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Author: Stephen Weller
635 words, 3 minutes read time

Let the Children Come

Scripture: Matthew 19:13, 15; Mark 10:13-16; Luke 18:15

With the previous lesson we finished up the section on divorce. With this lesson we begin a new section on Jesus and his relationship to the children that were brought to him.

^{Mk 10:13} “[Now people] were bringing children to him that he might touch them, ^{Mt 19:13} that he might lay his hands on them and pray. ^{Lk 18:15} [But] when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them.”

To understand why people would bring their children to Jesus one has to understand that the traditional method of blessing children in Israel is in laying hands on them. This is especially true when passing on a blessing from one generation to the next. For example in Genesis 48:14 (ESV): “And Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, crossing his hands (for Manasseh was the firstborn).”; Numbers 27:18 (ESV): “So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him.”; and in Deuteronomy 34:9 (ESV): “And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. So, the people of Israel obeyed him and did as the Lord had commanded Moses.”

The people wanted Jesus to lay his hands on their children and pray a blessing over them. That is a tradition we follow at baby dedication services when our pastor either takes each child or lays his hand on the child and offers up to God a prayer of blessing for the child. When the people brought their children to Jesus the disciples became annoyed at what they saw as interruption to the teaching of Jesus and so they rebuked the parents in an attempt to keep them away. In their view, if Jesus was going to be a king and lead Israel to freedom then it wasn’t for him to waste his time with children. However, this was not going to sit well with Jesus.

^{Mk 10:14} “But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. ¹⁵ Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” ¹⁶ And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them, ^{Mt 19:15} and went [on his] away.”

Jesus was not very happy with his disciples and instructed them to let the children be brought to him. Jesus then extends the bringing of children to him, to the concept of people coming to him as children to enter the kingdom of God. These children serve as a metaphor to the humility necessary for entrance into the kingdom of heaven. In Matthew 18:3 (covered in lesson H407) we read (ESV): “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus takes the children in his arms and blesses them.

After receiving the children and laying his hands on them, he leaves them and moves on in his journey toward Bethany where he will meet Mary and her sister Martha who are grieving over the death of their brother Lazarus.

Conclusion

How important it is to realize that we need the humility of children to be eligible to enter the kingdom of heaven. Those who are proud are opposed by God (James 4:6) and not admitted through the door into heaven.