Mark 9:37 (YLT)

Passage

`Whoever may receive one of such children in my name, doth receive me, and whoever may receive me, doth not receive me, but Him who sent me.'

Nearby Context

Mark 9:35 and having sat down he called the twelve, and he saith to them, `If any doth will to be first, he shall be last of all, and minister of all.'

Mark 9:36 And having taken a child, he set him in the midst of them, and having taken him in his arms, said to them,

Mark 9:37 `Whoever may receive one of such children in my name, doth receive me, and whoever may receive me, doth not receive me, but Him who sent me.'

Mark 9:38 And John did answer him, saying, `Teacher, we saw a certain one in thy name casting out demons, who doth not follow us, and we forbade him, because he doth not follow us.'

Mark 9:39 And Jesus said, `Forbid him not, for there is no one who shall do a mighty work in my name, and shall be able readily to speak evil of me:

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "whoever", "receive", "such", "children", "name", and "doth". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "whoever" and "receive", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 36's "And having taken a child he set..." into verse 38's "And John did answer him saying Teacher...", so "whoever" and "receive" 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 "whoever" and "receive" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.