Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” (Luke 18:15-17)

by Abe Kim

Here is a short, yet well-known encounter by Jesus. Many paintings have depicted this Jesus that welcomes little children, even infants. This is the Jesus many people like. People are not so fond of the one who rebuked the religious leaders of the day or the one that overturned merchants’ tables at the Temple out of zeal for the Father or the one that said, “Follow me” and then willingly went to the cross. Is the Jesus who did and said these radical things the same Jesus in this Luke 18 passage that seems so loving and gentle? And what can we learn about God’s view of children from this passage?

Let’s start this brief study by considering the context of all three versions of this story and then observing the three accounts together (Matthew 19:13-15, Mark 10:13-16, and Luke 18:15-17). All three accounts confirm that Jesus came from Galilee and was somewhere in Judea, en route to Jerusalem (Matthew 19:1, Mark 10:1, Luke 17:11). This was the final approach into Jerusalem before the cross. In the Matthew and Mark accounts, Jesus taught the crowd about divorce just before the children were brought to Him. Jesus clarified that God’s intent for marriage never included divorce but the Mosaic law included it because of the hardness of men’s hearts (Matthew 19:1-12 and Mark 10:1-12). Luke includes Jesus’ teaching on divorce several passages earlier in Luke 16:18. Luke precedes Jesus’ welcoming of the children with His parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14). Both characters went up to the temple to pray, but only the tax collector left justified because of his humility and repentance.

The events after Jesus greeting the children are the same in all three accounts. The rich young man asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life (Matthew 19:16-30, Mark 10:17-31, Luke 18:18-30). He appears to be genuine in his religious pursuits, and is more than just knowledgeable of the law and its requirements. He has kept all the commandments in God’s Word from his youth, yet he did not understand the requirements for eternal life. And as it turns out, he did not want eternal life on Jesus’ terms. Jesus promised the young man treasures in heaven, but this also meant forsaking his riches in this world. The young man was sorrowful and did not follow Jesus. Jesus teaches that it is impossible for the rich to be saved, yet with God all things are possible, and confirms that Peter and the disciples who have forsaken this world to follow Him will indeed gain riches, not only in the life to come but in this life as well. Soon after, Jesus foretells His death to His disciples for the third and final time before the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. Keep this particular story in mind as we now explore the text.

Let’s first compare all three accounts and consider the sequence of events, with differences noted in parentheses:

• Those in the crowd brought children to Jesus so that He might touch them (and Matthew adds to pray for them).
• The disciples saw this happening and rebuked them and the crowd.
• Jesus responds by telling the crowd to let the children come to Him (Luke adds that Jesus was indignant).
• Jesus further instructs to not hinder the children because to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.
• (Mark and Luke add Jesus saying, “whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”)
• (Matthew and Mark state that Jesus then laid His hands on the children.)
• (Mark also adds that Jesus took the children in His arms and blessed them.)

Jesus’ ministry attracted huge crowds. He miraculously fed over 5,000 and over 4,000 on two different occasions. This account makes it clear that children were in the crowds that followed Jesus all over the Near East. As Jesus approached Jerusalem, some adults, presumably the parents, brought children and infants to Jesus to ask for his blessing.

Jesus had two main teaching points in this account. He rebuked his disciples and instructed them to not hinder children to come to Him. He further taught that if you do not receive the kingdom of God like a child, you will not enter it at all. Jesus provides an amazing object lesson that provides a contrast to the rich young ruler who sought eternal life but was unwilling to relinquish his treasures on earth for treasures in heaven. There is a lot to be said about these two points, but for the sake of this article, I would like to focus our attention briefly on not hindering children to come to Him.

Children, by nature, have no faculties or abilities to come to Jesus on their own. But those that love the little ones brought them to the foot of Jesus and asked for His blessings and acceptance. Christian parents understand this concept well, and ought to do this continually. And those that have discipled anyone also understands this well. As sinners, we have no faculties or abilities to seek after God, for our sinful state drives us in the opposite direction at all times. But God, in His mercy, calls sinners to Himself through the means of faithful men and women proclaiming the gospel.

The children that were brought to Jesus had one obstacle before reaching their goal. This hurdle was well-meaning disciples, men who left house and family and job to follow Jesus the Rabbi for nearly 3 years. There were many needs surrounding Jesus and the disciples. The sick, lame, deaf, demon-possessed, and many more demanded Jesus’ attention. And in other instances, He gave them their due attention and healed them. But this time, the children took front stage amongst the crowd. It is not that the other needs deserved less attention this time, or that Jesus no longer cared. But Jesus wanted to make it clear to everyone, especially His disciples, that children were warranted His attention just as much as any other need. Children can be brought to Jesus, even as babes. In so doing, we discover a grave warning for those that might impede anyone from coming to Jesus.

It is not clear the exact reasons the disciples rebuked the crowd for bringing children to Jesus. Perhaps it was all the crying. Maybe it was their dirty diapers. Or more probable is that the disciples didn’t deem children to receive Jesus’ attention, especially when there are male adults who are also seeking the wisdom of the Rabbi. Children cannot fully communicate yet, so there is no way they could understand the deep truths of God or religion Jesus was trying to teach them. But Jesus didn’t care about those things. He wanted the little children to come, with no such impedances. Jesus’ rebuke was clear: don’t be the ones to hinder child-like souls from approaching the throne of grace.

There are many souls around us that have a childlike approach to Jesus, whether they are actual children or adults. For those more mature in faith, let’s remember Jesus’ teaching here and not cast doubt or fear or other hindrances upon those simply seeking Christ with a childlike faith. There is no place for troubling them in coming to Jesus. Let’s simply encourage them to continue to pursue Jesus, to forsake the riches of this world and to pursue a treasure that is heavenly and wonderful and eternal. For to such belong the kingdom of God.