Little Children – Matthew 19:13-15

When Joe was doing his outreach phase of Youth With a Mission’s discipleship training school in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, he kept noticing children sleeping on the street, trying to sell things on the street, filthy and dirty and sometimes obviously high on glue. Jesus, in essence, told him to feed the 5,000, that is, to rescue these children. Thus began The Forsaken Children, an outreach ministry to a unreached “people” group…the street kids of Ethiopia. Since 2008 we have been asking the littles ones to come to Jesus.

Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” And he laid his hands on them and went away. (Matthew 19:13-15 ESV)

Despite the opposition, the difficult questions meant to test him, and the certainty that as he moves toward Jerusalem he is moving towards his own death, Jesus is focused on the kingdom of heaven that is coming and for which he has been sent to prepare people.  He himself chose to remain single for the sake of the kingdom and others might, as well, because sacrifice for the kingdom is worth it.

But not everyone is against him.  Parents who love their children and long for a divine blessing upon them were bringing their children to Jesus.  The Pharisees would not have brought their children but these people did.  They recognized Jesus’ intimacy with the Father and saw an opportunity for helping their kids.  To receive a rebuke for this from Jesus’ disciples must have been disturbing and the disciples no doubt thought they were protecting Jesus from unnecessary bother.

But it was not a bother for Jesus. It was a picture of the humility that is necessary for being part of the kingdom.  He gladly laid hands on them and blessed them, prayed for them, and warned the disciples to view them as something quite different than hindrances to the kingdom work.  Children very much need kingdom ministry and we need to see that a child-like response to Jesus is a model for our own response.

I see Jesus’ teaching about children as an evidence for the truth of Christianity. He does not elevate sons above daughters (as Hindus tend to), but sees both boys and girls as exemplars of the faith. The Qur’an barely mentions children, and not that positively. It is Christianity that has spawned numerous ministries to children, orphanages and child rescue ministries like the one I work with. Let the little children come to Jesus.