Jesus Blessed the Children

Study of Matthew 19:13-15; Mark 10:13-16; Luke 18:15-17

Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” After laying His hands on them, He departed from there.
— Matthew 19:13-15

And they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, “Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them.
— Mark 10:13-16

And they were bringing even their babies to Him so that He would touch them, but when the disciples saw it, they began rebuking them. But Jesus called for them, saying, “Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”
— Luke 18:15-17

Although infanticide of unwanted children are common in the ancient pagan world, the Jews did not practice it and believed children are God's blessing.

Behold, children are a gift of the Lord,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.
How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;
They will not be ashamed
When they speak with their enemies in the gate.
— Psalm 127:3-5

It is their custom to have their children blessed by teachers of God's word. So they brought their babies, toddlers, infants, pre-teens, to Jesus that He may touch them, lay His hands on them and pray for them that God may bless their future. The disciples however may have thought Jesus is too busy and important to spend time and energy with children who have no capacity yet to understand His teaching. They are acting like bodyguards protecting their celebrity master from fans who wanted an autograph. Warren Wiersbe noticed:

"this was not the first time the disciples had attempted to “get rid of people.” They wanted to send the crowd away hungry, but Jesus fed them (Matt. 14:15ff.), and they tried to stop the Canaanite woman from asking Jesus to heal her daughter (Matt. 15:21ff.), but Jesus answered her prayer. The Twelve did not yet have the compassion of their Master, but it would come in due time."

But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, “Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”

They seem to have forgotten already what Jesus told them a while ago “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven (Matthew 18:10). The disciples were not the ones to decide who can or cannot approach Jesus just as we are not to decide who to enter God's kingdom. In fact, Jesus said earlier, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:3)

While the disciples think the children are too young to believe, Jesus said unless an adult becomes like a child he cannot be saved. It is important to distinguish what aspects of children qualifies for salvation and not confuse childish to childlike faith. Jesus is not advocating for a naive faith that unreasonably believes anything and "tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming" (Ephesians 4:14). Jesus is also not talking about a spoiled child who always throws tantrums when he doesn't get what he wants.

Jesus wants us to be humble as a child (Matthew 18:4). An unspoiled child lack experience, understand little, knows his weakness, and embraces his helplessness so he trusts his parents' wisdom, humbly submits to their authority, fears their discipline, depends on their provision, and surrenders himself completely to their loving care. In this same way that Jesus wants us to relate to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

In contrast to a child, adults have grown strong,  gained more knowledge and experience, and has become independent of parents. They have their own thinking and often has conflicting opinions with their parents. They are more free and no longer fears their parents' discipline. The more they achieve by their own power, the less need they have of their parents. God doesn't want us to outgrow our need of Him. Jesus doesn't want us to be independent but to abide in Him for apart from Him we can do nothing (John 15:5). Like a child who listens to his parents we must trust in the Lord with all our heart and not lean on our own understanding. In all our ways acknowledge Him, and not be wise in our own eyes; to fear the Lord and turn away from evil (Proverbs 3:5-7).

Jesus doesn't want us to be immature, but when it comes to evil we must be inexperienced and incompetent.

Brethren, do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature.
— 1 Corinthians 14:20

He wants us to grow into maturity of faith but not lose our childlike humility and dependency.

like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,
— 1 Peter 2:2

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil. Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,
— Hebrews 5:12-6:1

Jesus did not baptize nor command the children to be baptized but He took them in His arms and began blessing them. After laying His hands on them, He departed from there. Jesus loves and delights in children that He gives them much importance and attention. Everyday around the world thousands of children are being aborted and we have much reason to believe they are in heaven. If irresponsible parents see their children as a nuisance to their life and discards them, Christians must care for children as our Lord does. We must not think that it is too early for children to know God. It doesn't take too long before the effects of original sin shows up in them for foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child (Proverbs 22:15).

We are to bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4) and train them in the way they should go, so even when they are old they will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6). It's never too early to teach them God's word praying the faith that dwells in us will be in them too (2 Timothy 1:5) and that from childhood they may know the sacred writings which are able to give them the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:15).

Chap Bettis writes in his book, The Disciple-making Parent:

"Why did God give us this privilege of creating new life? And why does God give us little ones who are so utterly helpless? No doubt there are many profound reasons God designed the process the way he did, but one of the reasons is clear:

Did he not make [a husband and wife] one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. (Malachi 2:15)

God’s intent in giving you the privilege of creating new lives is for you to raise them to know and love him.

We discipline our children not so that they will make us happy but so that they will serve Christ as adults. We educate them not so they can have a good job but to develop them to be the best follower of Jesus they can be. We work hard to prepare them not for graduation day but for the Judgment Day! Our job is not to raise good kids who pursue the American dream with a little Christianity (and eternal “fire insurance”) sprinkled in for good measure. Christ’s desire is for his followers to do all they can to raise regenerated, obedient, God-glorifying disciples using all the means of grace possible.

J.C. Ryle helps us here

Precious, no doubt, are these little ones in your eyes; but if you love them, think often of their souls.... No part of them should be so dear to you as that part which will never die. The world, with all its glory, shall pass away; the hills shall melt.... But the spirit which dwells in those little creatures, whom you love so well, shall outlive them all.... In every step you take about them, in every plan, and scheme, and arrangement that concerns them, do not leave out the mighty question, 'How will this affect their souls?"