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.Jesus summoned them, saying, “Allow the little children to come to me, and don’t hinder them, for God’s Kingdom belongs to such as these.But 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.But Jesus called them unto him, saying, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for to such belongeth the kingdom of God.
6 sermons cite this verse
… child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Another time, one chapter later, Jesus said, let the little children come to me and do not hinder them for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. He went on in that same text to describe the angels who guard the little children who always see the face of his father in the presence of the Lord's throne in heaven as well. Mark chapter 10, verse 16, Jesus took children up into his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them. And not one time in scripture does Jesus ever confer a blessing on an unbeliever. Only those who are at that place of being his. God claims children as his. Until they get to a place of being willing to choose for themselves, they belong to him. Then they can choose as they grow to reject that love and reject that protection, reject that grace. Matthew 21, verse 16, when Jesus was being praised by children on the way to the cross, the Pharisees scolded him and said, tell the kids to shut their mouths. …
… The disciples rebuked the people. But Jesus said, Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven. And he laid his hands on them and went away. The simple reality of this passage is clear. Christ cherishes children. He loves them. He receives them. When the disciples around Jesus saw children as a nuisance to be avoided, Christ saw a treasure to be welcomed. He lays his hands on them. You can only imagine Jesus playing with them as he prays for them. The simple reality of Matthew 19, 13-15 is clear. Christ cherishes children. On the other hand, the devastating realization in our day is that where Christ cherishes children, our culture and our country murders children. A strong word, I know, but think about this with me. Every day, over 3,000 babies are aborted in our country. Every day. It means every 20 to 25 seconds, a woman lies down before a doctor who takes a beating heart from a mother's womb and intentionally brings it to an end. …
… I give praise for the young people. The scripture says, suffer the children to come unto me and forbid them not. for of such is the kingdom of heaven. And certainly we have glimpsed that on this night. To all of the members of this house, the Alfred Street Baptist Church, and to all of the friends of the body of Christ who are here tonight, even many of my personal friends and sores who are in the congregation tonight, I greet you tonight as I would any other night in the name of the creator and in the name of the Christ and in the name of the Holy Ghost. Good evening. Nowadays, anything after 5 o'clock is late for me, so the hour is late. Let us hasten to the scripture, which is taken from the Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible, Book of Esther. I'll be reading tonight from the fourth chapter of Esther, beginning at the ninth verse. Esther 4, beginning at verse 9. A familiar passage I will be reading from the new revised standard version of the book. …
But now realize here the retrospect. If He goes ahead of you, then follow Him. You love not suffering. It were not suffering if you did love it, but still, if Jesus leads, look not to the way. It were better that that way should be full of thorns and briars which would tear your flesh, and Christ be with you, than that it should be a long green pathway, and your Shepherd lead you not! Go on! He went to His sufferings without a murmur. Moreover, even His flesh shrank and, at last, He said, "Not My will, but Yours be done." Say you, the same. Dot you fear as you enter into the cloud? Within that cloud shall be the secret tabernacle of the Most High, wherein He will reveal Himself to you as He never did before! Some of us owe much to the anvil and the hammer, and the fire, much to suffering, much to trials—and we thank God we had them! And you will yet have to do the same, but, oh, stay not back! Remember, after all, a lack of resignation will not assist you in your suffering, but, on the contrary, nothing makes suffering so light as resignation to it—and a perfect acquiescence in the Divine Will does much to take away the gall from the cup! You must go where Jesus leads—go, therefore, willingly, cheerfully, trustingly and even joyfully, for it is a triumph to a Christian to bear the cross after Jesus— and to be crucified and buried with Him were a high honor to any child of God. Go on, then, for Christ leads the way! …
PEOPLE'S CHRIST.] He is a condescending Savior who took little children up in His arms and blessed them, and said, "Allow the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not: for of such is the Kingdom of God." Notwithstanding all His Glory and Majesty, He disdains not the poor and needy, and His ears are always open to the cry of the humble and contrite! He takes pity upon the prisoner, He hearkens to the wail of the sorrowful, He has respect unto the broken in heart and is always tender and compassionate to any who seek His aid. Surely this meekness of the Savior must commend the Gospel to you! Then the fourth wheel—or the fourth steed if you prefer that metaphor—is Righteousness. O Brothers and Sisters, what a righteous Savior Jesus is and what a righteous Gospel His Gospel is! A man might well fall in love with the Gospel for this reason, if for no other—that it sets forth so clearly the Majesty of Divine Justice. God determined to save sinners, yet He would not save them at the expense of justice. He delights in mercy, but He would not indulge even His darling attribute to the detriment of His righteous Law! Christ gave His back to the smiters and His cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. He hid not His face from shame and spitting. He yielded up His hands and His feet to the cruel nails, His body to indescribable pangs and His soul to agonies so terrible that He cried, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death." He bore— …
Verse 13. And they brought young children to Him, that He should touch them: and His disciples rebuked those that brought them.They thought them too little, too insignificant, and that the Master had greater things to do. But He thought not so. None are too little for Him! He receives even childish honors to Himself. 14. 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 for of such is the Kingdom of God. Many of them come into that Kingdom and all who come there must be like they. The child is not the hardest subject of conversion! No, rather— 15. Verily I say unto you, Whoever shall not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. Instead of growing wiser, in order to be fit for Christ, we must be more conscious of ignorance, more trustful towards Him, more dependent upon Him, more childlike. 16-18. And He took them up in His arms, put His hands upon them, and blessed them. And when He was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to Him, and asked Him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life. And Jesus said unto Him, Why do you call Me good? There is none good but One, that is, God. He did not here unveil His Deity to that young man, but if he had thought a while, he might have seen it. However, He answered his question. "If you are to be saved by your doings, this is what you have to do—not attend to sacraments and go through performances, but this." …