Blessings the Children

Introduction: Kitty Cat

There was a pastor and his family had a kitty cat. In our family, we have a little dog named Fluffy. But in this story, this pastor family, they had a kitty cat. And this kitty cat one day climb up to a small tree in the front of the house. The tree was too thin for anyone to climb up and get the kitty cat, and they tried all sorts of treats to try to get the kitty cat to come down from the tree, but nothing seemed to work. So the pastor had a bright idea. He would tie a rope to the tree and then tie the other end of the rope to his car. And as he would put the car in drive and slowly move forward, the tree would bend. So he drove a bit and the tree bent and everyone in the family thought this is a great idea. Yay, for daddy, saving the kitty cat.

Kitty Cat.

Transition: Today we will look at Luke 18 and especially a story that is near and dear to my heart. If you have your Bible’s and turn with me to Luke chapter 18, you will notice that there are five stories that stand out in this chapter. And these stories are written in a particular order by Dr. Luke.

For example, we begin the first story with a persistent widow, who just wouldn’t give up, but showed up every day until she received justice for herself. And the reason Jesus told this parable is to underline the importance of a persistent prayer life. Because Jesus sums up the point of this parable in verses 7 and 8 (Read those verses). So Jesus encourages us to be persistent in our prayers and spiritual walk.

The next story in this chapter is another parable by Jesus. The parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. It is another prayer parable, where two individuals come to the temple or church to pray. One prays by trusting in themselves and the other prays in humility, seeking mercy and grace from God, in another words distrustful of self. And again, Jesus tells us the purpose of this parable in verse 9 (Read verse 9). So Jesus wants us to be persistent and put our trust in God.

Then we come to the third story, the story in the middle of the chapter. The story about Jesus blessing the little children. And we can ask ourselves why did Luke put this story right in the middle, sandwiched between the two stories before and two stories after?

Before we answer that question, let’s skip this story and look at the last two stories of Luke 18.

Story number four is the story of the rich young ruler. If you remember, he came to Jesus asking the all-important question

And I believe the answer is, that Dr. Luke wanted us to know that this is the most important story in this chapter and I will

Lessons about Blessing the Little Children.

·      Parents brought – children dependend on parents to bring. As parents we have a responsibility, a privilege, to bring our children to Jesus. Our children depend on us to do so…

·      The Disciples rebuked them, why?

o   Jesus was too important for children

o   Jesus was too busy for children

o   Jesus was too tired for children

o   Children were too young, insignificant. As one commentator puts it, “Because they were not capable of the kingdom of heaven.” John Lightfoot states in his commentary on page. 188.

§  John Lightfoot, A Commentary on the New Testament from the Talmud and Hebraica, Matthew-1 Corinthians: , Luke-John, vol. 3 (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010), 188.

o   Another commentator states, “(in ancient times no special attention was normally paid to children.”

§  François Bovon, Luke 2: A Commentary on the Gospel of Luke 9:51–19:27, ed. Helmut Koester, trans. Donald S. Deer, Hermeneia—A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2013), 556.

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·      “let,” allow, children are drawn to Jesus if we allow

·      “of such is the kingdom of God,” Jesus said that He is preparing a home for us. Ever built a home? Ever decorated a house? Who did you have in mind when you built or decorated the home? Well Jesus has children in mind, so when we read in Isaiah 11 about the animals, lions, serpents, it is added “A little child shall lead them.” God’s kingdom takes note of the children that will arrive after the second coming. So animals are safe, lovable, playful. Angels are accepting, welcoming, loving. Heaven is for children, let’s never forget that.

·      And then comes the clincher, if the disciples thought the previous statement was strong, this verse really shocked them: verse 17, we need to learn from little children what it means to live for God.

o   Persistence

o   Trust

§  That is why when children pray, they pray prayers that often adults consider childish, but God loves to hear children pray.

·      Story of a boy who prayed to see a rainbow… Mom thought its too childish and God is too busy to answer a prayer like that. But would you know that week as the family went for a walk after a rain storm, guess what greeted the 8 year old boy? A beautiful rainbow in the sky.

o   Forgiving

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