Kington Thinking (Message 1)

Two Lessons for This Series:

The Kingdom of God is FUTURE, and yet it is HERE.
Luke 17:20    Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, 21 nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”

Salvation is the KEY to entering the Kingdom.

The Scripture

Luke 18:15 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.”

The Context

This passage is a continuation from the “KINGDOM” question.

Luke 17:20    Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, . . .
Luke 17:22 Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming . . .
Luke 18:1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.
Luke 18:9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: . . .
Luke 18:15    People were also bringing babies to Jesus . . .

The Bringing of the Children

Luke 18:15 People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. . . .

“People were also bringing . . . “ — reminds us of how much people CARE for their OWN children.

“Babies” — This is the word “brephos” (βρέφος) and ONLY means INFANTS or babies. The SAME word is used for a child in the womb in Luke 1.
Luke 1:44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.

The desire of the parents was for Jesus to place His HANDS on the children. This shows the RESPECT for Jesus and for the tradition of the day. A rabbi’s blessing was considered a SPECIAL honor.

The Blocking by the Disciples

Luke 18:15 . . . When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them.

In all fairness, the disciples were probably PROTECTING Jesus’ time and were trying to do a GOOD thing. But again, they missed the POINT and “rebuked” the parents.

The Indignation of Jesus

Luke 18:16 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.

In a parallel passage, Jesus is ANGRY with the disciples.
Mark 10:13 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.
Mark 10:14 The disciples shooed them off. But Jesus was irate and let them know it: "Don't push these children away. Don't ever get between them and me. (The Message)

Jesus gives instructions to the disciples in the POSITIVE and in the NEGATIVE! Jesus uses the word “children” (paidion, παιδίον) instead of “babies” because He is referring to their OWN desire to follow Him instead of the PARENT’S desire.

The statement, “for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” is often misunderstand,
— He DIDN’T say “belongs to these.”
— His statement means that children are certainly SAFE in His Kingdom, but so is anyone who is CHILDLIKE in their faith.

The Explanation of the Kingdom

Luke 18:17 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

The final statement of this section of Scripture shows it’s importance by looking at the FIRST word, “Truly.” This is the Greek word amēn (ἀμήν), and was translated in the King James translation as “VERILY.” This is a STRONG word that declares the following statement to be TRUE.

It is followed by the words, “I tell you,” which emphasizes the importance of this CONCEPT to Jesus.
“Anyone” is a WONDERFUL word that reassures us that the Kingdom of God is for ALL who would choose to be part of it.

But Jesus makes this statement in the NEGATIVE so that people will carefully CONSIDER their own actions and attitudes.

The phrase “NEVER enter it,” reminds us of the permanency of the place of LIFE after death. (Remember the rich man and Lazarus?)

The Application

Children are ASSURED a place in heaven.
Matt. 18:2 He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. 3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

It is good to introduce the Gospel to children while they are YOUNG as they are open to BELIEVE, strong in their TRUST, and quick to FORGIVE.

We need to ask ourselves if we CAN be CHILDLIKE, trusting ONLY in Jesus Christ for our salvation.

Walk the Talk

Why were parents bringing their children to Jesus? How do we do some of the same things today?

What did you learn about “babies” and “children” from this study? How can it be helpful to you?

Why was Jesus angry with the disciples for rebuking the parents? What do you learn about Jesus here?

Verse 17 is the key explanation. How do you understand it and how would you teach the concept to someone else?

What applications were personally helpful to you? What other applications could you draw from this study?