The three synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) record a brief episode in which some children are brought to Jesus. This is how Mark relates it: "They were bringing little children to him that he might take them in his arms; but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw it, he was angry and said to them, 'Let the children come with me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a child will not enter it.' And embracing them, he blessed them and laid his hands on them." (Mk 10:13-16). Another very similar scene shows Jesus taking a child and setting him as an example for his disciples, for they were disputing about who was the greatest among them: "For whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (Mt 18:4).
Jesus and the children
Children often appear as protagonists in the Gospel. They are an example for "this unbelieving generation," which resembles those who do not respond to the children's invitation to sing (cf. Mt 11:16-17; Lk 7:32). The praise of the children when Jesus enters the Temple outrages the chief priests and the scribes, and Jesus comes to the defense of this sincere and simple praise of the little ones (cf. Mt 11:25), reminding them of the Scriptures: "Have ye never read, 'Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast prepared praise'?" (Mt 21:16; cf. Ps 8:2).
Jesus also fed the children in the multiplication of the loaves and fishes (cf. Mt 14:21; 15:38). The Master is their most courageous defender against those who mistreat them, even by their bad example: "Whoever scandalizes one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck, the kind that moves a donkey, and to be sunk to the bottom of the sea." (Mt 18:6). Finally, Jesus exults in thanksgiving, because the little ones are the recipients of the revelation of God the Father (cf. Mt 11:25).
Jesus and the parents
The episode we are commenting on, in Matthew and Mark, follows Jesus' teaching on the indissolubility of marriage. This sequence is significant: once the man and the woman are united forever in marriage, the children, the fruit of this union, appear on the scene.
Although the evangelist does not indicate who brings these children close to Jesus, the previous episode seems to indicate it: the parents.
There are several miracle stories in which we see parents pleading with Jesus to heal their children. Jesus cured the son of the royal official (cf. Jn 4:46-54); he cast out the demon from the daughter of the Syrophoenician woman (cf. Mk 7:24-30); and the mute demon from the boy whose father came to Jesus almost in despair begging him to cure him (cf. Mk 9:14-29); he raised Jairus' daughter from the dead (cf. Mk 5:21-42). In all these episodes, at some point in the narrative, the terms indicating "boy" or "girl" are used (in Greek, paidíon, thygátrion): they are not intended to indicate the precise age (only in the case of Jairus' daughter it is said that she was twelve years old), but how their parents see them: they are "their children" who are dying.
And so the fame of Jesus who healed the weakest, including children, grew. It is easy to imagine, therefore, parents bringing their young children, still weak, to Jesus so that he would bless them, so that, with the imposition of his hands, or just by touching them, he would protect them from illnesses and from the power of the evil one.
Jesus and the disciples
Jesus' teaching to his disciples in this context is of great significance. Jesus comes to "get angry" (v. 14) because the disciples rejected the children who came to him. We may be surprised by this attitude of the Master. What sense can it make?
Jesus is the true King and Messiah of Israel. He inaugurates the Kingdom of heaven and asks his disciples to proclaim its coming (cf. Mt 10:7). A sign that this Kingdom has arrived are the children, seen in their essential condition: they are small, weak, dependent in everything on the care of their parents. In this sense, Jesus identifies with them: "Whoever receives one of these children in my name receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me, but him who sent me." (Mk 9:37). Jesus addresses the Father by calling him Abba (Mk 14:36), with the babbling of a child calling out to his father. We could say that he is the least in the kingdom of heaven (cf. Mt 11:11). The essential condition of the child is that of Jesus in his intimate relationship with his Father. One can better understand the gravity of preventing children from approaching Jesus. It is like preventing them from approaching God. Even more: it is like separating Jesus himself from his Father God. Deep down, without realizing it, the disciples were rejecting Jesus by preventing the children from approaching him.
It is moving to look at Jesus surrounded by children, playing with them, smiling at them, asking them their names, their age...; instructing them to be good children of their parents, good brothers and sisters...; and speaking to them about their Father in Heaven. An earthly and heavenly scene at the same time: that moment was a clear manifestation of what the Kingdom of Heaven will be like on earth, and a reflection of what that kingdom will be like in the hereafter for those who on earth have behaved like children before God.
Professor of Sacred Scripture
