Mark 9:37 (GNV)

Passage

Whosoeuer shall receiue one of such litle children in my Name, receiueth me: and whosoeuer receiueth mee, receiueth not me, but him that sent me.

Nearby Context

Mark 9:35 And he sate downe, and called the twelue, and said to them, If any man desire to be first, the same shalbe last of all, and seruant vnto all.

Mark 9:36 And he tooke a litle childe, and set him in the middes of them, and tooke him in his armes, and sayd vnto them,

Mark 9:37 Whosoeuer shall receiue one of such litle children in my Name, receiueth me: and whosoeuer receiueth mee, receiueth not me, but him that sent me.

Mark 9:38 Then Iohn answered him, saying, Master, we sawe one casting out deuils by thy Name, which followeth not vs, and we forbade him, because he followeth vs not.

Mark 9:39 But Iesus sayd, Forbid him not: for there is no man that can doe a miracle by my Name, that can lightly speake euill of me.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "whosoeuer", "shall", "receiue", "such", "litle", "children", "name", and "receiueth". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "whosoeuer" and "shall", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 36's "And he tooke a litle childe and..." into verse 38's "Then Iohn answered him saying Master we...", so "whosoeuer" and "shall" belong inside that flow. In Mark context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "whosoeuer" and "shall" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.