Title Misunderstood Heaven and Child
Contents 13 When some brought children to Jesus hoping to touch them, the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw them, he became angry and said, “Let little children come to me, and do not forbid them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such ones!” Truly I tell you, anyone who does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. 16 He took the little children, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.
1. Words that begin
A man in a car ran into water. Hesitating not knowing the depth of the water, the man asked a small child next to him. “Son, is that ditch deep?” The child said, “No. It’s very shallow.” The man believed the little child's words and drove the car. However, as soon as the car entered the water, it fell deeply. The man who barely got out of the water was angry with the child. "Hey! It wasn't deep and my car sank! Are you making fun of adults?” Then the little child tilted his head and said, “Oh, that’s strange! Before, I only had duck breasts..."
It is helpful to ask someone who can ask, and if you want to be helpful to others, you need to know one thing properly. Otherwise, good attempts will result in pain. If such a problem arises between the shepherd and the sheep, blessings and woes, eternal salvation and destruction may change. The text tells the story of Jesus' anger at the disciples who helped him.
2. Those Who Take Children to Jesus
Like people in other countries, it was customary for Jews to take their children to priests and great men for blessings. Jewish children were usually blessed by a rabbi in the synagogue, who usually placed his hands on their heads when blessing them. Therefore, it was quite possible to bring children to Jesus in hopes of touching him, who is known for touching the sick or reviving the dead.
Paidia (παιδ?α) translated as “little children” refers to children up to the age of 6-14. However, the age of the child to be blessed is not fixed, so it is not a problem. Considering the hearts of parents who love their children, it can be seen that they brought them from a newborn baby to a 14-year-old child.
On Children's Day, parents, who were unable to spend time with their children, take their children to mountains and fields, palaces and tourist attractions, theaters and playgrounds to have a great time. Or, take your children to a department store and give them expensive gifts, such as a game console worth hundreds of thousands of won. These days, there are not a few housewives who work in restaurants or police departments to take care of their children, and there are also many goose fathers who are lonely and earn money after studying abroad early.
But that's it. What happens when parents give their children an unparalleled amount of material love and devotion to caring for them, yet the problems of their children are getting worse and worse? In a word, it is not a lack of love for children, but a problem with the love of children. The right and greatest love of parents for their children is to lead them to the Lord Jesus. The really wise parents are those who are good at acting as intermediaries that facilitate the encounter between their children and the Lord Jesus.
Abraham Lincoln was born into a poor family in Kentucky. Father and mother were workers. But the mother read the Bible to Lincoln and instilled faith in her by reading it too. When his mother died when he was 9 years old, his mother died, saying, “Listen to your father and sister, love your neighbor, and fear God.” Then the stepmother came in with three children. The stepmother also raised Lincoln in the faith. The writer of Lincoln's biography put it this way: “God gave no conditions for Lincoln to become a great man. But he gave Lincoln a mother of poverty and good faith.”
How are we? May our children meet the Lord Jesus through our faith personality, our words and our actions.
3. The Disciples and Jesus' Response
The disciples did an absurd thing to stop and rebuke parents and children who came to the Lord Jesus. There is some truth to the actions of the other disciples. In their own way, they felt that the great prophet they respected had to be prevented from being disturbed or tormented by children. Also, they thought that the teachings of the gospel of Jesus had nothing to do with children. These disciples' attitudes reflect the ancient society's thinking about children. Children belonged to a fairly low class and were viewed as property at their disposal rather than individual personalities.
But Jesus' attitude toward children was completely different. When Jesus saw the disciples rebuking the children as they blocked their way, he was angry. We should know that doing what we say we do for the Lord Jesus in our own way can buy the Lord's wrath. In order to avoid such errors and the painful problems that come with them, we must pray earnestly, read the Word, listen, and meditate day and night. Should we anger the Lord by saying that we, who have been saved by the Lord's grace, help the Lord's work?
The will of the disciples and others is focused on ‘how to put into practice rational judgment first?’, and the will of the Lord Jesus is focused on ‘how to put love into practice first?’.
Jesus didn't just get angry with his disciples for stopping children from coming to him, he used them as an opportunity to teach the truth of salvation to everyone, including them. The kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven embodied by the coming of Jesus and the proclamation of the gospel, belongs to those who are like children, so do not prevent them from coming.
The saying that the kingdom of God belongs to those who are like little children is misunderstood and misunderstood. In other words, it is said that Jesus raised children's innocence, innocence, simplicity, humility, honesty, and obedience as the qualifications worthy of heaven. Or, it is said that the possibility of children's growth and change was raised. As such, all views that are understood as qualifications or elements of qualifications worthy of heaven are all wrong. Rather, it should be viewed as a manifestation of the helplessness and total dependence of young children.
Heaven, salvation, or eternal life is not obtained or entered by human effort, strength, or merit. It is only possible by believing in Jesus Christ, who has accomplished all of these things. Ephesians 2:8 declares, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.” . These words have great significance in that Paul, as the leader of Judaism, who said that he is saved by the works of the law, met and realized the resurrected Lord while persecuting and destroying those who believed and preached Jesus as the Savior.
The reason the saying that the kingdom of heaven belongs to those who are like children has been so widely misunderstood for so long is because of the saying, “Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”
Combining these two words, it has been understood that those who are worthy of or enter the kingdom of heaven are those who serve the kingdom of heaven with a pure, simple and humble heart like children, or those who serve and serve the kingdom of heaven. However, “unacceptable” in “one who does not accept” is a mistranslation. The original word is dexetai (δ?ξηται), which means “to accept”. Therefore, the correct translation should say, “Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will by no means enter it.” If so, the meaning of the exact commentary on these two verses is as follows. Those who realize that they are like little children who are not worthy or deserving of entering the kingdom of heaven, and who accept the great gift of God through the Lord Jesus, can enter the kingdom of heaven.
Here, we can discover the cause of the shocking fact that the scribes and Pharisees, who lived according to the law, failed to gain salvation, and sinners and prostitutes were saved by accepting Jesus. All attempts to obtain salvation or heaven by human power or effort, whether conscientious, ethical, or religious, are bound to fail without a single exception. If there is any other way of salvation, there is no need for Jesus, the Messiah, to come. Moreover, there would have been no need for God to make a Messianic promise.
4. Conclusion
We, who were incompetent and helpless in salvation like children, were saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ. Now, as citizens of heaven, we are living under God's love, protection, nurture, and guidance. God's love, protection, nurture, and guidance must be transmitted to our children through our faith personality and life, so that they too can meet the Lord. May we and all our children live in the arms of the Lord and receive the blessing of the laying on of hands.
(Poongseong Methodist Church. Book: Complete New Testament Commentary Series/ Interpretation of difficult scriptures/ Prayer of Prosperity/ Baking before the birth of Jesus (English, Korean)/ Sermonbook 17. 426-3051)