Matthew 19:13-15 - Let the Children Come

GREETINGS

Good afternoon again Church! As we continue in our worship through the preaching of God’s Word, please grab your Bibles...

…we are in The Gospel According to Matthew chapter 19 this afternoon, verses 13-15—Matthew 19:13-15. The title of our sermon is “Let the Children Come”.

As you make your way there, let me just take the opportunity to share that starting this Tuesday night, at the Ryan Rippee Small Group, we are going to begin a study on the Family. As we speak on children today, I do very much have families in mind. Anyone is of course welcome to join Small Group Tuesday nights or Wednesday nights, but I want to put out a special invitation to those young families out there, newly weds and families with young children, to come make it out this Tuesday. Even though we will be going through a book, the minimum requirement is just show up. That’s Tuesday night, 6:30 PM at Ryan and Jennafer Rippee’s home.

We’re in Matthew 19:13-15…

Before I read that text, let me just say that Matthew 19 is a major transition in Jesus ministry. Verse 1 says he goes from Galilee to Judea. Starting from this verse all the way to chapter 26, this is where Jesus gets challenged more fiercely and challenged more forcefully in what many has called the Judean ministry of Christ. It’s after these chapters, ministering in this region that we see in Matthew 27 Jesus being handed over to Pilate. Which of course leads to the heart of the gospel where Christ is crucified, buried, and resurrected.

At the outset of His transition to Judea, Jesus is challenged about the family. In verses 3-12 it’s marriage. And then here in our text it’s children. The marriage is trivialized by the Pharisees, and ironically the joy and importance of children are trivialized by the disciples. It so interesting that when the heat gets turned on in Jesus ministry, family related elements are what gets attacked. And in so doing, it gets the attention. God in His Word puts the attention here because it’s important. And so let us consider children as we look at Matthew 19:13-15…

Matthew 19:13–15 NASB95

13 Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” 15 After laying His hands on them, He departed from there.

We’re going to be micro today, focusing on only those verses. Let’s ask God for His blessing before we continue on.

PRAY

Introduction

When I was a baby, my dad was in the Navy. He was stationed in Olongapo, Philippines, a Navy town, and so I was born there. Then he was stationed in Bremerton, Washington when I turned one, and so I had to move there. My port of entry into the United States was Honolulu, HI shortly after my first birthday and we resided in Bremerton, Washington for about four years. I had two brothers born there, sadly one of my brothers passed away when he was one year old…his name was Ricky. Then we moved to California and lived in San Francisco and then finally settled in Vallejo, CA…living in different places in between.

I had no say in the matter! This is how it is for kids. They go where mom and dad goes. They do what mom and dad says. And they live with the decisions that mom and dad make. For better or for worse they are subject to the consequences of whatever that is. This is the way of a child.

In our text this morning we see that children are highly dependent, going where we tell them to go. It says that “some children were brought to Jesus.” Perhaps it was the parents...grandparents...or someone else caring for the children that brought them to Jesus. The important thing is that these children were before Jesus.

Up to this point in the book of Matthew, all sorts of people have been brought forth to Jesus. The curious, the wondering, the religious, the hungry, the sick, the lame, the blind, the lost, and yes … yes … even the dead. All sorts of people, many different kinds of people have come to Jesus and have been brought to Jesus. And this is the message for all the many different people brought before Him, “repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Sometimes it was said directly, and other times it was implied.

Matthew 4:17 says “From that time Jesus began to preach” which is to say that Jesus took on a preaching ministry that had a peculiar and particular message that would mark His preaching … which is this, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” That’s what He preached. That’s what He proclaimed. That’s what He heralded. That’s what all the many different kinds of people were going to hear from Him.

Matthew 4:17 ESV

17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Why? Luke 19:10 Jesus says…

Luke 19:10 ESV

10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

That message of Jesus is a gospel message. It is life saving message in which we get eternal life. It is what lost sinners that those many different people needed to hear. It is the life saving message that you and I need to hear. And guess what? It is for our children as well for they too need eternal life.

The children mentioned in our text were perhaps toddlers, preschool aged kids and maybe a few years past that into the elementary years. Luke 18, the parallel passage to this text, tells us that among these children were babies (Luke 18:15). And so they were going to go where mom and dad tells them to go.

This afternoon, I ask moms and dads…grandmas and grandpas…church visitors and church members…

What do we want for our children today?

The children in our homes. The children in our schools. The children in our church. What do we want for our children today? Do we want the best the world has to offer? The academics? The athletics? The cosmetics? Or do we want the best God has to offer? Are we going to be those who bring them to Jesus or not?

“Some children were brought to [Jesus]” our text says, which is a stark contrast to the way the world goes and what the world does. They bring their children to this event or that program or some school or clinic, but they don’t bring them to Jesus. Where you take them is a result of what you want for them…so what do we want for our children today? What do we want for them this afternoon?

Children are vulnerable, but as we’ll see in our text, in Christ, children are welcome. Let the children come. Starting in verse 13a, we see that...

Christ is the Blessing Our Children Need

Matthew 19:13 ESV

13 Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray…

The word for ‘children’ means little children. They are thought to be preschool age or elementary aged kids, perhaps even older. Like I said, Luke 18 on this same account mentions also babies, infants. It’s not hard to imagine then that some of the parents who brought the children to Jesus was carrying them in their arms because they couldn’t even walk yet. And so by bringing the children to Jesus, the parents or whoever else were escorting them, were coming close to Jesus as well. The parents were okay to bring the children to Jesus because they themselves were okay to be close to Jesus.

I grew up in a family where church was thought of as something good for me, but not good for them. When I asked my parents, my uncles, my aunties, my cousins, etc., they said, “It’s good enough that you go, but I don’t need to go.”

When the parents brought the children to Jesus, this is not like sending your kids away for college or off to the military where you say bye and off they go on their own…and you never have to deal with the thing that your kids will have to face. They were there too. When they brought their children to Christ, they were right there with them.

So should it be with parents who bring their kids here to First Baptist Preschool of Haleiwa. That as we seek to bring them to Christ, so should they. Of course this means not just the parents, the preschool ministry workers must want to be near Christ along with the children as well. How can we bring them to Christ if we don’t want anything to do with Him.

Bringing children to Christ doesn’t make sense unless Christ is glorious. It doesn’t make sense unless we see in Him something worth going to. Why would we want our children to come to Him if it was just a waste of time?

To demonstrate this I’m going to go 2 chapters back and then I’m going to to go 8 chapters back. Let’s start with 2 chapters back...

Consider the Glorious Person of Christ

Jesus Christ the eternal Son of God became a man. In His humanity, He veiled His glory. In Matthew 17 we see the transfiguration of Christ, which was a display of the unveiled glory of Christ. Matthew 17:2 says...

Matthew 17:2 ESV

2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.

Undiminished, unveiled, glorious glory of Christ. Do you remember in verse 5, the Father speaks?

Matthew 17:5 ESV

5 He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

He’s the beloved Son of God

The Father takes pleasure in the Son

Because of who He is, listen to Him

Did you know that this is who you’re bringing your children to when you bring them to Christ?

Consider the Glorious Work of Christ

8 chapters prior in Matthew 11, Jesus says come to me in verse 28. For context, let’s take a brief look back at verse 25.

Matthew 11:25 ESV

25 At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children;25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants.

At this point of Matthew 11, there were entire cities who were rejecting God. These were the modern cities of the day…Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum. They were given much light, especially because Jesus was performing miracles in their cities, and yet they rejected God. They were not listening to Him you see. These people were not bringing their children to Christ, let alone coming to Christ themselves.

In this verse, we see God the Father again, who in His kindness works on infants to turn from their sins and see the glory of God. Peter, James and John saw it in Matthew 17, but these people even with the miracles don’t see it. This is why Jesus said back in Matthew 18:3, “unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” And so from the civilized, astute, learned, enlightened and modern cities who rejected Christ, God works on infants…namely those with childlike faith…to make Christ known among whom, I believe, are children.

Matthew 11:26 ESV

26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.

It delights God for you to know Christ. So not only is Christ a delight to the Father (Matthew 17), but so is making Christ known. Herein lies the glorious work of Christ. Verse 28...

Matthew 11:28–29 ESV

28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

We live in a world of unrest. I remember when 9/11 hit, my firstborn son Ricky was 18 days away from turning 1. When I saw the news, he was sleeping in mommy’s arms…and I remember thinking to myself, oh no, what kind of world did I bring my son into.

The glorious work of Christ is such that He’s the One that can give you rest for your soul. Our children are going to get beat up in this world. They have a sin nature where they will sin and this world will provide the playground for their sin. Their souls are going to get ravaged so to speak and Jesus says come to me. He provides the respite for our souls. He gives you rest. That’s a gift. It’s free. He says come.

I pray often for our children, “Lord save them and save them young. Spare them from much grief.” Only He can do it. The glorious person and work of Jesus Christ is what our children need. You know, there are a lot of ‘niceties’ in this world…things that are nice, but things we don’t really need…the most needful thing is salvation, is eternal life, and we get that only in Christ.

Christ Loves Children

Matthew 19:13–14 ESV

13b …The disciples rebuked the people, 14 but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”

“The disciples rebuked them” - Them could either be the people bringing the children to Jesus or the children themselves. “Them” in the beginning of verse 13, in the beginning of verse 14, and at the beginning of verse 15 are clearly the children. But if in Luke 18 some of these children were babies, it seems more natural for it to be the people bringing the babies to Jesus. Either way, the word for rebuke is to find fault or to deal with harshly. Can you believe that? The disciples are telling these people that somehow it’s wrong to come to Jesus. Maybe it’s the wrong place or perhaps the wrong time. But seriously, when is it ever wrong to bring someone to Jesus? Never! But isn’t that the point of the rebuke, they prevent the children from coming to Jesus.

For the disciples it’s a rebuke that they employ to prevent children from coming to Jesus, but for others it might be something else with the same goal in mind and results that follow.

It could be what you teach your children. Is Christ the center or not? Is Christ the priority or not? Is He the Savior or isn’t He? They will know it not just by what you say, but by how you live. Do we lead them to Christ on both fronts or not? With what we teach and how we live, do we prevent children from coming to Jesus?

It could be turning a blind eye to your children, they can never do no wrong. Why would they need Jesus, they’re perfect little angels.

I oversaw a preschool in Hawaii and one of the workers told me that all children are good. I think I know what this person was trying to say, but I wanted this person to dig deeper at the gospel ministry we were trying to do there … so I just asked kindly, “if they’re so good, should we even care to give them the gospel?” From my observation, when it was Bible time, there were some who were just sharing a nice story, but I wanted a preschool that lead children to Christ when we opened the Bible.

Oh, don’t turn a blind eye to the reality of sin in our children. The Bible says all have sinned. That all includes our children and they need Christ too.

I could keep going, but I think you get the point. Church, we need to remember that children are not second class citizens in gospel ministry. They need it too. They’re sinners just like me and you. They’re lost just like me and you. Or else why bring them to Jesus. They need to be saved too don’t they? And so...

Christ shows His love by making Himself AVAILABLE

I remember one pastor sharing with me that he studies with his door open so that his children know that he’s available for them. A closed door blocks them out. The disciple’s rebuke was blocking them out. Jesus says, “Let the children alone…” Stop blocking them out. During service we want the children here in service. We want them to hear the music…we want them to sing with us. After hearing a message like this, maybe we need to at least have a short message just for them during service too. I’m going to have to seriously think about that. I know some church’s who do it and they do it well. Maybe we need to do it.

Jesus doesn’t shut the door on children. He leaves it wide open, making himself available to them.

Furthermore...

Christ shows His love by making Himself ACCESSIBLE

“Do not hinder them from coming to me”, He says. Not only is the door wide open, but you can actually get to Jesus.

Some of you might know that I used to major in art at the University of California, Davis. I remember going to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. There was a painting there of a gum-ball machine. I stared at it long and hard, and guess what? It looked like a gum ball machine! Right below it, it said that it was worth a couple million dollars. Right below that it said that it was a painting by Wayne Thiebaud.

Wayne Thiebaud was my painting instructor at Davis. Wayne Thiebaud was my advisor in the Art Studio program. In fact, Wayne Thiebaud was our tour guide on the field trip. He was world famous and I didn’t even know it. I had access to him when I needed to talk about art, and he was kind enough to spend hours with me. He was accessible, not just available.

“Do not hinder them from coming to me.” When you bring your children to Christ, they get Christ.

**The reason for this is that this is what He came for. “The kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Do you remember what Jesus started preaching at the beginning of His ministry? “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17) Jesus is saying that the gospel is for them too and many like them who can have a child-like faith depending only in Jesus for their salvation.

Christ Takes the Time to Bless the Children

Matthew 19:15 ESV

15 And he laid his hands on them and went away.

“He departed form there” because He actually had things that He needed to do. In fact, in a few days He was going to enter Jerusalem, in what many have come to know as passion week, where Jesus will get arrested, go through trials, where Jesus would eventually hang on the cross to die for sinners. It would be so much funner and happier to be with these children. He departed from there because He needed to get to the cross eventually. Christ was an extremely busy person with a very heavy mission on Him, yet He takes the time to lay His hands on the children.

The laying on of hands have come to be used for many things like healing people, praying over people, calling people to ministry, etc. But in its basic form, going all the way back to Genesis 48 when Jacob did this to Joseph, his sons and then to the rest of Israel. Its predominant use is to give them blessing. Pronouncing happiness, goodness, fruitfulness in a person’s life.

There is no greater blessing than Christ. What ever it is you seek to bless your children with, it will pale in comparison to Christ. Because in Christ we inherit the kingdom of heaven, in Christ we receive eternal life, in Christ we can be saved.

Conclusion

Church, let the children come. In your homes, bring them to Christ. In your church, bring them to Christ. Here in our children’s ministry, we must bring them to Christ. But you can’t do that if you don’t know Him. Yooou must come to Christ. “Come to Me” Jesus says. The door is wide open. He is available and accessible. Turn from your sins and believe in Him and you will be saved. That’s His promise.

And church, we also pride ourselves in being Christ-like. When was the last time you took the time to bless the children. You don’t necessarily have to lay your hands on them, but do you even take the time to be with them. Maybe you don’t have anymore kids in your home…then go out of your home. Maybe it’s the grandkids in your children’s home. Or maybe it’s the great-grandkids in your grandkids home. Or maybe, just maybe, it could be the children here in the preschool.

It’s been a very long time since volunteers from our own church worked with the kids here, and this is our ministry. Well that’s what we pay you for pastor....haaah, don’t even go there. It’s not me, it’s we. There is no I in team…it needs to be us.

Let the children come to Christ, and may each one of us bring them there.

PRAY