Jesus a Saviour for Children

Understanding What is Happening

This is perhaps one of most well known stories of Jesus in the Gospels on a popular level, and there is good reason for this. As a child growing up in the church, this was a story that every Sunday School teacher taught us. While sermons and teaching can often seem like something for the adults while children are taught stories of David and Goliath or Jonah and the Whale, almost more as legend than truth with meaning to our faith, this story reminds us of the open-hearted nature of Christ to those who either are children or have child-like hearts, as Jesus spoke of at the beginning of chapter 18. It should be not surprise to us, after telling his disciples that anyone who would be in the Kingdom of Heaven must be like a little child, that Jesus should have such a heart for literal children.

After Jesus had left the Pharisees and explained both the way divorce went against God’s created order and plan, and how singleness for the Kingdom of God is a godly route to take as the creation mandate to fill the earth and subdue it is captured in the new covenant through the spread of the Gospel and making disciples, Jesus is approached by a group of parents with children. It is hard to say how old these children were as any child up to the age of 13 was called this. Mark uses the word infant but the word has a broad meaning like the English word, and seeing how Jesus brought a child in the thematically related teaching at the beginning of chapter 18 who could stand, we can assume that these children are, for the most part, able to stand and understand Jesus’ words and what is going to to some degree. However, Matthew does not go out of his way to clarify this, only that they were children.

Now we are told that the children are brought to Jesus “that he might lay his hands on them and pray.”

The common reading of this is that the children were brought so that Jesus would impart a blessing on these children, a benediction similar to what the priests in the OT would give to the people of Israel. However popular this view is, there appears to be no basis for it and it is very unlikely.

First, although many commentaries say that it was a common practice for Rabbis to bless children in this way, there is no evidence at all that this was the case. Shockingly, while this is repeated in almost every commentary you read, not one of them can provide a single source for it from the ancient world or the Bible. The way that such blessings would be conveyed in ancient Judaism was with hands raised up, not with the laying on of hands. In fact, there is nowhere in Scripture or in ancient Jewish literature or archaeology where you see blessings like this given with the laying on of hands. The only exceptions are Isaac and Jacob, and this was because they were blind and could not see who they were blessing.

So what is it that these parents hope Jesus will do? If we look at all the instances in which hands are laid on in the NT, or even the entire Bible, the meaning becomes more clear. Laying on of hands can mean to do harm to someone, which is obviously not the case here. It can mean to commission someone for a task or ministry, which is also not the case here. In the OT it can mean to bestow covenantal status on someone, which is why some in the early church found evidence of infant baptism here, but this is also unlikely as baptism is nowhere in the context and the laying on of hands is never really used in this way in the NT. However, by far the most common purpose of the laying on of hands in the NT, especially in the gospels, is healing.

Healing is also often accompanied by prayer, which is mentioned here as well. In the gospels, there are times where healing is obviously taking place but the phrase “lay on hands” is used to describe it. For example, in Mark 5:23 the ruler Jairus comes to Jesus and asks that he lay his hands on her “so that she may be made well”. In fact, the mention of laying on of hands in the context of healing is more than any other mention of laying on hands in all other contexts in the NT combined.

And so, even though healing is not explicitly mentioned in the text, the original readers would most likely have understood that these children were there to be healed by Jesus from some disease or sickness that was troubling their young lives.

This makes the disciple’s rebuke all the more harsh and heartless when we see the text in this context. How could they deny the parents of sick children the opportunity to have their children healed?

The fact is that the Jews in Jesus day, including the disciples, and people in general, even today, can be unexpectedly heartless in given situations. Social experiments have been done where strangers will ignore someone bleeding to death, being attacked, and even children being obviously kidnapped. When you are exposed to hurting people all the time, it is easy to forget that they are people and can easily be treated as objects that are not worth too much effort. The crowds would tell the two blind men to be quite when they called out to Jesus, the disciples stopped a man who was casting out demons in Jesus’ name because he was not one of them. Although its hard to believe from the outside looking in, our fallen state means we easily fall into heartlessness and grow hard in our compassion. This appears to have been the case with the disciples, who obviously though that Jesus had better things to do, or were perhaps anxious that Jesus should continue on his journey to Jerusalem.

Jesus response is the timeless and memourable moment in this story: “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the Kingdom of Heaven.” It should be noted that Jesus does not say “to these”, but here is a reference back to chapter 18:1-3. Essentially, Jesus says, “why would you stop little children from coming to me, when any that would enter my Kingdom must become like these?” Jesus is the King of the child-hearted, those who embrace the faith and natural humility of a child, those who come to Christ with nothing to offer but a heart willing to lean on him and follow him as a child follows their father and mother. Since this is the case, is it not the most fitting thing in the world that sick and needy children in the literal sense should sin on his lap, feel the warmth on his hand upon their heads, and be healed? Did Jesus not call such as these, who are weary and heavy laden? Who are poor in spirit? Who are sick and in need of the Great Physician? Are not children the chief of these, and sick children at that?

And so, having expressed this and showing the disciples the patience they have for children is a measure of their love for the childlike in the Kingdom, Jesus does heal the children and according to Mark does give them a blessing as well, which is a separate act from the laying on of hands. He then leaves, continuing on his way towards Jerusalem; to the climactic moment of the death he would die for sinners with child-like hearts.

The Meaning

As we see it, this text has three areas of meaning and application for us to see and know well.

On Children

The first is, of course, the meaning it has for children. We see that Jesus isn’t merely showing his disciples that he loves children, which he most certainly does. But the deeper meaning still is the way Jesus loves the way children come to him, and wishes that all might come to him in the same way. These children come with no ability to save themselves. Though they feel the pain of their sickness, they are not old enough to devise plots or pursue medicines that might cure them. Instead, they lean on their parents and their parents of come to lean on Christ.

This is the faith of a child in a Christian home, that even before they are able to have the maturity to believe the gospel, they naturally believe in their parents. They trust in Christ by trusting you, and this should give you great concern for how you parent your children. Are you showing your children who God is? Are you being Christ-like to them, or to any children in your life? Their faith in you is a faith indirectly in Christ, and it is a faith that in inherent in the relationship a child has with their parents. These children give themselves to Christ because their parents do, and implicitly trust in him though they are ignorant.

So it is a chief concern of ours that this be a place where children are welcomed to come to Christ. That they are taught by word and example how to do this. This is more than being a child-friendly church, it is inviting them to Christ himself!

One scholar writes:

to come to Sunday-school is not the same thing as to come to Christ; and the passage we have been considering is an invitation to come to Christ.

May it be our great ambition that our little ones know Christ in our speech, in our actions, and in our attitudes towards them and before them. Let them know the great compassion and love of Christ, but also the discipline and instruction of a loving Father. May they be brought before the throne of Heaven in prayer continually, for Christ does so for us, his children.

On Family

The second way we can apply this text is in the Christian family. It is not by accident that Matthew records this passage right after Jesus’ discussion with the Pharisees about divorce. In both of these episodes, Jesus is pointing out the ways that sin breaks down the family structure and, when the family structure breaks down, all human relationships soon follow. Sin shows itself most clearly in family, where it tears human relationships down at the very foundation, the family.

Divorce breaks up the home when what is meant to be united and whole is divided and broken. Likewise, when the raising of children is overlooked or misguided, the family has failed to achieve its purpose. The reality of society around us is a playing out of the culmination of each individual’s home life as a child. People approach things the way things were approached at home, they value what was valued at home, they do things the way they were done at home, for the most part. So when there is a problem in society, look at the families and see what kind of homes people are being raised in, because the home is a microcosm of society at large.

So while divorce destroys the very foundation of a home, failing to lead our children to God destroys the whole purpose of family. One reason divorce is so utterly selfish when children are involved is that it is impossible for that child to have a healthy childhood and the damage will make itself known as they grow up. Likewise, a household where children are not ushered into the arms of Jesus fails to serve the Kingdom of God as intended. Just as the family is the foundation of secular society, the Christian family is also the foundation of the Church. If children are not brought to Christ in the home, there can be no longevity for the church. No hope of future faithfulness or a lasting love for Christ. Though it may be one filled with love and care, a home where children are not led to Jesus is a broken home.

But in what ways do Christians often fail to bring their children to the Lord?

They fail when the family has no time together. In our busy city lives, children are shipped off to school while mom and dad work. At the end of the day everyone is tired, maybe they do not even eat a meal together, the kids do their homework and then play video games while the parents watch a show before bed. In such an environment, Christ cannot be shown to the children. They need to see their mother prayer for their souls. They need to hear their dad give loving instruction. In childhood, their door to Christ is the parent, and if they are not with the parent enough their opportunity to see Christ will be severely limited.

They fail when the Scriptures and prayer are not regular in the home. One of the greatest lies Satan has whispered into the ears of Christian parents is that biblical teaching is the Sunday School teacher’s job, just as algebra is their math teacher’s job. Not to spurn the many faithful Sunday School teachers out there, but all they are learning from this is that religion is a Sunday ritual and nothing more. They must hear the Word of God from their parents’ lips every day. They must hear their parents pray. They must be taught about Christ personally and with many gentle and patient directions.

They fail when there is no discipline in the home. We know from Hebrews 12:7 that the discipline of the Lord proves that we are his children. So what picture of God are you giving to your child when you do not discipline them? Just as God brought Israel through the Law before Jesus brought us grace, children must be taken through a process of feeling to sting of sin, knowing its consequences, knowing that the words of their parents are not suggestions, but law. It is with time and maturity that, with good parenting, they learn self-discipline which they received from your discipline. Discipline is not just about spankings or time-outs, its teaching children the way they should go and showing them the consequences of the way of death. They need to know that there is a way to live that leads to life, and this way requires submission, obedience, trust, and repentance. The way of death, they must learn, leads to hurt, heartbreak, and loneliness. If they do not feel that sting from you, they will feel the agony of your loveless parenting further down the road of death. Because God disciplines his children, a home that leads children to Christ will always do the same.

They fail when children are not shown love and affection. There are many ways to show a child affection. Reuben knows you love him if you are willing to listen to his stories and games. Ellie knows I love her with a great big hug. Every child and person is different, but the child must know your affection. Affection cannot be used as a tool of manipulation, to be taken away when the child is bad. Instead, it is an ever-present reality that proves to the child that they are loved. Even in discipline, the child should know that they are loved regardless of their sin. Such is the love of Christ, who is always full of affectionate compassion for his Beloved saints.

They fail when the children are the most important thing in the home. The gentle, permissive parenting which was common among parents 20 years ago has produced people who are immature, depressed, and anxious. While the home exists to raise children, love for your spouse must always come first, just as love for God is the first commandment while love for neighbour is second. When the child is loved most of all, it is not real love. Instead, it is selfish ambition, usually accompanied by manipulation and enormous pressure. What does the 16 year-old girl feel during an exam at school, knowing that her mom’s happiness is determined by her grade on that test, or the athlete whose father’s happiness will depend on his performance? When the marriage is the most important thing in the home, next to God of course, the children thrive most as this builds the security of the home. When the kids fail, they shouldn’t have to deal with the emotions of adults whose’ affections and ambitions ride on their behaviour. The most loving thing you can do for your kids is to love them second to the one you married.

There are many other things we could mention if we had time. A Christian home provides but does not spoil. It corrects but is gentle. It instructs but allows for mistakes. It is present but not intrusive. It is trustworthy, but not perfect. It has authority but not tyranny. It does not sacrifice the child, but makes sacrifices for the child. It teaches confidence but not pride. It protects, but also allows for falls and bruises which bring about maturity. It cheers on but does not tie love to success. It gives privileges but also responsibilities. It has expectations but is patient. In a word, it reflects the Love of God to the Church, and such a home will produce a healthy church for the generation to come.

On the Church

And speaking of the church, this text has application for us here as well. The church must be a child-friendly place. That doesn’t mean child-care, age-based classes during the service, but rather a service in which children are included and celebrated. Just as Jesus calls all to come to him, including the children, so the church calls for all and with special attention to our little ones. They are born in sin, and so are sick. Here, we are given to opportunity to bring them to the great physician who can heal them, just as he heals us, with his own hands.

And so children must feel welcome. Let us not be bothered by their noise, energy, or short attention spans. While we do expect a level of control over children for the sake of order in the service, we also recognize that children will get into mischief sometimes. Is that OK? Not really, but it is expected and should be responded to with patience and grace. Make an effort to build relationships with the children of this church. Talk to them, ask them questions, give them a smile. Show them Christ in everything, even if its just the kindness and attention rooted in love.

This also means we need to be a church with hearts for parents, especially of young children, but of older kids as well. Serve them, be patient with them as well, and see how you may be a help to them.

And finally, the church must be a place where children are safe. As a church, we should be thinking about adopting a child safety plan, not only for legal reasons, but most importantly so that Christ is shown to children. There is no place for abuse in this church, none at all! We will get law enforcement involved if necessary. We will not tolerate any form of abuse, and why? Because this is a place where children can come securely to Christ, and may this building burn down on top of us before that stops being true!

Conclusion

This is a truly beautiful passage of Scripture, and to close let us be reminded why children are so important to Jesus. It is because there is something they have that we must have if we are to have any hope of reaching heaven: a humble and trusting heart. May our children never “grow” out of it, though they must grow out of other childish ways. And may we learn from their example the kind of people Jesus seeks to populate his Kingdom with. Those who, like a child in her father’s arms, rest on the finished work of Christ on the cross, lean on him for daily graces, run to him in prayer to speak with him about our lives, and love their fellow siblings as an extension of the love they have for Him.