Matthew 19:13-15 - Homiletics

The little children.

I. THEY WERE BROUGHT TO CHRIST .

1 . The reason . It seems to have been customary to bring young children into the synagogues to be blessed by the elders. The Lord was regarded with reverence as a great Rabbi now in Peraea, as he once bad been in Galilee. Wives and mothers were naturally drawn to him by the high view of marriage which he taught. The frequency of divorce destroyed the sanctity of the marriage bond, degraded woman, interfered grievously with the true ideal of home and family life. It was Christianity, or rather it was the Lord himself, who raised woman to her proper dignity, who surrounded wedded life with an atmosphere of purity and mutual trustfulness, who gave unto men all the blessed charities, all the pure and holy joys, all that happy discipline of self-denial for the sake of wife, or husband, or children, which consecrate Christian family life, and make the family on earth a place of training and preparation for the family in heaven ( Ephesians 3:15 ). The Lord's teaching touched the hearts of these Hebrew matrons; they brought their little ones to him; they wished him to lay his hands upon them, in token that his blessing should rest upon their lives; they wished him to pray for them; they were sure that his prayer was holy and effectual. These children were infants, at least some of them ( βρε ì φη , Luke 18:15 ). The mothers doubted not, but earnestly believed that the prayer, the blessing of Christ, would be profitable to those unconscious infants. So we should bring our little ones to Christ in holy baptism, in Christian education. Christian mothers can do much—much that no one else can do so well, for the spiritual good of their children. The simple teaching of a believing mother, the simple prayers learned from a mother's lips, often exert a hallowing influence over a whole life; even if forgotten for a time among the toils and temptations of the world, they often return to the memory in later years. Those holy memories are by God's grace a powerful help in restoring that childlike spirit which is so precious in the sight of Christ.

2 . The rebuke of the disciples . The conduct of the disciples seems strange. They had soon forgotten the incidents of their last visit to Capernaum ( Matthew 18:1-14 ). Then the Lord had himself taken a little child, and, bringing him into the midst, had made him the subject of his discourse, and had proposed the childlike character as the model for their imitation. One who so loved the little ones, who regarded them with such affectionate interest, who saw in childhood so many beauties, so much that was precious, would not be likely to repel the children now. But the disciples thought, perhaps, that they were mere infants, unconscious, incapable of learning anything from Christ. They did not suppose that his touch, his prayer, could benefit babes who could not pray for themselves. They thought that his time should be given to older people, who might gain more from his instructions. Their Master was very great and holy; his lessons were very sacred and precious. It was not right, they thought, to waste the time that was so valuable by claiming his attentions for these helpless infants. Such things seemed beneath his dignity, unworthy of his regard. And they rebuked those who had brought the children.

II. THE LORD 'S RECEPTION OF THE LITTLE ONES .

1 . His reproof of the disciples . "He was much displeased," St. Mark tells us; he blamed those who would have kept the little ones from him. The apostles were displeased with the mothers who brought the little ones to Christ; the Lord was displeased with the apostles themselves. It was a true spiritual instinct that prompted these Hebrew mothers; they were right, the apostles were wrong. The apostles had yet to learn those deep lessons of true Christian lowliness and true Christian sympathy with the young and simple and ignorant which only Christ can teach. Sometimes the ignorant feel instinctively what is right when the more instructed are led astray by prejudices or pride. Sometimes, it may be, the Lord is much displeased with us when we think that we are acting for his honour. Let us watch carefully over our motives, remembering always that his eye is ever on us, and that no secrets of the heart are hidden from him.

2 . His words . "Suffer little children." The Lord had used the same words when he came unto John to be baptized of him, "Suffer it to be so now." As John then obeyed the voice of Christ, and "suffered him;" so Christ bids his disciples to "suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me." Christians must not keep them back, they must not rebuke those who bring them; for the little ones are very dear to Christ; he cares for them all; the Father cares for them: "It is not the will of your Father which is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish." We must bring them to Christ in their infancy, dedicating them to him in holy baptism, asking him to embrace them with the arms of his mercy, to put his hands upon them and bless them. We must bring them to him in prayer, praying for them ourselves, as the poor father prayed for the lunatic boy, teaching them to lift up their own childlike hearts to God as soon as their lips can utter the words of prayer. We must bring them to Christ by the training of a Christian home, by holy example; carefully avoiding the danger of laying a stumbling block in the way of the little ones by any word or deed of ours. The responsibilities under which we lie towards the children of our families should be a strong additional motive for the cultivation of holiness. We must bring them to Christ by a Christian education, giving them that inestimable privilege which Timothy had received from his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice—the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures from childhood—from infancy ( ἀπο Ì βρε ì φους , 2 Timothy 3:15 ). The Lord is pleased with those who thus bring the little ones to him; he is displeased with those who would keep them from him; for, he saith, of such is the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven belongs to them, as it belongs to the poor in spirit, and to those who are persecuted for righteousness'sake. The kingdom of heaven is theirs; they are by the gift of God entitled to its privileges. Surely, then, they will be received into the kingdom of glory if they are taken hence in the comparative innocence of childhood. We cannot doubt but that he who said, "Suffer the little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me," will gather the lambs into his bosom in the kingdom of his Father. The kingdom is theirs, but not theirs only. "Of such is the kingdom of heaven." The childlike in heart are true children of the kingdom; they receive the kingdom of God as a little child; they believe with the simple earnestness of children; they are poor in spirit, like the little ones; they are truthful, unaffected, real. Let us seek for that childlike simplicity and transparency of heart; let us pray, let us strive after it. It is the character of Christ's chosen, his beloved. "He laid his hands on them, and departed thence." He gave the desired blessing: "He took them up in his arms, laid his hands upon them, and blessed them." Happy children! Happy those who by the grace of Christ and the cleansing, quickening power of his Spirit, retain, or recover, the freshness, the simplicity, the comparative purity, of childhood!

LESSONS .

1 . Imitate the Peraean parents; bring the little ones to Christ.

2 . Let none dare to despise children; the Lord cares for them and loves them.

3 . Teach them at home, in Sunday schools; the Lord is pleased with those who help to train them for him.