Why did Jesus say, "Let the little children come to me"?

"But Jesus said, Suffer little children and do not hinder them from coming to me, for the kingdom of the heavens is of such; and having laid His hands upon them, He departed thence." With such a definite word it seems next to impossible that anyone could doubt the love of God for the little ones. Still it has been done; there is an interpretation of the gracious words of our Lord, which makes the little children types of believers, and that only such who have believed are meant. In Mark and in Luke (Mark 10:13; Luke 18:15) the Lord adds, "Verily, I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall in no wise enter therein," but here no such addition is given by the Holy Spirit, because it concerns the relation of actual little ones to the kingdom. The Lord takes up these little ones and approves of the faith, which had presented them to Him for a blessing. He puts His hands upon them and declares that these little ones are a part of the kingdom. How much like Him who loves to take up that which is weak and lowly! The passage is sufficient to teach believers that the Lord Jesus Christ has a loving interest in the little ones, looks upon them as belonging to His kingdom and is ready to bless them. But where is the faith from the side of believing parents, fully entering into His thoughts and looking upon the little ones as in the kingdom presenting these to Himself? Alas! how great the failure! He tells us of His willingness to receive them, that they are subjects of His kingdom and faith should act upon this and put them into His loving hands. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy house" (Acts 16:31). Faith should take hold of this gracious family promise and claim it. Of course, this does not say that personal faith is unnecessary from the side of children.

And now children are brought unto Him — little ones, apt to be despised. What in this world so helpless and dependent as a babe? "Then were brought unto Him little children, that He should put His hands on them, and pray" (ver. 13). The disciples thought it an annoyance or a liberty, and "rebuked them. But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto Me; for of such is the kingdom of heaven. And He laid His hands on them, and departed thence" (vers. 13-15). So completely were all the demands of love met even where the desire seemed ever so unseasonable. For why should the Lord of heaven and earth occupy Himself with putting His hands upon little ones? But love is not restrained by human reason, and the unworthy thoughts of the disciples were set aside, who thought babes unworthy of His notice. Ah! how little they knew Him, long as they had been with Him. Was it not worthy of Him so to bless the very least in man's eyes? How important a lesson for our souls is this? It need not be one connected with ourselves; it might be another's child. Do we claim the Lord for it? What is His feeling? He is great, He is mighty; but He despiseth not any.

Before His glory there is not so much difference between a world and a worm. The world is a mere cipher, if God measures by Himself. But then, the feeblest may be the object of His deepest love and care. Our Lord looked at these babes, oh, with what interest! They are the objects of the Father's love, for whom He gave His Son, and whom the Son came to save. Each had a soul: and what was its value? What to be a vessel of grace in this world, and of glory in the bright eternal day? The disciples did not enter in these thoughts; and how little our own souls enter into them. Jesus not only blessed the babes, but rebuked the disciples, who had misrepresented Him; and He says, "Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto Me; for of such is the kingdom of heaven." A withering word for pride. Were the disciples "of such" at that moment, or at least in that act?

The next incident is equally full of moral loveliness and Divine grace — full of instruction too, as here we have, not Pharisees, but disciples in painful collision with the mind of the Master. "And they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them. But the disciples rebuked those that brought [them]. But when Jesus saw [it], he was indignant, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto Me; forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive105 the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall in no wise enter therein. And He took them up in His arms, put His hands upon them, and blessed them." Our Evangelist specially marks the deep displeasure of the Lord. And no wonder! Indeed, it was part of His perfectness. For it was not only that they betrayed their own Rabbi-like self-importance, which makes much of ceremony, much also of knowledge, and overlooks the power of grace and the manifestation of Divine affections; but, besides, they took His place, falsified Him and the God of all grace that sent Him, and the essential character of that kingdom which He was about to establish. Suffer not little children, babes, to come to Him! Hinder them! Why, not only of such is the kingdom of God, but whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a babe shall not enter therein. Such is the Lord's solemn sentence. To be nothing for Jesus to receive is just the condition of entrance. May we too have faith to put our babes with ourselves before Him, and count on His sure blessing!

From the homily on lowliness in view of our sins we are now to receive another, lowliness because of our insignificance. "And they brought to him also infants that he might touch them; but the disciples when they saw [it] rebuked them. But Jesus calling them to [him] said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter into it."457 (Matt. 18:3.) The babes were of great price in the eyes of Jesus, not of the disciples, who, if not rabbis themselves, would have lowered their Master to the level of such an one in contempt of little ones. But this could not be suffered, for it was not the truth. Neither the Son nor the Father so feel toward the weak and evidently dependent. Nor is this all: "of such is the kingdom of God." Those who enter into His kingdom must by grace receive the Saviour and His word as a child that of its parents. Self-reliance is excluded and replaced by dependence on God in the sense of our own nothingness.

But there were those who thought that He had a more important mission into the world than to bless infants; so they rebuked those that brought them. But Jesus called them unto Him. He shows where His heart was — that there was no part of the work that He had undertaken for which He was not constantly prepared. He says, "Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God." And He not only vindicates thus these mothers, but takes occasion from their act to read us all a lesson of the deepest importance. "Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein." It was not only that there was a hearty welcome for little children with Jesus, but that we must all in spirit become little children. The wisest man on earth — the man of keenest intellectual perceptions — the man of highest attainments — must become a little child to have to do with Jesus. We must become fools in order to be wise. It may be that some one here, looking at such a passage as this, may be perplexed, and say, How is this? Are we not often told that salvation is by faith? that whoever believes in the Lord Jesus Christ has salvation and eternal life? How, then, is it that these blessings are here made to depend upon my becoming a little child? They are but two different ways, my friends, of presenting the same thing. Faith is this child-like spirit that each must have if he is to enter the kingdom of God. It is not that little children are good, and that we have to become good like them in order to get blessing from God. It is not that at all. Children are sinners and need the Saviour, and He came to save children as well as up-grown people. What, then, is the meaning of the passage? Let me ask, in reply, Is there one characteristic of childhood so prominent as this, the unhesitating simplicity with which the child trusts those with whom he has to do? Try a child; offer him something that he can value and desire, something suited to him — an apple — a toy. What does he say? Does he begin to make excuses, and say he does not deserve it, that he is not good enough, that he must behave better, feel differently, or the like, before he can expect such a boon? Is this the way he treats your offer? No. His hand is out at once — he gives you credit for being as good as you seem to be, and profess to be, in holding out to him the gift.

And what is the whole matter of receiving Christ — eternal life — salvation? It is the simple faith that accredits God to be as good as He says He is, as good as He has shown Himself to be. Has He not said that He "so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life?" And yet, with such statements throughout God's word, the soul, instead of believing God when He declares how good He is, instead of receiving Christ, stands reasoning, and seeking to evade the love which still pursues us with the needed, indispensable good. Ah! the heart must be bowed to this, to receive God's word in true, child-like simplicity, just as a child accepts unhesitatingly what it is very glad to get. "Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, shall in no wise enter therein."

Again they bring little children unto Him; and the disciples forbid those who bring them. But Jesus is displeased at this. Although the root of sin be found in the children, nevertheless they were the expression of simplicity, of confidence, and of the absence of the craftiness and of the corruption caused by the knowledge of the world, of the depravity of nature. They present to the heart the simplicity of uncorrupted nature, which has not learned the deceit of the world. And the Lord being a stranger in the world recognises in them that which His Father has created.

(Vv. 13-16). In the next incident we see that even the disciples were strangers to the mind of the Lord as to little children. Apparently they thought the Lord was too great to notice these little ones, and they too insignificant to attract His attention. In rebuking those who brought their young children to be blessed by the Lord they entirely misrepresented their Master, failed to see what is beautiful in a child, and denied the principles of the Kingdom that they professed to preach.

The action of the disciples arouses the righteous indignation of the Lord. He meets their poor thoughts by saying, "Suffer the little children to come to Me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God." There is a welcome in His heart for the weak and simple. Even though the root of sin be in them, yet their simplicity and confidence are the outstanding marks of those who enter the Kingdom of God. And even as He took these little ones into His arms and blessed them, so will the everlasting arms be under all those who in simplicity and confidence put their trust in Him, and His hands be lifted up to bless them (Deut. 33:2, 7: Luke 24:50).

This is illustrated yet more by the incident that follows (v. 15-17), where they brought infants to Jesus, that He would touch them. It is the lowliness of real insignificance, as the former was because of sinfulness. Who would be troubled with beings of such little consequence? Not the disciples, but Jesus. The Lord delighted in them, and that is the spirit of the kingdom of God. And here too a general moral maxim comes out. If a man is to enter that kingdom, all confidence in self must be broken down, and the truth be received simply, as a little child hears its mother. If it is not so, God and man have not their place. When He speaks, all I have to do is to listen. This is the humility of nothingness, as the other was on account of sin.

The next incident, which Luke relates briefly in verses 15-17, enforces just the same thing. Mere babes do not count in the world's scheme of things, but of such the kingdom is composed. It is not, as we should have thought, that the babe must reach up to full-grown estate to enter, but that the full-grown man must reach down to the babe's estate to enter. The former might have suited the law of Moses, but grace is in question here.

Now, in this second section, added to a character humbling of oneself before God is a genuine concern for the most helpless and dependent of God's creatures, for if we lack this we do not rightly know the heart of God. The disciples exposed their ignorance of God's heart by rebuking those who brought infants to the Lord for His blessing by the touch of His hand. But it was the disciples who needed rebuke. He called those who brought the children (for it seems they were already going away because of the disciples' rebuke) and encouraged the little ones to come to Him, "for of such is the kingdom of God." So there is no question that families of believers have their place in the kingdom of God. We could not say the same of the Assembly of God, the Church, for all in the Church must be born again and indwelt by the Spirit of God.

The Lord concluded this subject with declaring that the kingdom, rather than for self-important men, is opened only to those who enter as little children. The lowliness of honest, dependent faith is imperative in the kingdom of God. In the kingdom one has to do with God, the kingdom being that sphere where God's authority is paramount, therefore calling for a spirit of unquestioning subjection and obedience.