15 Some people brought infants to Jesus to have him hold them. When the disciples saw this, they told the people not to do that.
16 But Jesus called the infants to him and said, “Don’t stop the children from coming to me! Children like these are part of God’s kingdom. 17 I can guarantee this truth: Whoever doesn’t receive God’s kingdom as a little child receives it will never enter it.”
Read Luke 18:15-17 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
Most times I read about Jesus blessing the children, a question enters my mind. Perhaps, when we reach heaven, I’ll ask Jesus the question personally, but until that point in time, I will be left to looking for clues from the gospels that include this event.
The question is not why Jesus would have prompted this event or why He allowed children to come close. Jesus loves everyone, and He chose to value the children/infants as much as women and adults.
However, in the few verses that make up this event, Jesus makes an interesting comparison. At the end of verse 16, Jesus says, “Children like these are part of God’s kingdom.”
This prompts my question: What is it about “these” children that give them the status of being a part of God’s kingdom?
Is it some characteristic that is present in each child, such as trust, hope, faith, love, curiosity, or something else? Is it that these children had self-control and were intently listening to and engaging Jesus in conversation? Or is it simply because these children were with Jesus?
If Luke’s gospel description is correct in its additional detail that the children were “infant” age, then they likely didn’t have much if any conversation. Perhaps there was crying involved, but likely not any self-control. An infant loves and trusts their parents, and they do grow into being curious.
However, as I read this event, I think that Jesus is not talking about the children themselves, as much as He is talking about “where” the children are – next to Him and being held by Him. Perhaps Jesus was telling stories to the children who were old enough to understand stories, or perhaps He was simply holding ones who were too young to realize what was going on. Either way, the children who were there were with Jesus.
The children who were there may have been there without emotional or spiritual baggage. We don’t read anything in any of the gospels about the children being skeptical or questioning Jesus on His mission of being a Messiah. If the children are united in their proximity to Jesus, they also seem to be united in their acceptance of Jesus as well.
As I dig into the details, what I learn most from this event is that each of us should focus on being close to Jesus personally and that we enjoy our time with Him. Accepting Jesus is one big key to being a part of the kingdom of God!
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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