Like a child

 And they were bringing even their babies to Him so that He would touch them, but when the disciples saw it, they were rebuking them. But Jesus called for them, saying, “Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”

Luke 18:15-17

Introduction

This well known passage is often appealed to for the cause of certain church practices like infant baptism. The argument goes that Jesus commands the disciples to allow the children to come to Him, and how that practically looks in the life of a Christian is baptizing our children to allow them to go to Him.

But is that the point of Jesus’ statement? Is baptism really the way a child (or more realistically – infant) comes to Jesus? What does He mean by “such as these”? Is He saying the kingdom belongs to these children in particular? All children in general? Or is it something else?

A blessing

Before getting to the controversy, let us understand why these droves of parents were bringing their children to Jesus in the first place. They were seeking a blessing. Blessings are not a rarity in scripture, and a blessing from a godly man is one that carries much weight. Consider the blessing Jacob received from Isaac:

Now may God give you the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and an abundance of grain and new wine; may peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you; be master of your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be those who curse you, and blessed be those who bless you.

Genesis 27:28-29

This blessing is tantamount to a promise from God Himself, received by Jacob in faith that God would work out these blessings. Similarly, Jacob blessed the sons of Joseph (famously criss-crossing his hands to reverse the blessing of the elder just as he received the elder’s blessing) in Genesis 48.

Here in Luke we see parents bring their children to Jesus to receive blessings as promises from God that He would care especially for those little ones. And Jesus does not reject them. The children are brought to Him in faith, and He receives them. But the lesson does not end with His receiving them. He uses them as an example.

Such as these

Now for the second half of the passage, and the part everyone seems to leave out when discussing the point of Jesus’ lesson. He tells the disciples that “the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” and that they must “receive the kingdom of God like a child.” Both of those statements, “such as these” and “like a child” are similes.

A simile is a figure of speech that compares one thing to another thing. In this case, it compares the way a child is to the way a disciple ought to be, then more specifically it compares the faith of a child to the necessary faith to receive the kingdom. The lesson being presented has less to do with children in general and much more to do with how a man or woman must believe in order to receive the kingdom of God.

Jesus is teaching His disciples that the quality of one’s faith must be like the quality of a child’s faith. A child, when sufficiently young, does not attempt to reason why his parent has commanded something. The only thing he does is either obey or disobey. The disobedience of a young child is not because he believes the command was made in error or unreasonably, but more often because he doesn’t want to obey (and specifically when he knows he can get away with it). Similarly, the decision to obey is not because he has sufficiently justified the parental command in his mind. It is because he knows his parent is in authority over him and he must obey. It really is that simple.

This is the quality of faith a man or woman of faith must have. God does good because God is good (Psalm 34:8). God does loving things because God is love (1 John 4:8). God does righteousness because God is righteousness (Psalm 11:7). None of these qualities can be defined separately from God. It is not as though there is a standard held up that God aligns Himself to. The standard is aligned to Him.

So believe Him because He is God. Trust Him because He is God. Obey Him because He is God. Your faith should be grounded in the power of God in the gospel, and not in fancy arguments or proofs (1 Corinthians 2:5). And when it is, it cannot be shaken by circumstance, trial, or confrontation. It is solid and unbreakable, “resulting in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:7)

May the Lord bless you and conform you into the image of His Son.