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Sunday School
Childlike Faith (Luke 18:15–17; Mark 10:16)
children.
Time for Kids | Luke 18:15, 16; Mark 10:16
It is probably safe to say
that parents would not have brought their children to Jesus had he not been ap- proachable. No doubt the parents felt that their chil- dren would be safe. And more than just children—even ba- bies (Luke used the word for infants). Mark’s account is most tender (took them in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them). While it was true that parents routinely sought blessings for their children from rabbis, it still seems that the word on the streets was that Jesus had time for kids.
On the other hand, the dis- ciples did not have time for kids. They rebuked them. The primary reference was to the parents and people who brought the little ones to Jesus. But it might even refer to the children themselves. Rebuke is a strong word. The disciples were overprotective of Jesus,
and Jesus did not like it. Mark’s account says that Jesus was indignant (Mark 10:14).
Mistreat a kid, and you will be facing an angry God.
Jesus almost publicly shamed the disciples by call- ing the children his way. Then he said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hin- der them.” Let is a command, and hinder is one of Luke’s fa- vorite concepts, especially in Acts (8:36; 16:6, 7; 28:31). God’s people were notorious for putting obstacles in peo- ple’s paths (Mark 7:3-8) in- stead of removing hindrances from people making their way to Jesus (Luke 5:17-26).
Jesus stated his reason for not wanting kids to be hin- dered from coming to him: “The kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Some of our religious friends have used this text to affirm infant sprinkling. Of course it does not address that at all. How- ever neither does it say that children automatically go to Heaven if they have not reached the age of accounta-
bility. Be careful of making it say something that it does not say. Children gladly put themselves in a posture of re- ceiving, which sometimes gets them into trouble. But this is the point that Jesus went on to make.
Receiving Kids |
Luke 18:17
Jesus underlined this teaching with the phrase, “Truly I tell you.” If this were the Gospel of John, Jesus would have said, “Truly, truly.” In modern vernacular it means, “Take this to the bank.” In other words Jesus is as serious as a heart attack about this.
The truth is this simple— kids receive. They will receive most anything. The word re- ceive means “to welcome.” Hands up and arms out- stretched—that is a picture of kids. Jesus will sometimes al- lude to the innocence of chil- dren and perhaps even their humility (Matthew 18:1-4). But the accent in this text is their posture of dependence to receive.
There are numerous metaphors in the Bible for God’s people (body, bride, flock, building). A heart- warming metaphor is that of a child. Jesus taught that peo- ple who receive him can be- come children of God (John 1:12). Jesus thanked his Fa- ther that the revelation from Heaven was given to little children (Matthew 11:25). In one of the post-resurrec- tion appearances of Jesus to his disciples, he said, “Chil- dren, do you have any fish?” (John 21:5). God’s love is what allows us the privilege of being called children of God (1 John 3:1).
Our primary text for this
lesson is from Luke, but the context of this event in the life of Christ varies from Matthew and Mark. Matthew and Mark place the story in be- tween the teaching about di- vorce and the encounter with the rich young ruler. Per- haps the contextual point is that children are prod- ucts of marriage and vic- tims of divorce and therefore vulnerable. Luke also places the event be- fore the rich young ruler. But he places it after the prayer parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, which un- derlines humility.
Vulnerability and humility are both characteristics of
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