HUMAN TOUCH

Matthew’s narrative moves quite naturally from a discussion about marriage to the matter of children. It was not uncommon in Jesus’ day for people to bring their children to a recognized holy man to receive his blessing. Why, then, were Jesus’ disciples so reluctant to let the little children come to him (v 13)? We can only speculate, but the fact that beforehand they made no attempt to prevent the Pharisees coming to Jesus (v 3), and later on will do nothing to deter the approach of a rich man (v 16), suggests that they judged the children as unworthy of Christ’s attention because they were powerless and insignificant. How might we effectively ‘close off’ Christ to people as a result of blind adherence to the prevailing values and attitudes of our own societies?

Jesus’ welcoming of the children is a wake-up call to his disciples. The kingdom of heaven operates according to a completely different value system from that which has governed their lives thus far; and they now need to live out kingdom principles. To this end, they need look no further than the children before them. Jesus not only has time for them, but also holds them up as a model of the attitude required to receive his rule and so enter into true discipleship (v 14).