A story told in three Gospels
Jesus and the Children
Matthew, Mark and Luke all tell how parents brought little children to Jesus so that He would touch them and bless them. The disciples tried to send them away, but Jesus was indignant with His disciples. He told them to let the little children come to Him and not to stop them, because the kingdom of God belongs to such as these, and He gathered the children into His arms, laid His hands on them and blessed them. The story is told in Matthew 19:13-15, Mark 10:13-16 and Luke 18:15-17.
The story, in the words of Scripture
Mark tells it most fully, so we begin there. Read it slowly: four verses that have been read at countless baptisms, dedications, children's services and gravesides.
Mark 10:13-16, Jesus blesses the little children (King James Version)
13And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. 14But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. 15Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. 16And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.
Mark 10:13-16, KJV
Matthew and Luke tell the same moment, each with his own detail. Matthew says the parents wanted Jesus to lay His hands on them and pray. Luke tells us that some of the children were infants, babies carried in their parents' arms.
Matthew 19:13-15 (King James Version)
13Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. 14But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. 15And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence.
Matthew 19:13-15, KJV
Luke 18:15-17 (King James Version)
15And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them. 16But 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. 17Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.
Luke 18:15-17, KJV
Where the story happens
All three Gospels place this moment on the road to Jerusalem, in the final weeks before the cross, as Jesus travels through Judea and the region beyond the Jordan. Crowds are following Him, and He is teaching. Just before this, in Matthew and Mark, the Pharisees have tested Him with a question about divorce, and He has answered by pointing back to the creation of man and woman and the gift of marriage. Then, as if the conversation about families had opened a door, parents begin bringing their children.
Right after it, in all three Gospels, comes the rich young ruler, a man who runs up to Jesus and asks what he must do to inherit eternal life (Mark 10:17). The placement is deliberate. A child who has nothing is welcomed into the kingdom; a grown man who has everything walks away sorrowful, because he cannot let go of what he holds. Luke adds another frame: just before the children come, Jesus tells the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, about people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous (Luke 18:9). The children are the opposite of self trust. They simply come.
Children in the world of Jesus
In the Roman world, children had little standing. They were loved by their families, but they had no rights, no voice in public life, and no status. They could not keep the law fully, could not contribute to the household economy for years, and could not repay a favour. Many did not survive infancy. A respected teacher had every reason, by the standards of the day, to spend His time on adults who could understand, follow and fund His work.
That is why the disciples' reaction is so understandable, and why Jesus' response is so startling. He does not simply tolerate the children. He makes them the picture of the kingdom.
Jesus was much displeased
Mark alone records the emotion: “But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not” The word means indignant, deeply stirred, and Mark uses it of Jesus nowhere else. The Gospels show Jesus moved with compassion many times, and angry at hard hearts in the synagogue, but here His indignation is aimed at His own friends, the men closest to Him, because they were keeping little ones away from Him.
It is worth sitting with that. The disciples were not cruel. They probably thought they were protecting Jesus, managing the crowd, keeping the important work moving. But in His kingdom, the little ones are the important work. Anyone who stands between a child and Jesus, whatever their intentions, has misunderstood Him.
Suffer the little children: what Jesus said
When the King James Version has Jesus say suffer the little children, it uses suffer in its older sense: to allow, to permit, to let. Jesus gives two commands, one positive and one negative. Let them come. Do not forbid them. Then He gives the reason: “For of such is the kingdom of God.”
Of such: not only of these particular children, but of people like them. The kingdom of God belongs to those who come to Jesus the way children come, with nothing in their hands. That is why Jesus goes on to say something even more searching:
“Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.”Mark 10:15
This is not a sentimental compliment to childhood. Children are not sinless, and Jesus knew it. The point is that a little child receives. A child does not negotiate for a place at the table or present a list of achievements before accepting a meal. A child trusts the one who provides, and takes what is given. The kingdom of God can only be entered that way, as a gift. Jesus told His disciples elsewhere that unless they were converted and became as little children, they would not enter the kingdom of heaven at all (Matthew 18:3).
He took them up in His arms
Mark ends with three actions: “And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.” The parents had asked only for a touch. Jesus gives far more. He gathers them up, He lays His hands on them, and He speaks a blessing over them. The Son of God, on His way to the cross, stops to hold children.
This is the second time in Mark that Jesus takes a child in His arms. Earlier, when the disciples were arguing about which of them was the greatest, He set a child in the midst of them and held the child as He spoke:
“And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them, Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me.”Mark 9:36-37
To welcome a child in His name is to welcome Him, and to welcome Him is to welcome the Father who sent Him. In the arithmetic of the kingdom, the smallest person in the room is where you find God.
What the story means for parents
The people in this story did something simple: they brought their children to Jesus. They did not wait until the children could explain the faith or behave perfectly. Some carried infants. They asked for His touch and His prayer, and they were not ashamed to ask. Parents and grandparents can still do exactly that.
- Pray over your children by name. Lay a hand on a sleeping head and ask Jesus to bless them, as these parents did.
- Bring them where He is spoken of. Read a Gospel story together at the table or at bedtime, and bring them among His people on the Lord's day.
- Let them come with their questions. Do not forbid the hard ones. Jesus was never too busy for a child, and their questions are often the purest kind.
- Talk of Him along the way. Scripture asks parents to speak of God when they sit in the house and walk by the way, when they lie down and rise up.
“And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”Deuteronomy 6:6-7
What the story means for the church
A church that follows Jesus cannot treat children as an interruption to the real service. They are members of the kingdom He described. That means welcoming them warmly, teaching them faithfully, giving them a voice and a place, and keeping them safe. Jesus spoke with unusual severity about anyone who would cause one of these little ones to stumble, and that warning stands behind every careful, protective practice a church keeps for its children.
“But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”Matthew 18:6
It also means that grown believers have something to learn from the children among them. When children cried Hosanna in the temple and the chief priests were offended, Jesus answered from the Psalms that God had perfected praise out of the mouths of babes and sucklings.
“And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the son of David; they were sore displeased, And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?”Matthew 21:15-16
What the story means for every one of us
Not all of us are parents, but all of us are invited to come to Jesus like children. Many people carry the opposite instinct for years: the sense that they must clean themselves up, settle their doubts, or earn a hearing before they can come to God. This passage removes that barrier. The children brought nothing. They were carried, received, held and blessed.
The New Testament goes further still. Those who receive Christ are given power to become the children of God (John 1:12), and the Spirit teaches them to call God Abba, Father. The welcome Jesus gave those children on the road is the welcome the Father gives every person who comes to Him through His Son.
“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.”1 John 3:1
How the story points to Jesus
Look at who is doing the welcoming. It is the Lord of glory, days away from Jerusalem and the cross, with every reason to be preoccupied. He stops, He is indignant on behalf of the smallest people in the crowd, and He opens His arms. The same arms would soon be stretched out on a cross, for children and for adults, for all who would come to Him with empty hands. The kingdom He describes is one that cannot be earned, only received, because He Himself paid for it.
Whatever age you are, the invitation stands. Let nothing forbid you. Come to Him as a child comes, and you will find yourself taken up in His arms and blessed.
Related passages
- Matthew 18:1-6: “At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
- Mark 9:33-37: “And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way?”
- Matthew 21:15-16: “And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the son of David; they were sore displeased”
- Psalm 127:3: “Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.”
- Psalm 8:2: “Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.”
- Deuteronomy 6:6-7: “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart”
- 2 Timothy 3:15: “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”
- John 1:12: “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name”
Questions people ask
Where in the Bible does Jesus bless the children?
In three Gospels: Matthew 19:13-15, Mark 10:13-16 and Luke 18:15-17. Mark gives the fullest account, including that Jesus was much displeased with the disciples and that He took the children up in His arms. Jesus also set a child in the midst of His disciples in Matthew 18:1-6 and Mark 9:33-37.
What does suffer the little children mean?
In the English of the King James Version, suffer means allow or permit. Jesus is saying: let the little children come to Me, and do not stop them. It has nothing to do with children suffering; it is an invitation.
Why did the disciples rebuke the people bringing children?
The Gospels do not give their reason. They may have thought a teacher on His way to Jerusalem had more important work than blessing infants, or that children did not count. Whatever they meant, Jesus overruled them at once and made the children the lesson.
What does it mean to receive the kingdom of God as a little child?
A little child receives with open hands. Children do not earn their place at the table; they trust the one who provides it. To receive the kingdom like a child is to come to God with dependence, humility and trust, receiving His grace as a gift rather than a wage.
Was Jesus angry in this story?
Mark says He was much displeased, a strong word for indignation, and it is aimed at His disciples, never at the children. It shows how seriously Jesus takes anyone who stands between a child and Himself.
Did Jesus baptize the children?
No. The passage says He laid His hands on them and blessed them. Christian traditions draw different conclusions from this story about infant baptism and dedication, and they read it in good faith. What all of them share is the plain point: children are welcome in the arms of Jesus.
What does this passage teach parents?
To bring their children to Jesus. The people in this story did not wait until their children were older or could explain the faith. They carried them to Him and asked for His touch. Parents still do that by praying for and with their children, reading Scripture together, and bringing them among His people.
What does this passage teach churches?
That children belong at the centre of the life of the church, not at its edges. A church that follows Jesus welcomes children, teaches them, listens to them and keeps them safe, because He warned that causing one of these little ones to stumble is a grave thing.
