Luke 18:15

LITTLE CHILDREN BROUGHT TO CHRIST. (Luk 18:15-17)

infants--showing that some, at least, of those called in Matthew (Mat 19:13) and Mark (Mar 10:13) simply "little" or "young children," were literally "babes."

touch them--or, as more fully in Matthew (Mat 19:13), "put His hands on them and pray," or invoke a "blessing" on them (Mar 10:16), according to venerable custom (Gen 48:14-15).

rebuked them--Repeatedly the disciples thus interposed to save annoyance and interruption to their Master; but, as the result showed, always against the mind of Christ (Mat 15:23; Luk 18:39-40). Here, it is plain from our Lord's reply, that they thought the intrusion a useless one, as infants were not capable of receiving anything from Him. His ministrations were for grown people.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Luk 18:15-17. They brought unto him infants, &c. — The contents of these verses we had Mat 19:13-15; Mar 10:13-16; where see the notes. The passage very fitly follows the story of the publican, as a confirmation of the truth which was to be illustrated by that parable, that those shall be accepted with God and honoured, who humble themselves, and that Christ has in store for them the choicest and best blessings.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

PERIOD SEVENTH.

THE FINAL JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM AND CONTEST THERE.— Luk_18:15 to Luk_22:6.

(See Historical Synopsis, vol. i, p. 14.)

§ 104. CHILDREN BLESSED BY CHRIST, Luk_18:15-17.

Mat_19:13-15; Mar_10:13-16.

15. They brought… infants—They were not only little children, but Luke here calls them βρεφη, infants; and Mark says that “he took them up in his arms.”

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

CRITICAL NOTES

Luk_18:15. Also infants.—Rather, “their babes” (R.V.). In Matthew and Mark we read “little children.” Touch them.—Matthew has “that He should put His hands on them and pray.”

Luk_18:16. Jesus called them.—I.e., the babes. The call could only, of course, be obeyed by their parents. The incident supplies a strong argument in favour of the practice of infant baptism. These children were not old enough to be taught or to express faith in Jesus; they are presented by their parents, and are welcomed by the Lord.

Luk_18:17. Verily I say unto you.—“Not only may the little infants be brought to Him, but, in order for us who are mature to come to Him, we must cast away all that wherein our maturity has caused us to differ from them, and we must become like them. Not only is infant baptism justified, but it is the normal pattern of all baptism: none can enter God’s kingdom except as an infant. In adult baptism we strive to secure that state of simplicity and childlikeness which in the infant we have ready and undoubted to our hands” (Alford).

Luk_18:18. A certain ruler.—I.e., ruler of a synagogue. St. Matthew describes him as a young man; and the sequel of the story shows that he was wealthy. He seems to have been ingenuous and lovable, and therefore to have been remarkably different from the majority of others of his class. Master.—I.e., teacher. He evidently regarded Jesus as one of exceptional virtue and wisdom; but our Lord did not accept this as adequate recognition of His nature and claims. What shall I do?—It is doing rather than being that is in his thoughts (cf. Rom_9:32).

Luk_18:19. None is good save one.—I.e., from the ruler’s point of view the epithet of “good” was not applicable to Jesus. The dilemma in which Socinians are placed with regard to Jesus, Stier puts as follows: “Either ‘There is none good but God; Christ is good; therefore Christ is God’; or ‘There is none good but God; Christ is not God; therefore Christ is not good.’ ”

Luk_18:20. Thou knowest the commandments.—Those quoted by Christ are from the second table of the Law, which concern our duties towards our fellow-men.

Luk_18:21. All these have I kept.—In this reply his self-righteous spirit is brought to view, though in him this self-righteousness is not allied with hypocrisy.

Luk_18:22. Yet lackest thou.—Christ does not attempt to show him that he had fallen far short of the requirements of these plain rules of duty; He takes him at his own estimate. “Supposing this statement to be true, one thing is needed to complete the character—obedience to the requirements of the first table of the Law, fulfilment of duties towards God.” Sell all.—This was a special commandment, suited to the case of the ruler. He wished to be a disciple of Christ, but was unprepared for the self-sacrifice involved in becoming a disciple. He had to choose between riches and obedience to Christ—i.e., to the voice of God speaking to him through Christ. His acceptance of Christ as an authoritative Teacher in matters of religion pledged him to receive the statement as to his special duty without demur. In refusing to do that duty he could, therefore, not conceal from himself that he was transgressing against God.

Luk_18:24.—The R.V. is much briefer: “And Jesus, seeing him, said.” How hardly!—I.e., with what difficulty; not impossible (Luk_18:27), but only to be accomplished by great effort. Riches always bring temptation (see 1Ti_6:9-10).

Luk_18:25. Camel.—Some have sought to modify the apparent harshness of this saying by supposing that a word meaning “a rope,” and not the animal, was used. No such word, however, as kamilon, for “a rope,” is to be found, except in a conjectural interpretation of this very passage. Others have supposed “the needle’s eye” to be a small city gate through which a camel could not pass without being unladed. In either case conjecture would only succeed in producing an impossibility quite as great as that of the text. It is something impossible with men that is spoken of. In Mat_23:24 a camel is similarly spoken of proverbially as equivalent to something very large.

Luk_18:26. Who, then, can be saved?—Not only do all try to become rich, but a temporal kingdom in which all would be well off and prosperous was expected by these disciples.

Luk_18:27. Possible with God.—Divine grace, and nothing but it, can touch the hearts of men who trust in riches.

Luk_18:28. We have left all.—I.e., Have done what this ruler had refused to do. “Treasure in heaven “was promised to him in exchange for earthly possessions. What, then, should be the pre-eminent reward or those who obeyed Christ’s command? The question is implied here; it is expressed plainly in the parallel passage in St. Matthew’s Gospel.

Luk_18:30. Receive manifold more.—I.e., even in this present life enjoy a happiness far exceeding any temporal discomfort undergone in consequence of giving anything up for the sake of Christ, and receive the highest spiritual reward in a life to come.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Luk_18:15-30

How to Enter the Kingdom.—All three evangelists bring together these two incidents of the children in Christ’s arms and the young ruler. Probably they were connected in time as well as in subject. Both set forth the conditions of entering the kingdom, which the one declares to be lowliness and trust, and the other to be self-renunciation.

I. The child-likeness of the subjects of the kingdom.—No doubt there was a dash of superstition in the impulse that moved the parents to bring their children to Jesus, but it was an eminently natural desire to win a good man’s blessing, and one to which every parent’s heart will respond. It was not the superstition, but the intrusive familiarity, that provoked the disciples’ rebuke. The tender age of the children is to be noted. They were “babes,” and had to be brought, being too young to walk, and so having scarcely arrived at conscious voluntary life. It is “of such” that the subjects of the kingdom are composed. What, then, are the qualities which, by this comparison, Jesus requires? Certainly not innocence, which would be to contradict all His teaching and to shut out the prodigals and publicans. Besides, these scarcely conscious infants were not “innocent,” for they had not come to the age of which either innocence or guilt can be predicated. Perhaps Psalms 131 puts us best on the track of the answer. It may have been in our Lord’s mind; it certainly corresponds to His thought. The infant’s lowliness is not yet humility, for it is instinct rather than virtue. It makes no claims, thinks no lofty thoughts of self—in fact, has scarcely begun to know that there is a self at all. On the other hand, clinging trust is the infant’s life. It, too, is rudimentary and instinctive, but the impulse which makes the babe nestle in its mother’s bosom may well stand for a picture of the conscious trust which the children of the kingdom must have. The child’s instinct is the man’s virtue. There is no place in the kingdom for those who trust in themselves. We must rely wholly on God manifest in His Son.

II. Self-renunciation as the condition of entering the kingdom.—

1. Its necessity. This is set forth in the conversation with the ruler. The ruler’s question has much blended good and evil. It expresses a true earnestness, a dissatisfaction with self, a consciousness of unattained bliss and a longing for it, a felt readiness to take any pains to secure it, a confidence in Christ’s guidance—in short, much of the child spirit. But it has also a too light estimate of what goodness is, a mistaken notion that eternal life can be won by external deeds, which implies fatal error as to its nature and his own power to do these deeds. This superficial estimate of goodness, and this over-confidence in his ability to do good acts, are the twin mistakes against which Christ’s treatment of him is directed. Jesus does not deny that He has a right to the title “good,” but questions this man’s right to give it Him. He thought of Jesus only as a man, and, so thinking, was too ready with his adjective. He who is so liberal with his ascriptions of goodness needs to have his notions of what it is elevated. Jesus lays down the great truth which this man, in his confidence that he, by his own power, could do any good needed for eternal life, was perilously forgetting. God is the only good, and therefore all human goodness must come from Him; and if the ruler is to do “good,” he must first be good by receiving goodness from God. Christ, having tried to deepen his conceptions and awaken his consciousness of imperfection, meets him on his own ground by referring him to the Law, which abundantly answered his inquiry. The second half of the commandments are alone quoted by Him, for they have especially to do with conduct, and the infractions of them are more easily recognised than those of the first. The ruler protested that he had done all these ever since he was a lad. No doubt he had, and his coming to Jesus confessed that, though he had, the doing had not brought him eternal life. What was lacking? The soul of goodness, without which these other things were “dead works.” And what is that soul? Absolute self-renunciation and following Christ. For this man the former took the shape of parting with his wealth, but that external renunciation in itself was as “dead” and impotent to bring eternal life as all his other good acts had been. It was precious as a means to an end—the entrance into the number of Christ’s disciples—and as an expression of that inward self-surrender which is essential for discipleship. The requirement pierced to the quick. The man loved the world more than eternal life, after all. But though he went away, he went sorrowful, and that was, perhaps, the presage that he would come back.

2. The difficulty of self-renunciation (Luk_18:24-27). The exclamation of Jesus is full of the charity which makes allowance for temptation. It speaks a universal truth, never more needed than in our days. How few of us believe that it gets harder for us to be disciples as we grow richer! What a depth of vulgar admiration of the power of money is in the disciple’s exclamation, “If rich men cannot get into the kingdom, who can get in?” Or it may mean, Who can fulfil such a difficult condition? The answer points us all to the only power by which we can do good and overcome self—viz., by God’s help. God is “good,” and we can be good too if we look to Him. God will fill our souls with such sweetness that earth will not be hard to part with.

3. The reward of self-renunciation. It would have been better if Peter had not boasted of their surrender, but yet it was true that they had given up all. Jesus does not rebuke the almost innocent self-congratulation, but recognises in it an appeal to His faithfulness. It was really a prayer, though it sounded like a vaunt, and it is answered by renewed assurances. To part with outward things for Christ’s sake, or for the kingdom’s sake—which is the same thing—is to win them again with all their sweetness a hundredfold sweeter. Gifts given to Him come back to the giver, enhanced by His touch and hallowed by lying on His altar. The present world yields its full riches only to the man who surrenders all to Jesus.—Maclaren.

SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON Luk_18:15-30

Luk_18:15-17. The Children and Christ.

I. By whom were they brought to Christ?—We infer that they were brought by their own parents. Who else were likely to be so interested in them? Who were so likely to solicit for them the Saviour’s benediction? Ought it not to be so still?

II. Of what age were they?—Of various ages, but all of tender years, some being mere infants. Some step by their parents’ sides, some are led by the father’s hand, some are gently borne in the maternal arms.

III. The purpose for which they were brought to Jesus.—That He might pray for them. In response to this request He took them up in His arms and blessed them. Good higher than merely temporal welfare was sought, health better than that of the body. All through after life their faith would be helped and their hearts cheered by remembrance of the fact.

IV. What reception was given to them by the disciples?—They interposed to prevent the parents’ nearer approach with their children. The prohibition was harsh and blind. How little they knew Christ’s heart! Was there a father among them?

V. What reception was given to them by Jesus Himself?—He was displeased at the disciples’ rebuke. He called the little ones near. He directly addressed and blessed them. For His gracious words countless parents all the world over and in every age have blessed His gracious name.—Edmond.

Christ’s Welcome to Children.

I. The bringing.

II. The hindrance.

III. The rebuke.

IV. The lessons.—W. Taylor.

Christ’s words imply—

I. That children, even mere babes, may be regenerated and truly holy.

II. That infants may become members of the visible Church.

III. That children are very early capable of receiving benefit from religious instruction.

IV. That the true Church on earth actually consists, in a great measure, of those who have been called in early life, or at least have been very early instructed in the way of salvation.

V. That the kingdom of God above consists, in a large degree, of those who have died in infancy and childhood.

Luk_18:15. “Also infants.”—The phrase used by St. Luke, which might be translated “even infants,” is meant to indicate the reverential feelings of those now about Jesus. Even their children they desired to be touched and blessed by Him.

Luk_18:16. Children Examples to Us.—Children are examples to us

(1) in their humility, and

(2) in their trustfulness. What they are naturally we should strive to become.

Luk_18:17. Humility of Children, a Pattern.—It is the humility of children to which our Lord represents it as necessary that men should be converted, and this humility as exemplified in the mode of receiving the kingdom. There are three senses in which this humility may be understood.

I. As opposed to the pride of intellectual self-sufficiency.—In receiving the doctrine of the kingdom in a spirit of docility, without doubting or disputation; as when the child shall receive his father’s word with implicit faith.

II. As opposed to the pride of self-righteousness.—In receiving the blessings of the kingdom without any consciousness of desert; as when the child shall expect and take favours at his father’s hand, without the faintest sentiment of any merits of his own.

III. As opposed to ambitious pride.—In receiving the kingdom in a spirit of love for the brethren, without contention for pre-eminence; as when the nobleman’s child shall, if permitted, make a companion of the beggar’s, on a footing of the most perfect equality.—Anderson.

Resemblance to Children.—Disciples should resemble children

(1) in teachableness, and

(2) in freedom from worldly desires.

The disciples thought it was necessary for the children to become like them before the interest of the Saviour in them would be excited, and are taught that they themselves must become like children before they could enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Luk_18:18-30. Entering the Kingdom.—Dante calls this incident “the great refusal.” It is one to arrest the attention of the most careless. But it should be linked on with the previous incident of the blessing of the children. This ruler could not enter the kingdom, because he would not receive it as a little child. His spirit was far removed from the obedient, trustful disposition of the little child. Jesus deals very gently, not harshly, with him. He took him on his own ground, and led him by a very simple test to realise that he hardly knew what keeping the commandments meant. Was not the sum of the commandments, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself”? Tried by the lesser table of the Law he failed utterly. He would not part with his wealth for the poor. Christ did not need to test him by the greater table of the Law. Thus he was led to see how it was impossible for him to inherit eternal life by keeping the commandments. Even if he had stood the test, there was still the summons, “Come, follow Me.” Not even by selling all we have, but by following Jesus, is the way to inherit eternal life.—Hastings.

Christ’s Word to the Wealthy Ruler.

I. The earnest question.

II. The willing answer.

III. The simple but sufficient test.

IV. The sad failure.—W. Taylor.

A Young Man Seeking Jesus.

I. His worthy aim.

II. His consistent life.

III. His lack of self-knowledge.

IV. His darling sin.

V. His great refusal.—Ibid.

I. The conversation with the young ruler (Luk_18:18-23).

II. The conversation on the subject of riches suggested by his conduct (Luk_18:24-27).

III. The conversation with the disciples concerning their having obeyed the summons which the young ruler refused to obey.

Luk_18:18-27. A Warning.—We have here—

1. Another warning against self-righteousness and boasting, or thinking highly of our own deeds.

2. Against the sin and danger of an undue attachment to the things of this world.

Luk_18:18. Favourable Circumstances.—This man appears here in a very favourable light.

I. Though young and wealthy, he was of irreproachable moral character.

II. He had spiritual cravings which he was anxious to satisfy.

III. Unlike many of his class, he believed that Jesus could give him authoritative direction as to the way to attain eternal life.

IV. He came openly to proffer his request.

Luk_18:19. “None is good, save One.”—The declaration is the expression of the same humble subordination to God, penetrated by which Jesus also, although knowing Himself one with the Father, yet designates the Father as the One sending Him, teaching Him, sanctifying Him, glorifying Him—in one word, as the greater. Ever, indeed, is the Father the original source, as of all being, so of all goodness—the absolutely Good, in His holiness ever the same, while in contrast with Him, even the Son, as man, is one developing in goodness and holiness, perfecting Himself through prayers, conflicts, sorrows, and suffering, unto Divine glory.—Ullman.

Luk_18:20. The Law and The Gospel.—Jesus refers the self-righteous to the Law, to convict them of sin; to the humble He preaches the gospel.

Luk_18:21. “All these have I kept.”—This reply testifies, no doubt, to great moral ignorance on the part of the speaker, but it is also proof of a noble sincerity. He has never known the spiritual significance of the commandments, and therefore believes that he has fully kept them.”—Godet.

Luk_18:22. “One thing thou lackest.”—

1. A gracious acknowledgment of an attractive character—one thing only lacking.

2. An earnest warning, since this one thing was the one thing needful.

Luk_18:23. “Very sorrowful.”—The Gospel of the Hebrews amplifies this incident as follows: “Then the rich man began to scratch his head, for he was displeased by that saying; and the Lord said to him, How, then, canst thou say, I have accomplished the Law; since it is written in the Law, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself; and here are many of thy brethren, children of Abraham, who live in misery, and are perishing with hunger, while thy table is loaded with good things, and nothing goes from it to them!”

Luk_18:24. “How hardly!” etc.—It is not the mere fact of possessing wealth which hinders the soul from rising to spiritual things, but the sense of security which wealth is liable to bring with it. Hence, according to St. Mark, Jesus explains this statement by describing the persons alluded to as those “who trust in riches.”

Luk_18:25. The Temptation of The Rich.—In other words, a rich man is, so far as his riches are concerned, in a more difficult position for the attainment of heavenly-mindedness, and, therefore, for that humility of spirit and disengagement from the cares and snares of life, which are essential to all who would enter God’s kingdom, than a poor man is. Poverty also has its own temptations, and God either equalises the lots of men, or, at any rate, sends no severer temptation without also sending “more grace” whereby to resist it (Jas_4:6). Along with the temptation He provides also the way of escape (1Co_10:13). And, since men have always loved and always will love, riches, the Lord desired to force upon us the conviction that if we would increase our wealth we run a terrible risk of also increasing our worldliness. From this inordinate love of riches, simply, we cannot be saved by our own power. Left to ourselves we should fail utterly in the attempt to combine the love of God with the deceitfulness of earthly mammon. But we are not left to ourselves. The salvation of the soul, in the midst of earthly riches, requires a spiritual miracle, a miracle of the grace of God. But, so far from miracles being rare, we live in the midst of them. Without them no man could be saved at all, least of all any man who has so much about him as the rich have to make this world sweet and easy. Souls are saved, men enter into the heavenly kingdom, in spite of difficulties humanly insuperable, and only because nothing is impossible with God.—Farrar.

Luk_18:26. “Who, then, can be saved?”—I.e., because all are striving to be rich. We must remember, too, that the disciples yet looked for a temporal kingdom, and therefore would naturally be dismayed at hearing that it was so difficult for any rich man to enter it.

Luk_18:27. “Possible with God.”—Thus, in the twinkling of an eye, Jesus raises the mind of His hearers from human endeavours, of which alone the young ruler was thinking, to that Divine work of radical reformation which proceeds from Him who only is Good, and of which Jesus is the instrument. Cf. Joh_3:2-5 for a similar rapid change of idea.—Godet.

Luk_18:28. “We have left all.”—They had stood the test which had proved too hard for the young ruler; to them, as to him, the alternative had been given of cleaving to the world or of cleaving to Christ. What, then, should be their reward?

Luk_18:29-30. Two Aspects of Piety.

I. The gospel a present blessing.—

1. To the person.

2. To our associations.

3. To our circumstances.

4. To mankind at large.

II. The Gospel a future expectation.—

1. Every present blessing is an earnest of the future.

2. Every present effort is a preparation for the future.

3. Every present experience creates a desire for endless life.

Luk_18:29. “Left house or parents,” etc.—The gain is a hundredfold the sacrifice, and is received at once; it comes “in the form of a re-construction of all human relationships and affections, on a Christian basis and amongst Christians, after they have been sacrificed in their natural form on the altar of love to Christ.”

Luk_18:30. “Manifold more.”—The reward, disproportionate to the sacrifices made,

(1) illustrates the generosity of the Master;

(2) is humbling to the disciple, for he still remains a debtor to Divine grace.

The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.

K. Towards Jericho, at Jericho, out of Jericho towards Jerusalem. Luk_18:15 to Luk_19:27

1. Jesus and the Children (Luk_18:15-17)

15And they brought unto him also infants [their babes, τὰ βρέφη], that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them. 16But Jesus called them [i. e., the children, αὐτά] unto him, and said, Suffer [the] little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is [to such belongs3] the kingdom of God. 17Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

Luk_18:15. And they brought.—From here on the narrative of Luke proceeds parallel with that of Matthew and Mark; he leaves the source from which he had drawn his narratives of journeying, Luk_9:51—ch. Luk_18:4, in order thenceforth to take his material again from the common evangelical tradition. There is, therefore, not the least ground for extending, with Schleiermacher, the special narrative of journeying of which Luke before availed himself, as far as Luk_19:48. The ground why he precisely at this point coincides again with the other Synoptics, especially with Mark, can hardly be given otherwise than conjecturally. The conversation of our Saviour with the apostles about divorce, Mar_10:2-12; Mat_19:1-12, he passes over in silence, perhaps because he has already on another occasion noted down an important utterance on this subject, Luk_16:18. Neither does he define particularly the locality in which the Saviour met with the children, while however it is plainly to be seen, from Mat_19:1, that we have here to understand it as taking place on our Lord’s last journey to Jerusalem, and at His definite departure from Galilee.

Luk_18:15. Their babes, τὰ βρέφη, little children, therefore sucklings, Luk_2:16; while Matthew and Mark only speak in general of παιδία. They are in any case children of the Saviour’s auditors, who, not content with having received a blessing for themselves, entreat this now for their little ones also. This scene is the more touching, since it was at the same time a scene of farewell, and this act of the parents appears to have had its ground in the obscure presentiment that they should not again see the Saviour in Galilee. The mothers desire that He might leave for these young souls a parting blessing behind. It was, it is true, quite customary in Israel to entreat Rabbins and rulers of synagogues for such a benefit; but that this was desired from Jesus even yet in the last period of His public life, in spite of the continually increasing opposition to Him, is an unequivocal evidence of the deep and favorable impression which His activity had left behind in these regions.

Luk_18:16. Called them.—Αὐτά, the children themselves. Comi voce et nutu, Bengel. The opposition between the friendly countenance of the Master, and the contracted brow of the disciples, is indescribably beautiful. The disciples rebuked the mothers, in the serious belief that it was incongruous to molest the Great Prophet with such trifling affairs, while they now especially desire that He may continue the interesting elucidation respecting marriage and divorce. But scarcely has Jesus learned who it is that wished to approach Him, and who it is that wished to keep these back, than He takes it very ill, and rebukes His disciples therefor; while they had thought that children belonged less than any one in His vicinity, He gives them on the contrary to know that He wishes to have, more than many others, precisely these around Him. If the Twelve thought that these children must first become like them, in order to attract the interest of the Saviour to them, our Lord, on the other hand, gives them the assurance that they must first become like children, if they would become the participants of His complacent regard.

Luk_18:17. Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child.—Comp. Mat_18:3, and Lange, ad loc. Mark also speaks, Luk_10:15, of this utterance of the Saviour on this occasion; while Luke, Luk_9:47-48, had passed it over, and therefore brings it in afterwards here. With the requirement to receive the kingdom of God as a little child (δέχεσθαι), the Saviour directs attention to the receptivity for the Gospel which is found in the child’s disposition. This temper of mind the disciples would soon lose, if they gave ear to the voice of pride and self-seeking, by which they had just before allowed themselves to be influenced to repel these little ones. In this way they might even incur the danger of forfeiting the blessing of the kingdom of heaven, whose subjects they had already begun to be. As to the rest, we are not to overlook the fact that, at least according to Luke, the warning οὐ μὴ εἰσέλθῃ, κ.τ.λ., can be interpreted as addressed to the wider circle of the auditors, parents, &c., who with the disciples at this moment surrounded the Saviour.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

1. The desire of the mothers to see their children blessed by Jesus, sprang from a similar feeling of need from which afterwards the baptism of children proceeded. The Saviour, who approved the firstnamed wish, would, if asked about it, undoubtedly not stand in the way of the latter. [The connection between the two is admirably expressed in the exhortation contained in the office of the Episcopal Church for the Public Baptism of Infants.—C. C. S.]

2. Precisely when Christ appears surrounded by the little ones, and moves in the world of children, is He the image of the invisible God, whose majesty never shines more gloriously than when He condescends to that which is least and last, Psa_113:5-6. Such a High-priest we needed, who bears a whole world on His loving heart, and yet also presses children to His heart and blesses them. In the Prosopography of the Redeemer, the trait must not remain unconsidered, that the only thing of which we read that He took it ill, was precisely this repelling of the children. After all which had just before been uttered about the sins and the wretchedness in wedded life (see in Matthew and Mark), this whole scene makes the impression of a friendly sunbeam which breaks through on a thickly-clouded sky.

3. As for the subjects, so also for the King of the kingdom of God, did the way to true greatness lie precisely in this His deep humiliation. He who requires the childlike temper, has shown Himself also the most perfect Son, Heb_5:8.

4. The becoming like children, and the ἄνωθεν γεννηθῆναι, Joh_3:3, are correlative ideas. How completely indispensable the requirement of humility and the childlike temper was, could not appear more evidently than on this occasion. Scarcely do the children retire from the hallowed scene, when a rich young man enters, who, only for the reason that he is lacking in this childlike humility, does not find the entrance to the kingdom of heaven.

5. See the parallels in Matthew and Mark, and observe the intimate connection of this occurrence with the immediately preceding parable.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

The blessing of children: 1. Ardently desired; 2. precipitately forbidden; 3. graciously granted; 4. lastingly confirmed.—From that which we desire for our children, is made manifest what we ourselves think of Jesus.—Christ and the world of children.—The misguided zeal of the disciples is not seldom in direct conflict with the intention of the Master.—What found the Saviour in the little children that was much more welcome to Him than the sight of many adults?—How the true childlike temper teaches us, 1. To find; 2. to receive; 3. to esteem aright, the kingdom of heaven.—The disciple of the Lord is called to be in malice a child, but in understanding full grown, 1Co_14:20.

Starke:—The hasty and precipitate character even yet cleaves strongly to beginners in religion.—Hedinger:—The child’s state a blessed state!—Ah, few become like children, therefore we may well suppose more children than grown people enter into the kingdom of heaven.—Brentius:—The children, as it were, constitute the heart and the noblest part of the kingdom of Christ on earth. Who would not count them dear and precious, and gladly be conversant with them? Mark this, ye parents and schoolmasters!—Heubner:—Even love can out of love become indignant; but this is no selfish displeasure, but a holy one.—Love of children a trait in the character of every Christianly religious man.—Whomsoever Jesus presses to His heart, such an one will certainly be warmed by love.—Arndt’s sermons upon the life of Jesus. Jesus, the children’s Friend without compare. See farther on Luk_9:46-48.

Footnotes:

[3][Luk_18:16.—Revised Version of the American Bible Union.—C. C. S.]

Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Luke

ENTERING THE KINGDOM

Luk 18:15 - Luk 18:30.

In this section Luke rejoins the other two Evangelists, from whom his narrative has diverged since Luk 9:51. All three bring together these two incidents of the children in Christ’s arms and the young ruler. Probably they were connected in time as well as in subject. Both set forth the conditions of entering the kingdom, which the one declares to be lowliness and trust, and the other to be self-renunciation.

I. We have the child-likeness of the subjects of the kingdom.

No doubt there was a dash of superstition in the impulse that moved the parents to bring their children to Jesus, but it was an eminently natural desire to win a good man’s blessing, and one to which every parent’s heart will respond. It was not the superstition, but the intrusive familiarity, that provoked the disciples’ rebuke. A great man’s hangers-on are always more careful of his dignity than he is, for it increases their own importance.

The tender age of the children is to be noted. They were ‘babes,’ and had to be brought, being too young to walk, and so having scarcely yet arrived at conscious, voluntary life. It is ‘of such’ that the subjects of the kingdom are composed. What, then, are the qualities which, by this comparison, Jesus requires? Certainly not innocence, which would be to contradict all his teaching and to shut out the prodigals and publicans, and clean contrary to the whole spirit of Luke’s Gospel. Besides, these scarcely conscious infants were not ‘innocent,’ for they had not come to the age of which either innocence or guilt can be predicated. What, then, had they which the children of the kingdom must have?

Perhaps the sweet and meek little Psa 131:1 - Psa 131:3 puts us best on the track of the answer. It may have been in our Lord’s mind; it certainly corresponds to His thought. ‘My heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty. . .. I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with his mother.’ The infant’s lowliness is not yet humility; for it is instinct rather than virtue. It makes no claims, thinks no lofty thoughts of self; in fact, has scarcely begun to know that there is a self at all. On the other hand, clinging trust is the infant’s life. It, too, is rudimentary and instinctive, but the impulse which makes the babe nestle in its mother’s bosom may well stand for a picture of the conscious trust which the children of the kingdom must have. The child’s instinct is the man’s virtue. We have

‘To travel back

And tread again that ancient track,’

regaining as the conscious temper of our spirits those excellences of humility and trust of which the first faint types may be seen in the infant in arms. The entrance gate is very low, and, if we hold our heads high, we shall not get through it. It must be on our hands and knees that we go in. There is no place in the kingdom for those who trust in themselves. We must rely wholly on God manifest in His Son.

So intent is Luke in pointing the lesson that he passes by in silence the infinitely beautiful and touching incident which the world perhaps knows better than any other in our Lord’s life-that of His taking the infants in His arms and blessing them. In many ways that incident would have been peculiarly suitable for this Gospel, which delights to bring out the manhood and universal beneficence of Jesus. But if Luke knew of it, he did not care to bring in anything which would weaken the lesson of the conditions of entering the kingdom.

II. We have self-renunciation as the condition of entering the kingdom.

The conversation with the ruler {vs. 18-23} sets forth its necessity; the sad exclamation to the bystanders {Luk 18:24} teaches its difficulty; and the dialogue with Peter as representing the twelve {Luk 18:28 - Luk 18:30}, its reward.

{1} The necessity of self-renunciation. The ruler’s question has much blended good and evil. It expresses a true earnestness, a dissatisfaction with self, a consciousness of unattained bliss and a longing for it, a felt readiness to take any pains to secure it, a confidence in Christ’s guidance-in short, much of the child spirit. But it has also a too light estimate of what good is, a mistaken notion that ‘eternal life’ can be won by external deeds, which implies fatal error as to its nature and his own power to do these. This superficial estimate of goodness, and this over confidence in his ability to do good acts, are the twin mistakes against which Christ’s treatment of him is directed.

Adopting Luke’s version of our Lord’s answer, the counter-question, which begins it, lays hold of the polite address, which had slipped from the ruler’s lips as mere form, and bids him widen out his conceptions of ‘good.’ Jesus does not deny that He has a right to the title, but questions this man’s right to give it Him. The ruler thought of Jesus only as a man, and, so thinking, was too ready with his adjective. Conventional phrases of compliment may indicate much of the low notions from which they spring. He who is so liberal with his ascriptions of goodness needs to have his notions of what it is elevated. Jesus lays down the great truth which this man, in his confidence that he by his own power could do any good needed for eternal life, was perilously forgetting. God is the only good, and therefore all human goodness must come from Him; and if the ruler is to do ‘good,’ he must first be good, by receiving goodness from God.

But the saying has an important bearing on Christ’s character. The world calls Him good. Why? There is none good but God. So we are face to face with this dilemma-Either Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh, or He is not good.

Having thus tried to deepen his conceptions, and awaken his consciousness of imperfection, our Lord meets the man on his own ground by referring him to the Law, which abundantly answered his inquiry. The second half of the commandments are alone quoted by Him; for they have especially to do with conduct, and the infractions of them are more easily recognised than those of the first. The ruler expected that some exceptional and brilliant deeds would be pointed out and he is relegated to the old homely duties, which it is gross crime not to do.

A shade of disappointment and impatience is in his protestation that he had done all these ever since he was a lad. No doubt he had, and his coming to Jesus confessed that though he had, the doing had not brought him ‘eternal life.’ Are there not many youthful hearts which would have to say the same, if they would be frank with themselves? They have some longings after a bliss and calm which they feel is not theirs. They have kept within the lines of that second half of the Decalogue, but that amount and sort of ‘good thing’ has not brought peace. Jesus looks on all such as He did on this young man, ‘loves’ them, and speaks further to them as He did to him. What was lacking? The soul of goodness, without which these other things were ‘dead works.’ And what is that soul? Absolute self-renunciation and following Christ. For this man the former took the shape of parting with his wealth, but that external renunciation in itself was as ‘dead’ and impotent to bring eternal life as all his other good acts had been. It was precious as a means to an end-the entrance into the number of Christ’s disciples; and as an expression of that inward self-surrender which is essential for discipleship.

The real stress of the condition is in its second half, ‘Follow me.’ He who enters the company of Christ’s followers enters the kingdom, and has eternal life. If he does not do that, he may give his goods to feed the poor, and it profiteth him nothing. Eternal life is not the external wages for external acts, but the outcome and consequence of yielding self to Jesus, through whom goodness, which keeps the law, flows into the soul.

The requirement pierced to the quick. The man loved the world more than eternal life, after all. But though he went away, he went sorrowful; and that was perhaps the presage that he would come back.

{2} Jesus follows him with sad yearning, and, we may be sure, still sought to draw him back. His exclamation is full of the charity which makes allowance for temptation. It speaks a universal truth, never more needed than in our days, when wealth has flung its golden chains round so many professing Christians. How few of us believe that it gets harder for us to be disciples as we grow richer! There are multitudes in our churches who would be far nearer Christ than they are ever likely to be, if they would literally obey the injunction to get rid of their wealth.

We are too apt to take such commands as applicable only to the individuals who received them, whereas, though, no doubt, the spirit, and not the letter, is the universal element in them, there are far more of us than we are willing to confess, who need to obey the letter in order to keep the spirit. What a depth of vulgar adoration of the power of money is in the disciples’ exclamation, ‘If rich men cannot get into the kingdom, who can get in!’ Or perhaps it rather means, If self-renunciation is the condition, who can fulfil it? The answer points us all to the only power by which we can do good, and overcome self; namely by God’s help. God is ‘good,’ and we can be good too, if we look to Him. God will fill our souls with such sweetness that earth will not be hard to part with.

{3} The last paragraph of this passage teaches the reward of self-renunciation. Peter shoves his oar in, after his fashion. It would have been better if he had not boasted of their surrender, but yet it was true that they had given up all. Only a fishing-boat and a parcel of old nets, indeed, but these were all they had to give; and God’s store, which holds His children’s surrendered valuables, has many things of small value in it-cups of cold water and widows’ mites lying side by side with crowns and jewels.

So Jesus does not rebuke the almost innocent self-congratulation, but recognises in it an appeal to his faithfulness. It was really a prayer, though it sounded like a vaunt, and it is answered by renewed assurances. To part with outward things for Christ’s sake or for the kingdom’s sake-which is the same thing-is to win them again with all their sweetness a hundred-fold sweeter. Gifts given to Him come back to the giver mended by His touch and hallowed by lying on His altar. The present world yields its full riches only to the man who surrenders all to Jesus. And the ‘eternal life,’ which the ruler thought was to be found by outward deeds, flows necessarily into the heart which is emptied of self, that it may be filled with Him who is the life, and will be perfected yonder.

Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

THE LITTLE ONES

Mat 19:13-15; Luk 18:15-17; Mar 10:13-16. “And they were bringing little children to Him, that He may touch them; and His disciples were rebuking those bringing them.” Matthew says they brought them that He might “put His hands on them and pray.” Luke says they were “infants.” “Jesus seeing them was much displeased, and said to them, Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and prevent them not; for of such is the kingdom of God. Truly I say unto you, Whosoever may not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, can not enter into it. And taking them up in His arms, putting His hands on them, He continued to bless them copiously.” The E. V. has lost much out of this, because the Textus Receptus, from which it was translated, omits the kata in connection with eulogei, and consequently simply reads, “He blessed them,” the true reading being so grand and glorious, “He continued to bless them copiously.” There is no dodging the issue in this paragraph, recorded by Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the two former giving us paidia, “little children,” and the latter brephe, “infants.” It is certain they were small enough for Jesus to pick them up in His arms, thus blessing them abundantly and continuously amid loving caresses. This is a clear, bold, and unequivocal corroboration of His former utterances in reference to infants. Though they have inherited a sinful nature from Adam, they are not sinners, but Christians; because they are not only members of God’s kingdom, but normal members, there being no defalcation in their case, like that of adults, who may, with the loudest professions, be hypocrites, as this was-really the case with the Pharisees, who were constantly in His presence. Hence, in the case of irresponsible infants, we know they are saved, as we have the repeated and unequivocal ipse dixit of Jesus; while in the case of adults, as we can not know the heart, we are constrained to turn them all over to God and the judgment-day. All sinners are full of sin. All infants and unsanctified Christians are sinful — i. e., have a tendency to sin — hereditary from Adam, which is certain to lead them into sin if not counteracted by grace in regeneration; but even then will keep up an everlasting warfare (Galatians 5) till eradicated in entire sanctification.

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

18:15-17 This incident illustrates 18:14. • they scolded the parents: In this cultural context, children had no social status (see study note on 9:48), so the disciples viewed them as an interruption to Jesus’ important ministry.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Luk 18:15. Καὶ τὰ βρέφη) also infants. Therefore they hereby recognised (acknowledged) the humanity of Jesus. [These things occurred beyond Jordan, on His journey towards Jerusalem: Mat 19:1; Mat 19:13.—V. g.]

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Luk_18:15-17. See on Mat_19:13-15; Mar_10:13-16. The peculiar source of which Luke has hitherto availed himself, which supplied the material from Luk_9:51, now ends, or Luke leaves it, and becomes substantially synoptic again, following Mark especially, although, while he does so, he still has special passages of his own (see especially Luk_19:1-10). The place and time of what follows as far as Luk_18:31 are, according to Luke, still the same as of what has preceded (from Luk_17:11).

καὶ τὰ βρέφη] their children also, so that not merely the people themselves came to Him. The word itself marks out the children more specially (infants, Luk_2:12; Luk_2:16) than παιδία in Matthew and Mark, the latter of whom Luke follows, although omitting his conclusion, Luk_18:16, to which abbreviating treatment no special purpose (in opposition to Hofmann, II. 2, p. 194) is to be imputed.

ἅπτηται] the present tense, brings the situation before us.

Luk_18:16. προσκαλ. αὐτά] He directed His call to the infants themselves (probably: come to me, little ones!), and then spoke to those who carried them, etc.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Luk 18:15-43 . SOME SYNOPTICAL INCIDENTS OF THE LATER TIME. Lk., who has for some time followed his own way, now joins the company of his brother evangelists. The section following is skilfully connected with what goes before, the link being the supreme value of humility .

Luk 18:15-17 . The little ones brought to Jesus (Mat 19:13-15 , Mar 10:13-16 ). τὰ βρέφη : for παιδία in parallels = infants, sucklings, often in Lk.’s writings; the καὶ preceding naturally means “even,” suggesting the notion of great popularity or great crowding, and perhaps hinting an apology for the Twelve. The article before βρέφη means the in fants of those who brought them = their infants.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4. The Children brought to Jesus: Luk 18:15-17.

Vers. 15-17. It is here that Luke’s narrative rejoins Matthew’s (Mat 19:14) and Mark’s (Mar 10:13), after having diverged from them at Luk 9:51. Jesus is in Peraea. Of his sojourn in this province Matthew and Mark have as yet related only one fact—the conversation with the Pharisees regarding divorce, summarily reproduced by Luke, Luk 16:13-19.

By the phrase: even infants (καὶ τά...), Luk 18:15, Luke would indicate that the consideration enjoyed by Jesus had reached its height. Mothers brought him even their nurslings. The article before βρέφη denotes the category.

The apostles think that this is to abuse the goodness and time of their Master. Mark, who likes to depict moral impressions, describes the indignation felt by Jesus (ἠγανάκτησε) on perceiving this feeling. Luke is less severe,—the evangelist who is accused of abusing the Twelve. After calling back those little ones who were being sent away (αὐτά), Jesus instructs His disciples in respect of them. Matthew, as usual, summarizes.

There is in children a twofold receptivity, negative and positive, humility and confidence. By labour expended on ourselves, we are to return to those dispositions which are natural to the child. The pronoun τῶν τοιούτων, of such, does not refer to other children, such as those present, but to all those who voluntarily put on the dispositions indicated. Jesus, according to Mark, clasped those children tenderly in His arms, and put His hands on them, blessing them. Matthew speaks only of the imposition of hands. These touching details are omitted by Luke. For what reason, if he knew them? They agreed so well with the spirit of his Gospel! Volkmar (Die Evangel. p. 487) explains this omission by the prosaic character of Luke (!). According to the same author, these little children represent the Gentiles saved by grace. Party dogmatics, even in this the simplest narrative of the Gospel!

Frédéric Louis Godet — Commentaries on Luke, John, Romans, and 1 Corinthians — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1870s–1890s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

To judge or think of Christ after the reason of our flesh, is the cause of infinite corruptions.

The children were tender and young, in that they were brought, which appeareth more evidently in that, that they were infants, which is to be marked against them that are enemies to the baptizing of children.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

This passage of story we had both in Matthew and Mark; it very fitly follows here after the story of the publican, as a confirmation of the truth which was to be illustrated by that parable, that those shall be accepted with God, and honoured, who humble themselves, and for them Christ has blessings in store, the choicest and best of blessings. Observe here, 1. Those who are themselves blessed in Christ should desire to have their children also blessed in him, and should hereby testify the true honour they have for Christ, by their making use of him, and the true love they have for their children, by their concern about their souls. They brought to him infants, very young, not able to go, sucking children, as some think. None are too little, too young, to bring to Christ, who knows how to show kindness to them that are not capable of doing service to him. 2. One gracious touch of Christ's will make our children happy. They brought infants to him, that he might touch them in token of the application of his grace and Spirit to them, for that always makes way for his blessing, which likewise they expected: see Isa 44:3. I will first pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and then my blessing upon thine offspring. 3. It is no strange thing for those who make their application to Jesus Christ, for themselves or for their children, to meet with discouragement, even from those who should countenance and encourage them: When the disciples saw it, they thought, if this were admitted, it would bring endless trouble upon their Master, and therefore they rebuked them, and frowned upon them. The spouse complained of the watchmen, Sol 3:3; Sol 5:7. 4. Many whom the disciples rebuke the Master invites: Jesus called them unto him, when, upon the disciples' check, they were retiring. They did not appeal from the disciples to the Master, but the Master took cognizance of their despised cause. 5. It is the mind of Christ that little children should be brought to him, and presented as living sacrifices to his honour: "Suffer little children to come to me, and forbid them not; let nothing be done to hinder them, for they shall be as welcome as any." The promise is to us, and to our seed; and therefore he that has the dispensing of promised blessings will bid them welcome to him with us. 6. The children of those who belong to the kingdom of God do likewise belong to that kingdom, as the children of freemen are freemen. If the parents be members of the visible church, the children are so too; for, if the root be holy, the branches are so. 7. So welcome are children to Christ that those grown people are most welcome to him who have in them most of the disposition of children (Luk 18:17): Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, that is, receive the benefits of it with humility and thankfulness, not pretending to merit them as the Pharisee did, but gladly owning himself indebted to free grace for them, as the publican did; unless a man be brought to this self-denying frame he shall in no wise enter into that kingdom. They must receive the kingdom of God as children, receive their estates by descent and inheritance, not by purchase, and call it their Father's gift.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 15. - 17. They brought unto him also infants] On these verses the reader is requested to consult the notes on Mt 19:13; Mt 19:14, and on Mr 10:16.

When a spiritual guide (a gooroo) visits his disciple, the latter takes his child to him for his blessing, forcing the head of the child down to the gooroo's feet, who gives what is called his blessing in some such words as these, Live long! - Be learned! - Be rich!

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(15-17) And they brought unto him also infants.—See Notes on Mat_19:13-15; Mar_10:13-16. St. Luke, for some reason or other (possibly because he had recorded like teaching in Luk_16:18), omits the previous teaching as to divorce. The use of the specific word for “infants” is peculiar to him. The use of the word in Luk_1:41; Luk_1:44; Luk_2:12; Luk_2:16, where it is rendered “babe,” shows that it includes the very earliest stage of childhood, and so is not without its importance in its bearing on the question of infant baptism, so far as that question is affected by this narrative.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15-17. Jesus and the Children. A Lesson of Humility.

15. they brought unto him also infants] Rather, their babes. It seems to have been a custom of Jewish mothers to carry their babes to eminent Rabbis for their blessing; naturally therefore these mothers would bring their children and babes to Jesus. See Mat_19:13-15; Mar_10:13.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And they brought unto him also infants,.... As well as grown persons, that were sick, to be healed by him:

that he would touch them; in order, as some learned men think, to cure them of diseases that attended them; for one of the ways by which Christ healed persons, was by touching them; nor do we read of his touching in common for any other purpose, or of persons desiring him to touch them, or theirs, but for this end; in Mat 19:13 it is read, "that he should put his hands on them"; and so the Arabic and Persic versions here read, in order to pray over them, and bless them: but neither in one place, nor the other, is any mention of their baptism, or of their being brought for such a purpose; nor can it be concluded from hence;

but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them; the persons that brought the infants; See Gill on Mat 19:13.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

15 And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them.

Ver. 15. {See Trapp on "Mat 19:13"}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

See the notes at Mat. 19:13-30.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

See Poole on "Mat 19:13", and following verses to Mat 19:15, See Poole on "Mar 10:13", and following verses to Mar 10:16, where we before met with this piece of history.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Vers. 15-30. Jesus and the children. The young ruler refuses to give up his riches. The Lord speaks of the reward of them that leave all for his sake.

And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them. Our Lord"s noticing children is several times alluded to in the Gospels. There was something evidently in his look and manner which singularly attracted little ones to him. SS. Matthew and Mark both recount this blessing of the children immediately after the teaching on divorce. Our Lord thus sanctifies the bond of marriage and its legitimate offspring. It was a silent but powerful reply to the mistaken inference which his disciples had drawn from his words. They had said, "It is not good to marry". (Mat_19:10) But when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them. Something of what the Master had said concerning the marriage state affected the disciples. Had he not just (see Mat_19:10-12) been claiming high honour for the solitary life where there were no family ties to claim attention? Surely, then, these women and their children had better stand aloof: what had that grave and earnest Teacher of theirs to do with these? He had higher and more important matters on his mind.

Vers. 15, 16. Christ and the children: a sermon to children.

This familiar and attractive scene is well conceived and described in the lines commencing, "Over the hills of Jordan." It contains valuable lessons for the young.

I THE KINDLINESS OF JESUS CHRIST. Some kind men are not kindly. They will do a great deal for you, will give much to you, will run serious risks or even make serious sacrifices on your behalf; but they are not gracious, genial, winning. They are not approachable; you are not drawn to them; you are not inclined to address them and make friends with them; they rather repel than invite you. Such was not Jesus Christ. He was not only kind at heart, but kindly in manner and in bearing. The children of his day went freely and gladly to him. That "he was never seen to smile" is a wholly unauthorized and, we may be quite sure, an entirely false statement. Did he not take those infants into his arms with a smile upon his face? Did he not frequently, ay, constantly, smile as he looked upon innocency, upon hopefulness, upon childhood? Think of Jesus Christ as not only the kind but the kindly One, as not only the good but the gracious One, as not only the wise but the winning One. Think of him as that One to whom, if he were with us now as he was with men of old, you would be drawn with an irresistible attraction, and to whom you could, without any effort, unburden your heart. And believe that just what he was on earth he is in heaven.

II JESUS CHRIST STILL RECEIVES US TO THE SHELTER OF HIS LOVING POWER. He took them up into his arms. The arms of the parent are the place of shelter to the child; to them in all time of danger or of distress he naturally and eagerly resorts. It is the place of strength, of defence, of succour. But youth needs more than human sympathy and help; it needs a refuge in Divine tenderness and power. It does so always; but more particularly when parental care is lost, because the parents themselves have "passed into the skies." Very seriously is this need felt when parental care is left behind, when youth or young manhood goes forth from the shelter of the home. Then how priceless is the shelter of the loving power of the Divine Friend! In that unknown "world" which lies beyond the home-life are perils that cannot be anticipated, and that are all unknown. Take care to secure the invaluable refuge of the Divine arm; for only in the protection of the all-wise Leader and almighty Friend will safety be found.

III JESUS CHRIST STILL LAYS HIS HAND UPON US. Mark tells us (Mar_10:16) that he "put his hands upon them, and blessed them." You still sing, "I wish that his hands had been laid on my head." It is a right and becoming thought. But the laying of the hand of flesh on those children"s heads may not have wrought any great spiritual change in them; they may have grown up to reject him. Of far more consequence is it that Christ should now lay the hand of his Divine power and grace upon your heart; that he should so act upon you by his Divine Spirit that your mind should be illumined, and that you understand what is the good and the wise thing to do; that your heart should be touched so that you will live to love him who is worthiest of all that is best. "His touch has still its ancient power." Yes; and more than the healing touch which gave sight to the blind and wholeness to the poor leper is that benignant power which opens the closed mind and cleanses the unholy heart.

IV JESUS LOOKS AND WAITS FOR YOUR SUBMISSION, He says that it is you who, of all people, can most readily enter his holy kingdom. He must have your free and full consent. When he made the world, and sent the sun on its course, and gave to the sea its bounds, "he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast." He compels all things in nature to do his bidding; but he asks, he invites your trust, your worship, your love. He cannot bless you as he would unless you consent to receive him as your own personal Lord and Saviour and Friend. But he assures you that this is open to you as it is not to others; the young can readily give their attention, their docility, their love, their obedience. Fewer and slighter hindrances are in your way than are in the path of those who have travelled further. Of such as you are now "is the kingdom of God." This is the golden chance of your life. C.

Vers. 15-30. The children of the kingdom.

During the progress of the King towards Jerusalem, his personal influence and benediction were greatly valued. It would seem that mothers brought their children to him to be blessed, and ended by producing the very little ones. The disciples thought the line should be drawn somewhere, and so ventured to forbid the anxious mothers, only, however, to receive the significant rebuke from him, "Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God." We are thus introduced to the important principle that

I CHILDLIKENESS IS THE QUALIFICATION FOR GOD"S KINGDOM. (Vers. 15-17) Now, that is only another way of stating that God"s government is paternal, and that his subjects are sons. It is, in fact, "a mighty family" of which he is himself the Head. It is when we recognize in him our Father, and are prepared to accept as little children all he sends, and to do all he commands, that we truly belong to his kingdom. Hence the two characteristics specially brought out are

(1) trust, and

(2) obedience.

It is thus we are to test ourselves. Do we trust God our Father as little children trust their fathers according to the flesh? and do we obey our heavenly Father as little ones obey their earthly parents? Then are we in the kingdom.

II CHRIST EXPECTS THE RICHEST RULER TO TRUST AND TO OBEY HIM LIKE A LITTLE CHILD. (Vers. 18-27) We have here an interesting case of anxiety, and how Christ dealt with it. And here we have to notice that:

1. Neither his wealth nor his position satisfied the young ruler. Something more was needed. The heart cannot content itself with either rank or gold. Hence his anxiety to lay hold on eternal life, which he felt was something more than he had yet obtained.

2. He fancied he could entitle himself to it by a stroke of public service. Hence his inquiry, "Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" His notion was that he could claim it as a right, if he could only try out the additional duty he felt able to discharge.

3. Jesus destroys with a single stroke his overestimate of human nature. The flattery of human nature coincides with self-esteem. The young ruler believed in his own goodness and capabilities, and he complimented Jesus as "good Master," because he believed in the existence of any number of good men himself, of course, included. Now, Jesus will not accept a false compliment. Human nature is not good; and it is not as a mere man that he is going to receive such flattery. Hence he tells the ruler that there is no mere man good; that God alone is good. There is here no repudiation of goodness as belonging to himself, but simply a repudiation of goodness as an attribute of unaided humanity.

4. Jesus insists on examination of past conduct in the light of the Divine Law. He asks the young ruler if he has kept the second table of the Decalogue, and been dutiful to his fellow-men. Looked at from without, the self-sufficient mind imagines it is a simple thing to keep the Law. But when for "law" we substitute "love," the self-examination does not so assure us. Meanwhile the young ruler is strong in the belief that he has kept the whole Law.

5. Jesus now demands, as a test of his trust in him, the surrender of his riches to the poor, and the subsequent following of him. The demand was for faith. When we consider that Jesus was apparently but a poor artisan, then, unless the young ruler would absolutely and implicitly trust him, he would never think of obeying his demand. The result proved that he was not yet ready to trust Jesus. He trusted his money more! Hence his sorrow as he leaves the Lord. And herein lies the money-danger. It bids for the trust of the soul. Moneyed men find it hard to trust any one more than money. They think it only natural that they should feel independent. But if money leads men away from Jesus, it is a curse, and not a blessing. When tempted to be covetous, let us remember that money has its special dangers, and makes it harder and even impossible for some to enter into God"s kingdom.

6. Jesus, while stating the difficulty which rich men find in entering Gods kingdom, shows that God manifests his great power in saving some of them. Money is such a barrier that we might well despair of the salvation of any rich men. Poor men have a chance. They have so little that they dare not trust in it, but in God only. But the rich man is tempted to trust in the uncertain riches, and leave God out of the account. But for this very reason God magnifies his grace in saving some rich men in saving some in spite of all their temptation to trust in their abundance. A rich yet real believer is a splendid illustration of the grace of God. He sees through his riches and forbids them to come between his soul and his Saviour.

III CHRIST INDICATES THE RECOMPENSE AWAITING ALL THOSE WHO HAVE SACRIFICED. THEIR ALL FOR HIM. (Vers. 28-30) Peter, as spokesman for the others, asks Christ what they shall have, seeing they have sacrificed their worldly positions to follow him. They thought that they should have some recompense. Nor were they mistaken; for Christ shows that they shall have:

1. A recompense in kind in this world. Often when a home is left for the sake of Jesus, a happier home is found in the midst of the Lord"s work. When rich prospects are renounced for the Saviour"s sake, unexpected recompense comes round in the shape of riches. When relatives are resigned that Christ"s cause may be promoted, new relations spring up around the devoted soul and bring compensation. And the spirit of loving appreciation which appropriates all things makes ample amends for all our self-denial for our Saviour. (1Co_3:21-23)

2. A recompense in the world to come in the shape of eternal life. So that self-denial, self-renunciation, becomes the path to the life eternal. The opportunity of living in God and for God awaits all sincere souls in the other life, and satisfies them. Let us consequently rejoice in hope of the glory, and have grace to fear no evil. R.M.E.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Matt. xix, 13; Mark x, 13.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Christ Blesses Little Children.

v. 15. And they brought unto Him also infants that He would touch them; but when His disciples saw it, they rebuked them.

v. 16. But Jesus called them unto Him and said, Suffer little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God.

v. 17. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.

The incident here told happened in one of the hamlets, probably in Perea, while Jesus was on His last journey to Jerusalem. The kindness of Jesus won the hearts of all that were not filled with prejudice against Him. And therefore the mothers of the village brought their little children, their babies, to Jesus, in order that He might lay His hands upon them in blessing. There was nothing of superstition in this act. But the disciples, as soon as they noticed this proceeding, gravely rebuked the mothers for disturbing the Master, who in their opinion was far too busy and engaged with far too weighty questions to be disturbed with trifles. But the view of Jesus in this matter differed from that of His disciples very decidedly. In a manner which carried a world of reproof for their interference, He called out to the mothers, bidding them come. He was glad and wanted the little children brought to Him. No one should in any way interfere with such bringing nor deny to the little ones the friendship and blessing of the Savior. Of such is the kingdom of God. That is the requirement for entry into the kingdom of God, that faith must be as simple and sincere as that of children. They accept Jesus, their Savior, without question and without doubt; they love Him and cling to Him in joyful abandon. With solemn seriousness Jesus makes this declaration, that no one can enter into the Kingdom unless he accepts it as a little child. Note: Since the only way in which anyone can come to Jesus is by faith, it follows that children can very well believe. Also: Since the only means of grace of which we know that it can transmit faith also to infants is that of Baptism, it follows that we should bring our children to Jesus by means of this Sacrament as soon as possible. Finally: We must strive unceasingly to bring our reason into captivity under the obedience of Christ in the Word, in order that our faith may become simple and childlike.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

J. W. McGarvey's The Fourfold Gospel [XCIX. Blessing Children].

XCIX. BLESSING CHILDREN. CONCERNING CHILDLIKENESS. (In Peræa.) aMATT. XIX. 13-15; bMARK X. 13-16; cLUKE XVIII. 15-17.

a13 Then were there brought b13 And they were bringing aunto him little children, calso their babes, that he should touch them: athat he should lay his hands on them, and pray [According to Buxtorf, children were often brought to the presidents of the synagogue in order that they might pray over them. The prayers of a good man in our behalf have always been regarded as a blessing; no wonder, then, that the mothers of these children desired the prayers of Jesus in behalf of their little ones. It was customary to put the hand upon the person prayed for, probably following the patriarchal precedent ( Gen_48:14, Gen_48:15). Compare Act_6:6]: cbut aand cwhen the disciples saw it, they [541] rebuked them. b14 But when Jesus saw it, he was moved with indignation, and ccalled them unto him, saying, bsaid unto them, cSuffer the little children to come unto me; forbid them not: afor to such belongeth the kingdom of heaven. bof God. [The disciples wished to protect Jesus from what appeared to them to be an unseemly intrusion and annoyance, and possibly, as the context suggests, they thought it was beneath the dignity of the Messiah to turn aside from the affairs of the kingdom of heaven ( Mat_19:12) to pay attention to children. But Jesus was indignant at their officious interference, and directed that the children be brought to him, declaring at the same time that the kingdom of heaven be composed, not of little children, but of such as are childlike in their nature.] c17 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall in no wise enter therein. [See p. 431.] b16 And he took them up in his arms, a15 And he laid blaying ahis hands on bupon athem, band blessed them, aand departed thence. [They were [542] brought that he might lay his hands on them and bless them, and that is what he did for them. The command therefore that they be suffered to come to him should not be perverted into a precept directing that they be brought for other purposes. Those who have construed this as commanding or even permitting either infant baptism or an infant church membership, have abused the text. They are indebted for these ideas, not to the Bible, but to their creeds. The incident told in this section is a fitting sequel to the discourse on divorce. The little children, the offspring of happy wedlock, and a source of constant joy and pleasure to faithful husbands and wives, serve by their presence to correct false impressions as to supposed inconvenience of an indissoluble marriage bond. The sight of them in the arms of Jesus could not fail to leave a good impression with reference to the married life.]

[FFG 541-543]

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

15–17. They brought unto him babes, that he should touch them. See notes on Matt. 19:13–15 and Mark 10:13–16. It was the customs of the Jews to bring their babes to the synagogue for the rabbi to lay his hands upon and bless. So says the Talmud.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

Connecting Statement:

This is the next event in the part of the story which began in Luke 17:20. Jesus welcomes the children and talks about them.

touch them, but

This could also be translated as separate sentences: "touch them. But"

they rebuked them

"the disciples tried to stop the parents from bringing their children to Jesus"

Jesus called them to him

"Jesus told the people to bring their infants to him"

Permit the little children to come to me, and do not forbid them

These two sentences have similar meaning and they are combined for emphasis. Some languages emphasize in a different way. AT: "You must certainly allow the children to come to me" (See: Parallelism)

belongs to such ones

This could be stated as a simile. AT: "belongs to people who are like these little children" (See: Simile)

Truly I say to you

"Surely I say to you." Jesus used this expression to emphasize the importance of what he was about to say.

whoever will not receive the kingdom of God like a child will definitely not enter it

God requires people to accept his rule over them with trust and humility. AT: "whoever wants to enter God's kingdom must receive it with trust and humility like a child" (See: Simile)

translationWords

disciple

rebuke

amen

kingdom of God

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

15–17. JESUS AND THE CHILDREN. A LESSON OF HUMILITY

15. τὰ βρέφη. ‘Their babes.’ At this point St Luke ends the special information which he derived from the documents about the journey, and rejoins the main stream of the synoptic narrative. It seems to have been a custom of Jewish mothers to carry their babes to eminent Rabbis for their blessing; naturally therefore these mothers would bring their children and babes to Jesus. See Mat 19:13-15; Mar 10:13.

ἵνα … ἅπτηται. See on Luk 6:7. In Hellenistic Greek the subj. came to be normally used where the Attic would use the opt.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15-17.] Little children brought to Christ. Here the narrative of Luke again falls in with those of Matthew and Mark, after a divergence of nearly nine chapters: see note on ch. 9:51.Mat 19:13-15.Mar 10:13-16. The narrative part of our text is distinct from the two; the words of our Lord are verbatim as Mark: see notes on Matt. The place and time indicated here are the same as before, from ch. 17:11.

15.] καὶ τὰ βρέφη—their infants also; not the people came only, but also brought their children. Or, the art. may be merely generic, as in E. V.

βρ. points out more distinctly the tender age of the children than παιδία.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15-17. Little Children brought to Christ. Mat 19:13-15; Mar 10:13-16. The narrative of Lk., which has been proceeding tindependently since 9:51, here rejoins Mt. and Mk. The three narratives are almost verbatim alike. Where Lk. differs either he has an expression peculiar to himself, as τὰ βρέφη (ver. 15) or προσεκαλέσατο (ver. 16); or he and Mk. agree against Mt., as in αὐτῶν ἅπτηται (ver. 15), ἔρχεσθαι and τοῦ Θεοῦ (ver. 16), ὃς ἂνμὴ δέξηται, κ.τ.λ. (ver. 17), where Mt. varies considerably in wording. Only in the καί before μὴ κωλύετε (ver. 16) does Lk agree with Mt. against Mk.

15. Προσέφερον δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ τὰ βρέφη. The δὲ and καὶ τὰ βρέφη are peculiar to Lk. For δέ Mk. has καί and Mt. τότε: for καὶ τὰ βρέφη both have simply παιδὶα. “Now people were bringing to Him even their babes,” or “their babes also,” as well as sick folk. In any case βρέφος must be rendered here as in 2:12, 16: comp. 1:41, 44; Act 7:19; 1Pe 2:2. AV. has “babe,” “infant,” and “young child.” Vulg. has infans throughout.

ἅπτηται Mt. says more distinctly, τὰς χείρας ἐπιθῇ καὶ προσεύξηται. Blessing them is meant: comp. Gen 48:14, Gen 48:15.

The pres. subj. after imperf. indic. is a constr. that is freq. in LXX. It shows how the opt, is going out of use. But here it might be explained as expressing the thought of those who brought the babes, a thought put in a direct form for the sake of vividness: “that He may touch” for “that He might touch.” Win. 41. b. 1. a, p. 360.

ἐπετίμων αὐτοῖς Not because, as Chrysostom and Theophylact suggest they thought that little children were unworthy to approach Him; but because they thought it a waste of His time and an abuse of His kindness; or, as Jerome, followed closely by Bede, puts it, eum in similitudineum hominum offerentium importunitate lassari. On the first anniversary of their birth Jewish children were sometimes brought to the Rabbi to be blest.

Lk. has the imperf. in both places, προσὲφερον…ἐπετίμων: Mt. προσηνέχθησοαν…ἐπετίμησαν: Mk. προσέφερον…ἐπετίμησαν.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Infants [τα βρεφη] . See on 1Pe 2:2.

Touch. So Mark. Matthew has lay his hands on them and pray.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.