pedagogy of early childhood Christian Religious Education. This study employs a descriptive qualitative method with a narrative and lexical exegetical approach to Mark 10:13–16, enriched by a reading of the parallel texts in Matthew 19:13–15 and Luke 18:15–17 as well as a review of literature on child theology and Christian education. The specific contribution of this article lies in the formulation of three characteristics of early childhood spirituality derived from the reading of this passage, namely receptivity to grace, incarnational relationality, and the paradigmatic function of the child for the life of discipleship. The findings show that Mark 10:13–16 not only affirms Jesus’ acceptance of children, but also positions them as theological subjects who reveal the logic of the Kingdom of God. These findings imply the need to develop a more child-friendly, relational, and community-based pedagogy of Christian Religious Education that involves family and church, while giving space to children’s experiences of faith within the Christian community.

Keywords: Mark 10:13–16; children's spirituality; Christian religious education; narrative exegesis; pedagogy of children’s faith formation

Abstrak

Perkembangan pedagogi Pendidikan Agama Kristen (PAK) anak usia dini kerap berfokus pada transmisi kognitif doktrin, sementara dimensi spiritualitas anak sebagai subjek teologis belum banyak dirumuskan melalui pembacaan eksegetis yang terfokus pada teks Injil. Artikel ini menganalisis Markus 10:13–16 untuk menjelaskan bagaimana perikop tersebut menampilkan anak sebagai pihak yang diterima Yesus dan dijadikan acuan dalam menerima Kerajaan Allah, serta menelaah relevansinya bagi pedagogi PAK anak usia dini. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kualitatif deskriptif dengan pendekatan eksegesis naratif dan leksikal terhadap Markus 10:13–16, yang diperkaya dengan pembacaan teks paralel Matius 19:13–15 dan Lukas 18:15–17 serta studi pustaka teologi anak dan pendidikan Kristen. Kontribusi khusus artikel ini terletak pada perumusan tiga ciri spiritualitas anak usia dini dari pembacaan perikop tersebut, yakni reseptivitas terhadap anugerah, relasionalitas yang inkarnasional, dan fungsi paradigmatik anak bagi kehidupan murid. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa Markus 10:13–16 tidak hanya menegaskan penerimaan Yesus terhadap anak-anak, tetapi juga menempatkan mereka sebagai subjek pembinaan iman yang mengungkapkan logika Kerajaan Allah. Temuan ini berimplikasi pada pengembangan pedagogi PAK yang lebih ramah anak, berbasis relasi, melibatkan keluarga dan gereja, serta memberi ruang bagi pengalaman iman anak dalam komunitas Kristen.

Kata Kunci: Markus 10:13-16; spiritualitas anak; pendidikan agama Kristen; eksegesis naratif; pedagogi iman anak

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Barfield, R. (2020). Children and the Imago Dei: A Reformed Proposal Regarding the Spiritual Openness of the Child. Christian Education Journal, 17(1), 7–17. https://doi.org/10.1177/0739891319865911

Boiliu. Esti Regina. (2023). Dimensi Pengembangan Pendidikan Karakter bagi Anak. Real Kiddos : Jurnal Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini, 1(2), 89–97.

Carroll, J. T. (2001). Children in the Bible. Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology, 55(2), 121–134. https://doi.org/10.1177/002096430005500202

Chiroma, J. A., & Chiroma, N. H. (2022). Childhood theology and implications for pedagogy. Theologia Viatorum, 46(1). https://doi.org/10.4102/tv.v46i1.115

Chronic, D. (2025). The sounds of children: The child placed by Jesus in the midst of the disciples in dialog with Christian development. Missiology: An International Review, 53(1), 71–83. https://doi.org/10.1177/00918296241290763

Ekanem, SDB, J. (2021). “Let the Children Come to Me…For unto Them, the Kingdom of God Belongs” Mk 10:13-16: The Pastoral Challenges of this Invitation in African Church Today. International Journal of Social Science And Human Research, 04(12). https://doi.org/10.47191/ijsshr/v4-i12-15

Eubanks, L. L. (1994). Mark 10:13–16. Review & Expositor, 91(3), 401–405. https://doi.org/10.1177/003463739409100308

Filannino, F. (2021). Eine notwendige Alternative? Eine »inklusive« Interpretation von ?? ??????? (Mk 10,15). Liber Annuus, 71, 171–187. https://doi.org/10.1484/j.la.5.130757

Kim, S.-J. (2023). A Study on the Main Theme about the Analogy of a Child in the Gospel of Mark: Focusing on Understanding the Meaning of ??????? and the Sentence Structure of Mark 10:15. Journal of Biblical Text Research, 52, 54–80. https://doi.org/10.28977/jbtr.2023.4.52.54

Larkins, G. M. (2021). Children doing theology. Journal of Religious Education, 69(2), 193–208. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40839-021-00138-6

Mrio, V. (2022). Jesus’ Concern for Children: A Stance for the Kingdom of God in the Church in Africa. Journal of Youth and Theology, 22(2), 211–225. https://doi.org/10.1163/24055093-bja10039

Murphy, J. (2013). Kids and kingdom: The precarious presence of children in the synoptic gospels. Pickwick Publications.

O’Collins, G. (2023). ‘The Child as the Face of God’ (Mark 9:36–37). Irish Theological Quarterly, 88(4), 301–307. https://doi.org/10.1177/00211400231201222

Panggabean, R. G., & Asso, P. (2025). Integrating Modern Theology into Early Childhood Faith Education: A Literature Review. Real Kiddos : Jurnal Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini, 4(1), 65–81.

Sanjaya, Y., Lase, M. B. R., Meri, M., & Lase, L. D. T. (2025). Gereja sebagai Pilar Pembentukan Iman Anak Usia Dini: Pendekatan Teologis dan Praktis. Real Kiddos: Jurnal Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini, 3(2), 83–93. https://doi.org/10.53547/tb661d49

Spitaler, P. (2009). Welcoming a child as a metaphor for welcoming God’s kingdom: A close reading of Mark 10.13-16. Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 31(4), 423–446. https://doi.org/10.1177/0142064X09104959

Stockton, I. (1983). Children, Church and Kingdom. Scottish Journal of Theology, 36(1), 87–97. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0036930600016288

Verheyden, J. (2011). A son in heaven, but no father on earth: A note in the margin of a “Tale of Two Kings.” HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies, 67(1). https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v67i1.928

Yunita, Y., Raharjo, T., & Laras, L. (2023). Perspektif Yesus Tentang Anak Dalam Markus 10:13-16 Ditinjau Dari Teori Psikologi Sosial. Pistis: Jurnal Teologi Terapan, 23(1), 14–25. https://doi.org/10.51591/pst.v23i1.132

Downloads

Published

2026-03-30

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 2: March 2026

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Yudhy Sanjaya, Agiana Her Visnhu Ditakristi, Upa Silaen

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

All articles published in Real Kiddos: Jurnal Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini are protected by copyright. The copyright is retained by the authors, while the journal holds the right to publish and distribute the articles in both printed and electronic formats.

Articles published in this journal are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). This license permits readers to:

  • Properly attribute the name of the author(s) and the journal.

  • Use the articles for non-commercial purposes only.

  • Distribute derivative works under the same license terms.

For uses beyond the scope of this license, such as commercial purposes or modifications that do not comply with the license terms, users must obtain prior written permission from the author(s) or the journal publisher.

For further copyright information or to request permission, please contact us through the journal’s official website or via email support.

How to Cite

Spiritualitas Anak Usia Dini dalam Perspektif Yesus: Analisis Eksegetis Markus 10:13-16 dan Relevansinya bagi Pedagogi Pendidikan Agama Kristen. (2026). Real Kiddos: Jurnal Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini, 4(2), 210-227. https://doi.org/10.53547/prg7sr63