by Pastor Peter Sulzle
“People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. 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. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it’” (Luke 18:15-17 NIV).
Jesus loves me, this I know.
That is often one of the first songs that Christian parents teach their children. The song was written in the 1800s by Anna B. Werner. She wrote it as a poem at the request of her sister. Her sister took care of orphaned children, and one of those little children was dying. She wanted to teach this child the truth of the Gospel of Jesus. This simple hymn has given countless children of God great comfort and peace. It carries the simple yet profound message of the love of Jesus who died to wash away sin and give eternal life.
One of the original verses was actually based on our Gospel for today. It’s probably not too familiar.
Jesus loves me! This I know. As He loved so long ago. Taking children on His knee, saying, “Let them come to Me.”
Can you picture Jesus, with a big smile and wide open arms, taking little babies into His hands? He didn’t do this because they were cute and cuddly. No, Jesus knew that the Father had sent Him into the world to redeem all people of all ages, including children. Each time we lead our little ones to Jesus in our living rooms, around our dining room tables, or at their bedsides … in our Lutheran elementary school or Sunday School or catechism instruction … or in our worship services and especially at the font where He works the miracle of faith in Baptism, we’re fulfilling His words, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these!”
So, what did Jesus do for these children when they came? Why is it so important for them to know that “Jesus loves me”? Why is it so important to make sure this connection to Jesus remains through every year God grants us? When we answer those questions, we’ll see why Jesus was so adamant with His disciples to let the children come, and we will have the same sentiment, “Let the little children come.”
This incident happened in the middle of a long stretch of teachings by Jesus. Along with the disciples, many people came to Jesus to listen to His words. Certainly, there were plenty of families that traveled together to listen to Him. Many of these parents understood that Jesus could do for their children what He did for the adults. He could put His hands on them and heal them. He could hold the babies in His arms and bless them. The little lambs could sit on Jesus’ knee and hear the voice of their Good Shepherd. They wanted their children to know Jesus.
But the disciples saw the time that Jesus took with little children as a disruption to His teaching. They thought there were more important things for Jesus to do than to play with little children. After all, what could they do for Him? Maybe they thought their own education time was more valuable than a child’s or the adult concerns were more serious. But Jesus understood much better than His disciples the natural spiritual condition of every soul.
We’re all born spiritually weak without any strength to come close to God. It doesn’t matter how young or old we are. Our greatest weakness is something we could never overcome. Inherited sin from our parents made us spiritually dead and enemies of God from birth. It’s hard to imagine these cute little babies that Jesus held with a sinful nature and hostile to God. But the disciples needed to understand that Jesus needed to work in the life of every human being so that their eternal home was not eternal hell.
Think of the words to “Jesus Loves Me”:
Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong. They are weak, but He is strong.
When we are weak, He is strong.
That’s why Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me.” The weak children needed his strength. The weak-faith disciples needed His strength. We need the strength that only Jesus can provide. In His greatest act of strength, Jesus “…did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). Jesus took the curse of humanity’s sins upon Himself, suffering them on the cross. He sacrificed His life so that you and I and our children could have life. He fought the battle we had lost to defeat sin, death, and hell. Then He rose victorious from the grave to open the gates to eternal life. He won the victory!
And to the victor go the spoils, right? This is God’s amazing love! Instead of keeping the benefits for Himself, Jesus says, “The kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” He hands over the kingdom to those He loves. What is this kingdom? It is Christ’s rule in our hearts by His grace through faith. The kingdom of God is within you. That’s why Jesus points to little children as the example of an unquestioning, unwavering faith. These little believers know Jesus lives in them. They know He has washed away their sins. They know they are going to heaven. They don’t think they are too strong or too smart to find any other way. That’s why Jesus warns those who trust in their own strength: “Anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
You and I need to look at children and training God’s children the way Jesus did, as precious, eternal souls for whom Jesus died. Little ones who belong to Him. Little ones who trust in Jesus. Some of you are these little ones. All of us were little ones once. Our need for Jesus doesn’t change through life. So, I can’t imagine being a disciple who rebukes the parents for bringing their children to Jesus. We would never do that! We want church to be full of children’s voices, don’t we? But how often do our attitudes line up with the disciples more than with Jesus?
If someone observed your family life for a week, would they be able to see clearly that education in God’s Word is a top priority? Or would sports and screen time be higher on that list? Sometimes instead of leading our children to Jesus, we pull them around to activities they think they have to do because they’ll disappoint their parents if they don’t. Instead of building them up with the Word of God and teaching them that who they are in Christ matters most, we pile all our self-esteem on them while we try to live out our unfulfilled dreams vicariously through them.
Let me tell you, children aren’t strong enough to carry their parents’ self-esteem. They need a Christ-esteem that doesn’t come on courts and rinks or in cakes and parties or vacation beaches and water parks. And yes, they need the emotional stability of knowing that parents and grandparents love them. But please don’t teach them, “Mommy and daddy love me, this I know and this is all I want to know. Yes, mommy and daddy love me, that’s all they tell me so.” Teach them the love of Jesus, the sacrificial love of Jesus, the never-changing love of Jesus, the saving, forgiving love of Jesus. Our voices ought to be channels through which our children, our gifts from God, hear the voice of Jesus.
What we instill in our children now will go with them through life and into eternity. As children sing,
Jesus loves me He who died, heaven’s gates to open wide.
He will wash away my sin. Let His little child come in.
We need to keep that eternal goal for our children in mind. Yes, we want them to succeed and accomplish great things, but it is all for nothing if they lose the eternal goal. The Apostle Paul said, “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Corinthians 15:19). The kingdom of God that little children receive is not just His rule in our hearts here on earth. God’s kingdom is His rule in heaven forever.
That’s why we educate for eternity. That’s why our mission is to grow in God’s Word and share it with everyone. That’s why we equip parents with the materials and knowledge to teach their children. If you feel ill equipped, then please tell us, and we’ll do everything we can to help you use the Word of God. The powerful and effective Word of God helps us to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ so that when our dying breath comes, we can confess our faith in Christ, and we can be confident that our children will confess Him with their dying breath, too.
Heaven is the final home, the kingdom of glory for all God’s children. Just as Jesus said, “The Kingdom of God belongs to such as these,” He will say to His children, “Take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world” (Matthew 25:34). Just think of this. The children that people brought to Jesus 2,000 years ago to sit on His knee, the generations of children in our church and school, and however many generations God allows us to educate for an eternity will all get to meet at some point together in heaven, where Jesus takes us in His physical hands and blesses us forever. Let us equip our children so that we get to see Jesus take our great-great-great-grandchildren into His arms and bless them in heaven.
You have a special place in the body of Christ. Each of the children here has a special place in the body of Christ. He has called us to spread the love of Jesus. So let the little children come. With every opportunity we have to educate in the Word, Jesus is saying, “Come to me.” How thankful we can be that the Holy Spirit has given us the faith to sing,
Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so.
Amen.
Rev. Peter Sulzle is administrative pastor at St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church and School, Redwood Falls, Minnesota.