The New Testament ascribes many different titles and descriptions to Jesus. He is the King of Kings, the Great High Priest, the Prince of Peace, and the list goes on (waaaay on). Since these descriptions are true, it’s interesting to bear them in mind as we watch Jesus in the gospel accounts. We see people unwittingly rub shoulders with the greatest human who has ever set foot on this planet. God incarnate. We learn from Jesus as we watch these interactions – not only from his words, but also from his actions.
One facet of Jesus’ ministry is especially noteworthy: how Jesus interacts with children and infants. We learn that he loves them, cares for them, and holds them up as an example of what it means to belong to his messianic people. I want to quickly look at two such accounts and watch the King of God’s Kingdom as he interacts with children and babies. Will we come away with an unambiguous sense that babies and little children are not intended to be regarded as formally part of the New Covenant community? Will we learn the clear lesson that children – whilst lovely and precious in God’s sight – are in some sense spiritually inferior to the wise and judicious adults who govern the affairs of the church?
You can see where I’m going with this. So let’s go there.
15 People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” (Luke 18:15-17; NIV)
In Luke 18 we find this lovely account of the young children who are brought to Jesus by their parents. The Greek word for ‘babies’ is ‘brephos‘, which can refer to little children, babies in arms, and even an unborn child! In Luke 1:41 the unborn John the Baptist leaps in his mother’s womb when he hears Mary’s voice. The word used there is ‘brephos‘. Further along, in Luke 2:16, the same word is used to refer to the newborn Jesus. So, when Luke 18 refers to ‘babies’, it really means babies! However, you won’t be surprised that very good and godly Baptist men have sought to avoid the emphasis of the very young age of these little ones. George Beasley-Murray is one such man, who argues that because Jesus references ‘little children’ in verse 16, it’s not refering to babies at all. In response, Ben Witherington has said this . . .
“Beasley-Murray has argued that Luke’s reference to infants is in fact a reference to small children, since this is the term used in Luke 18:16-17. This statement misses the whole point that the [Greek word] ‘kai’ means “even” in Luke 18:15, which implies that the infants were also being brought in addition to the other children. Jesus is depicted as simply using the general term to cover both infants and other children.” (from Ben Witherington’s book Troubled Waters, p 40).
In the quote above Witherington shows that the great Baptist theologian has been unnecessarily restrictive in his interpretation of the referent in Luke 18. The fact is that little children, including babies, were brought by parents to Jesus. So you have a scenario where people are beginning to realize that Jesus is no ordinary Rabbi, and very sincere and tender-hearted parents are bringing their little ones to him. I would suggest this is presented positively – as an act of faith on the part of the parents. They see something in him, even if they don’t yet know the full extent of how extraordinary Jesus is.
But the parallel account in Mark’s gospel ramps it up:
13 People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” 16 And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them. (Mark 10:13-16; NIV)
Mark says that Jesus laid his hands on them and blessed them. Such ‘hands on’ blessings are very rare for Jesus. As the great High Priest of the New Covenant, Jesus didn’t bless people in this way very often. In fact, Jesus only blesses two groups of people in this way – the young children and babies that are brought to him, and his adult disciples.
Nowhere in the Bible do we find a true priest (or high priest) of God laying hands on someone they consider to be outside the people of God. Jesus’ actions suggest he considered children of covenant parents to be, at least in some provisional sense, part of the people of God. Therefore Jesus did not see them as ‘unclean’ unbelievers simply because they were not old enough to profess faith for themselves. He saw them as little people of God.
In addition to this, he asserted that the babies and little children were an example of what kingdom faith looks like: total dependence on God. Everything little children truly need, they receive as grace. That’s what babies exemplify. This is significant because Jesus never held up adult paralytics as examples of faith, even though they’re dependent too. There’s something about the little ones that Jesus really loves. There’s something that they bring to the covenant community that the adults simply can’t bring. He said, “the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these” (Mk 10:14). Surely, then, children and babies of the covenant community are “such as these”? Surely, Jesus’ annoyance with his rather officious adult disciples signals an important lesson that children and babies should be considered part of the Messiah’s people – not just a ‘wait and see’ project on the part of the parents.
So, I put it to you – is a person blessed by Jesus actually blessed? Where are all the ‘unbelievers’ that Jesus blessed?
Jesus – the King of Kings, the Great High Priest, the Prince of Peace – loved the little ones brought to him. He held the babies close. He personally blessed them, and they were truly blessed. He hated the idea that his adult followers would treat them as something less important in the covenant community he was gathering and building.
The babies and young children of believers are part of God’s people. Paul said “they are holy” (1 Cor. 7:14). They are not to be regarded as dirty sinners who are yet to come to their spiritual senses. If the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these, such as these belong to the Kingdom of God.
The kids are in the covenant. Just like it’s always been.
spes clara 