Receive the Kingdom of God Like a Child

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)

The first thing we see in this section is that people were bringing their infants to Jesus. This was a tradition of the time, in which people would bring their babies to be blessed by an esteemed Rabbi. Jesus wasn’t claiming the title of Rabbi and certainly wasn’t following the manner of many Rabbi of that day, yet His authority in teaching and love for the people caused them to highly esteem Him. It is amazing that people were bringing their children to Jesus at such a young age, and what a beautiful example to parents to also bring their children to Jesus starting at a young age.

Two Rebukes

There are two rebukes here, but only one we should heed.

The first rebuke was done by the disciples directed at the parents bringing their children to Jesus. The disciples seemed to get too focused on the overall work of ministry that they were blinded to the specific purpose of it – the people. They ended up rebuking the very people whom Jesus wanted to minister to.

How often we might get so busy with aspects in ministry that WE deem the most important that we miss ministering to the people whom JESUS wants to reach; and even possibly miss out on blessings God desires to bestow.

The second rebuke was done by Jesus directed at the disciples. Notice though that Jesus didn’t start yelling a rebuke at them; He called them to Himself and gently rebuked them and taught them. What a beautiful learning moment there. Right in the midst of the crowd of people bringing their children, Jesus sees the disciples doing the wrong thing and He ushers them over to correct them in the moment. But here’s the thing…what if the disciples wouldn’t have been listening for Jesus’ voice? They would have missed that rebuke and continued doing the wrong thing. We must be listening throughout our day for the voice of God guiding and directing us or we very well might negatively impact the lives of other people and misrepresent the heart of God.

Do Not Hinder Them

Jesus made it very clear that he wanted the children to come to Him and didn’t want anyone hindering them. This rings true of all His children, big and small.

We should never be hindering anyone from coming to Jesus in any way. Yes, there may be instances such as church events in which we have made a plan of how things will run, but if those plans ever hinder people from coming to Jesus, they’re not only ineffective plans but they’re actively going against what Jesus has said here. Not only should we never block anyone from Jesus, but we should also actively be helping provide a way.

Like A Child

Jesus ended with saying, Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it. This is a very important truth here!

When we think about children, they are so quick to receive from Jesus and they don’t try to bolster themselves as worthy of it (like we saw of the Pharisee in the parable from last week) and kids don’t try to act like they don’t need God’s blessing. Children simply come to Him and receive what He gives, and that is the example Jesus is telling us to follow.

I like the way C. Marvin Pate put it when he said, “Not only did Jesus welcome these little human beings as members of the kingdom of God; He also extolled them as model citizens of the same, because of their capacity to trust and love.”

As we seek to enable a way for others to come to Jesus, let’s also be mindful of our own approach to ensure we’re receiving the kingdom of God like a child ourselves.