An Appropriate Response

Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven." And He laid His hands on them and departed from there (Matthew 19:13-15).

“Those who share the mind of Christ share His concern and love for children. No church or Christian movement has prospered spiritually that has disregarded or neglected the care and training of its children. The heart that is warm toward the Lord will inevitably be warm toward children” (John MacArthur).

Jesus welcomed the children who came to Him. But the disciples rebuked the parents for bringing their children to Jesus. To ‘rebuke’ is a strong word in the Greek. It means to threaten. I find it strange that after 3 years with Jesus, after watching Him deal with sinful, hurting, dying people, after listening to Him teach on the love of God, the Kingdom of Heaven, the compassion and forgiveness that God has for us and that we are to have for each other, that these disciples would treat parents and children with callousness and hard hearts. 

The disciples probably felt they were doing Jesus a favor. He not only had to deal with unbelieving adults, He also had to deal with their children. How little they understood Jesus. How little they understood children. It’s unconscionable to make children feel they are in our way at home or in public. Jesus had called these men to be His apostles, yet they had no vision of the Lord’s love for people, especially children. That’s why Jesus was greatly displeased (Mark 10:14) with them.

The disciples often frustrated Jesus in His attempts to minister to people. At times they disappointed Him and ‘just didn’t get it’ because of their self-centeredness, selfishness, and insensitivity. On this occasion Jesus had ‘had enough’. Though the English text softens the response of Jesus to the disciples for rebuking the parents of the children, the Greek wording is severe. Jesus wasn’t ‘greatly displeased’ with these disciples - He was thoroughly ticked at them; He was incensed. This is one of the few times Jesus was very angry with them.

If Jesus could get hot under the collar with the disciples for their uncaring, insolent, and intolerant attitude toward children, what should our response be to people who exploit children, sell them to the slave or sex trade, ignore them, abuse them, shame them in public, strip them of their dignity and self-worth, or treat them as property and not persons? What should our response be to parents and to the church when we refuse to address the spiritual needs of our children?

“Father, forgive us for living in an adult world where children are looked upon as unimportant because we think they make no lasting contribution to society. Forgive us for taking Your precious gift to us and tossing it aside. Re-focus our attention on helping children thrive in our society and in Your Kingdom. To their benefit and Your glory I ask, Amen.”

Pastor