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Luke 18:15–17
“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” (vv. 16–17).
In today’s passage we read Luke’s account of one of the most well-known episodes from the ministry of Jesus: our Savior’s blessing of the children. This beloved account has been the source of countless Sunday school lessons and sermons, and rightly so, for it teaches us many key lessons.
Luke tells us that several people “were bringing even infants to [Jesus] that he might touch them” (Luke 18:15). Although the text does not explicitly identify those who were bringing the children to Christ, we may infer that it was the parents of the children who presented them to Jesus, most likely their mothers. One commentator suggests that the parents may have been motivated in part by the high child mortality rate in the ancient world, and they were seeking the Lord’s blessing to help protect their children from illness.
Whatever the parents’ motivation, the disciples did not think it was worth Jesus’ time to receive the children, so they rebuked the parents. Our Savior, in turn, rebuked the disciples, telling them to let the children come to Him (v. 16). Importantly, this reveals that children are significant to Jesus. He does not think Himself too busy or important to have dealings with the youngest among us. This has implications for how we treat children. If they are important to Jesus, they should be important to us, and we must protect them from harm.
Jesus’ willingness to receive children also has ramifications for our understanding of the church’s ministry. The Greek text indicates that children of a variety of ages were brought to Jesus, including infants and older children (vv. 15–16). Christian parents should bring their children to Jesus by catechizing them in the faith and teaching them the Word of God, and the church should come alongside parents in these efforts, having children participate in corporate worship and encouraging them to take part in other discipleship activities.
Finally, Jesus holds up children as models, telling us that one cannot enter the kingdom of God without receiving it like a child (v. 17). Young children are helpless and wholly dependent on others for their survival. They look to their parents for their care and protection. Similarly, we must admit our helplessness before the Lord and trust Jesus alone, not putting any hope in our own efforts. Dr. R.C. Sproul comments that a childlike faith “means to trust God implicitly, to believe that He cares for us and that He keeps His promises even if we don’t understand all that He’s doing.”
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Matthew Henry comments, “None are too little, too young, to bring to Christ, who knows how to show kindness to them that are not capable of doing service to him.” No children are too young to be brought to Christ through our bringing them to corporate worship, teaching them to pray, reading the Bible to them, and more.
for further study
- Deuteronomy 6:4–9
- 1 Samuel 1:21–28
- Matthew 19:13–15
- Ephesians 6:4
the bible in a year
- Proverbs 7–8
- 1 Corinthians 14