The gospel of Jesus Christ is for our children! "The promise is for you and your children" (Acts 2:39). It always has been. Since the dawn of the grace covenant, God has spoken of his interest in and love for our children. He tells Abraham, "I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you ... to be your God and the God of your descendants after you" (Genesis 17:7). Children always have been, and are, a vital part of God's covenant plan for his world.
The Gospel And Children
Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. —Deuteronomy 11:18-19
The first priority scripture gives with reference to parenting is to teach constantly the greatness and grace of God to the next generation.
The gentle response that Jesus gives to the oncoming children at the end of this passage stands in stark contrast to the harsh attitude of the Pharisees just before it. It stands in contrast, too, to the disciples' insensitivity, which effectively prevents the children from coming to Jesus or Jesus from touching them. Jesus says that children are important to God and that because they are important to God, leading them in his ways needs to be important to us.
In 1746, the Scots in their home territory suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the forces of England. It was the Battle of Culloden. If you have seen Mel Gibson's movie, Braveheart, you will remember the era. Not satisfied with driving away Bonnie Prince Charlie and killing many Scots and bringing wanton destruction, the English army added insult to injury by forbidding the Presbyterian Scots to ever again wear their kilts, the national costume that signified their family heritage. In addition, the English forbade the Scots from worshiping in their traditional Presbyterian ways at their local church buildings, which the people of Scotland called "kirks."
A new law was passed declaring that any Scot found wearing a kilt would summarily be put to death. It was more than brutal raw injustice; it was a strike at the heart and heritage of every Scot family that was intended to crush the distinguishing characteristics of that race for all time. The steely Scots resolved that no outside force would tell them how to worship or celebrate their proud heritage. They devised a plan for families to meet secretly at each local kirk house and bring with them strips representing their family tartans. Parents brought their children to these secret worship occasions. It was the underground church movement of its time.
The Scots believed they were the people of God's covenant, materially poor perhaps, yet with a heritage to pass along to their children that all the wealth of England's king could never buy. Under cover of darkness, those Scot-Presbyterians concealed their multi-colored tartan strips until they arrived inside the kirk, then laid them open before the pulpit where their preachers blessed them and prayed God's protecting grace over every family represented in those colors. In that way, the children of Scotland learned that God was more than their parents' God.
He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth. He remembers his covenant forever, the word he commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac. — 1 Chronicles 16:14-16
The Scots called this exercise the "kirkin' o' the tartan."
In the centuries since that era, the relationship between the English and Scots has grown more temperate but until this day the service of the kirkin' o' the tartan is carried out in churches all across Scotland each year as well as places around the world where people of Scottish heritage gather to worship. Each time it is a reminder for all who worship — whether or not their ancestry is Scottish — that the covenant-making God of the Bible is the God and heavenly Father of our families and that he cares for children.
In a sense, it might be said that this movement among the Scots in 1746 has a precedent in Exodus chapter 10. There God summons Moses.
Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these miraculous signs of mine among them that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them, and that you may know that I am the Lord. — Exodus 10:1-2
God makes clear that children and grandchildren are included in his covenant plan for the Israelites. So, Moses presents God's plan to the Pharaoh who promptly dismisses the idea that the children of the Israelites may attend worship with their parents. The Pharaoh says that he is willing to allow the men to go but not the women and children (see Exodus 10:11). This, however, is unacceptable because the God of the Bible is a family God. He deals with people in families. We see this pattern echoing repeatedly in the Old Testament and the New Testament. Children are an integral part of God's plans for all his people. The gospel is for children. Without them, it is not the gospel of the Bible.
We should not be surprised, then, that "People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them" (v. 13). They are not coming asking for his autograph because he is a well-known preacher who can gather a large following. They want Christ's touch because touching is a means of bringing blessing. Something is conveyed in a touch that can be conveyed in no other way.
Psychological studies repeatedly confirm the importance of touching our children. Babies who aren't touched and cuddled often fail to thrive. As far back as the thirteenth century, King Frederick II conducted an experiment with fifty infants to determine what language they would speak if never permitted to hear a spoken word. He assigned foster mothers to bathe and suckle the children but forbade them to stroke or talk to their charges. All fifty infants died.
More recently, Dr. Mary Carlson, a researcher from Harvard Medical School, observed an overcrowded Romanian orphanage, where row upon row of babies lay neglected in their cribs. The staff was hopelessly overworked and could not find time to give any child individual attention. The babies were rarely touched even at mealtime. What struck Dr. Carlson was the deathly silence in the nursery. There was no crying, no babbling, not even so much as a whimper. Physical examinations of two-year-old babies demonstrated that they had unusually high amounts of the stress hormone cortisol in their blood. High doses of cortisol are known to result in brain damage and stunted growth in children. Dr. Carlson estimated that these children acted at about half their age. It is not enough to simply feed, clothe, and care for the physical needs of children. Touching is critical to their survival and long-term health.1
These parents bringing children to Jesus surely aren't aware of these later findings of medical science but by presenting their children before Jesus, they are doing even more than getting Christ's spiritual blessing upon their children. They are contributing to their long-term physical and emotional development.
Christ uses touch often in his ministry as a means of conveying special blessing. Remember the woman who had a bleeding problem for twelve years? When she touched Jesus, she was immediately healed. The man born blind received Christ's touch and along with it instant sight. It is not just our children who need to experience the touch of the master; we all need to experience his touch that we may know healing that is complete. Adults and children alike need to experience the master's touch.
Why Is Jesus Angry?
People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. — Mark 10:13-14
Why is Jesus upset with the disciples' refusal to allow the children to come to him? The answer is that Jesus is troubled by his disciples' behavior for two reasons. First, it indicates that they do not understand the ministry of Jesus himself; and, second, they do not understand the importance of the need for children to come to the Savior.
To discourage people who bring others to Jesus runs counter to Christ's whole plan for the church and its ministry of evangelism for all time. The fact is this gospel that is entrusted to us exists on the edge of extinction. It is always just one generation away from disappearing from the face of the earth. To kill the message of Jesus in your family, all you have to do is simply not tell it to your children. The disciples, it seems, are momentarily, at least, unaware of this truth. Our primary responsibility as Christians is to testify to the power of Jesus; not to argue about Christian faith, but to simply tell the things that we have seen Christ do in our lives. There is no better witness for Christ than our personalization of these words from Paul: "I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day" (2 Timothy 1:12).
Paul understands that if Jesus is angered by those who hold us back then, by implication, he must be willing to receive us. Jesus tells us, "Whoever comes to me I will never drive away" (John 6:37). Jesus has a place for children and for all who come to him.
From ancient times, the primary duty for evangelizing children has belonged to their parents. Parents dare not abdicate that responsibility to the church, the Sunday School teacher, the youth worker, or any other person. Christian parents have the amazing privilege of choosing to present their children — even before they are born — to the Lord, following the example of Hannah, the mother of Samuel (see 1 Samuel 1:11). We pray throughout their lives recognizing that we hold them in trust for him and that while Christ cannot touch them in a corporeal sense, he can touch them through our prayers and we can touch them in his name. As they grow into years of understanding, we are charged with catechizing them, teaching them the things of Christ by word and by example, and setting before them the reality of life and death, heaven and hell.
The use of the Bible in our homes along with times of family prayer, when accompanied by conversation about Jesus, will bring a harvest of righteousness in a new generation.
Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. — Deuteronomy 11:18-19
The second reason Jesus is agitated is because when the disciples prevent the children from coming to him they fail to see the necessity of children coming to Jesus. Thus, they effectively play down the value and intelligence of children. They not only betray their lack of understanding about Jesus and the gospel, they betray their lack of understanding about the gospel's vital application to children.
We can fall into the same trap if we are not careful. "A little child will lead them" (Isaiah 11:6) has application not just for the last days in the sense of the second coming of Jesus. It has application for these days. The reality is that we do not all arrive at a good understanding of the things of Christ at the same time or in the same way. We all know people who are well along into adulthood, perhaps even old age, who have no clear understanding of how the gospel applies to their lives. Conversely, we also know some who, while still young in chronological age, display a mature understanding of the things of Jesus. Who would understand this better than the Lord Jesus who confounds the temple teachers, as a child, with his depth of understanding? (see Luke 2:47).
The Kingdom Of Little Children
"Anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it" (v. 15). To receive the kingdom of God, we must all become like little children. What does this mean?
First, it means that our hearts must be teachable. "Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning" (Proverbs 9:9). Children, by their nature, like to learn. They are driven by a passionate curiosity. Their minds become consumed by questions about life and about this world we live in. If you are a parent, you probably have been stumped on occasion by your children's questions. It is okay, go ahead and admit it! Tell a child a story and almost always the child listens with infatuation. How about you? Remember, Jesus says, "... anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it" (v. 15).
Second, to live with the faith of a child means to live with trust and dependence on Jesus. Personal abilities and accomplishments are not factors in receiving God's kingdom. Children understand life in very simple terms. Theological controversies and mysteries do not distract them. They take God's word as they find it. Listen to the conversations of children. They are very simple. When it comes to the Bible, they believe just what they read there or hear from their Bible teachers. When they pray, they enter into simple direct conversation with God. They have no desire to impress others through the use of verbose sentences. When they speak of Jesus, they speak as though he is always right beside them. Perhaps because of this more than anything else, their belief is very powerful.
Teach a child that Jesus lives in his or her heart and he or she can imagine feeling Jesus in there. Children expect God to go to work when they say their prayers. No wonder the happiest Christians in every Christian fellowship are the youngest ones!
This upside-down world we live in keeps pushing its children to act more like adults but here Jesus tells adults that they must come to see the world through the eyes of little children. What does that mean? When adults look at a dandelion patch, we see a bunch of weeds that threaten to take over our yard. Children see flowers for Mom and white fluff you can blow away after you make a wish. We need to see the flowers again. When we look at a street person, we often conclude he or she is a smelly, dirty person who probably wants some of our money. Children smile toward street people and delight when they smile back. We need to smile more. When we hear music, we worry about getting the words, notes, and rhythm just right. Children feel the beat and move to it. They sing out the words, and if they don't know them, they pretend they do and make up some words. We need to tap our feet more and sway our hips to some nonsense songs again.
When adults pray, we ask, "God, grant me this" and "Give me that." Children pray, "Thank you God for my mommy and daddy and my toys and friends." We need to pray with thanks for big things and little things again! When children say their prayers, they come into the presence of God with an awesome sense of wonder. When we adults say our prayers our minds are often distracted by how we're going to give God a hand in securing the answers we want or how to pray with theological precision.
Jesus says that in the same way children see their world and everything in it related to God, so also we as adults must come again to see God's presence in all things. We will never get a full grasp of the gospel of Jesus Christ — or more correctly — it will never fully grasp us until we see it the way little children do in all its splendor, joy, glory, and grace. The principles that hold true for children with the gospel hold true as well for adults.
Come, now, and put your tiny little hand in the great big hand of Jesus who tells us that, "Anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it" (v. 15). Let Jesus touch. Invite him to live in your heart. I promise you on his authority that this very same Jesus who picks up little children, puts his hand upon them, and blesses them, will also take you, give you his blessing, and life will be better forever. Amen.
1. Dr. James Dobson, Coming Home, Timeless Wisdom for Families (Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, 1998), pp. 194-195.