Yeshua and the Children
Today is our Fall kick-off event, celebrating our upcoming season that places children and youth at the forefront in this church. Christianity is actually rooted in elevating children… lifting them up in importance in a time when children were seen, at least by Roman culture, as a necessary nuisance. Yeshua, on the other hand, only had the most positive things to say about children.
So let’s set the historical stage. By the time of Yeshua, the Jews were subjugated under the social rules of Roman society. Rome did not particularly have high regard for children.
It was expensive to keep children. Boys were seen as more valuable than girls and that kind of thinking has been stuck in history for a very long time. With girls you had to provide a dowry (a financial payment) to marry her off into a new family. This could add up. Having a house full of girls could be a crippling financial burden and so Rome found a way to deal with that problem.
There are documents that tell us that fathers had the right to abandon newborns, a practice known as exposure. According to Roman law (Table IV of the Twelve Tables), children born deformed were to be immediately killed and that was supported by almost all people in society. The Stoic Philosopher, Seneca the Younger, said this:
We knock mad dogs on the head, we slaughter fierce and savage bulls, and we doom scabby sheep to the knife, lest they should infect our flocks: we destroy monstrous births, and we also drown our children if they are born weakly or unnaturally formed. To separate what is useless from what is sound is an act, not of anger, but of reason.
This horrific law was meant to eliminate severely deformed children, but society always pushes the boundaries and it became somewhat acceptable (although not legally) to also abandon healthy girls and boys (under the guise of “weakness”). There they would either die or, more likely, be taken and raised as slaves. And this was much more likely to happen to baby girls than baby boys.
In the first century, child mortality rates were high. Up to 40% died before turning one… but some off that came out of the practise of exposure.
The decision to expose a newborn was fully at the mercy of the family’s father. He would instruct his wife on what action to take at the time of birth.
We have an example of a letter from the first century BC. It appears to be a letter from a father who was working in Alexandria, with friends, in order to make money for his wife and child back home. They must have been financially at risk because in the letter he says:
“I am asking you and begging you to take care of the little child and when we are paid, I will send it [the money] to you right away.
If you happen to be pregnant again, if it is a boy, leave it; if it is a girl, throw it out.”
The father of the house had complete control over every individual in his house, from wife, to children, to slaves. This was known as Patria Potestas: Absolute Paternal Authority. Children had one authority to appease: their father… if they had the pleasure of living long enough to meet him.
And this was the culture that Yeshua found Himself in when He entered the world as a newborn human. Although Yeshua was Jewish, not Roman, as an infant He found Himself at risk when Herod, out of fear of losing his power to an infant king, ordered all the baby boys to be slaughtered. When you think about it, this wasn’t all that odd of a request in Roman Society.
His parents, under the guidance of an angel, saved Him by fleeing to Egypt. Mary and Joseph were Jewish parents and the Hebrew Scriptures emphasised that children were treasures worth saving… and this stood in opposition to what Rome believed:
Psalm 127:3
Behold, children are a gift of YHWH, the fruit of the womb is a reward.
The Bible taught that children were to be educated, supported, and raised up to honour God and be respectful of both of their parents, not just their father.
However, in Jewish society, we know that children weren’t always seen as the treasures they were. The Pharisees were the rabbis… teachers of God’s Word… and in their eyes children were merely a distraction. Once they were old enough the boys could become pupils of a rabbi, but until then they were just nuisances that their mothers should attend to.
These children were not meant to be interacting with the important Rabbis, and the disciples of Yeshua sided with the Pharisees on this issue. Yeshua was their Rabbi, and so when the parents kept bringing their children to be blessed by Yeshua, the disciples tried to turn them away:
Mark 10:13-16 (see also Matthew 19:13-15, Luke 18:15-17)
And they were bringing children to Him so that He would touch them; but the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, “Allow the children to come to Me; do not forbid them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them.
To enter the Kingdom of God you have to receive the Kingdom… like a child. What does that mean?
In another instance the disciples were, yet again, seeking clarification of who was “the greatest in God’s kingdom” (this is a topic that rears its ugly head over and over). Yeshua didn’t give a direct answer to the question, but before responding he found and placed a child into the middle of the conversation… like a visual prop:
Matthew 18:1-3, 10
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And He called a child to Himself and set him among them, and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you change and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. So whoever will humble himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one such child in My name, receives Me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it is better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depths of the sea.”
Why does Yeshua want us to be like children? Is it because they are innocent and pure? Is He really asking us to be more innocent and pure, because I think that ship has sailed?
I’m sorry, but if you’ve spent any time with children, you know that they are not all that innocent. They can be manipulative, self-centered, little cave-people. And I have the right to say that because I was one!
When my grandparents died my Mum cleaned out the house and she found a stack of letters that she wrote to them when I was just a toddler. I’m going to share with you a snippet from one of those letters. For context, my Mum’s friend had a little boy named Eric, about my age, and so he was my first best friend but I, apparently, was not so friendly. Here’s a clip from the letter:
Sarah’s getting awfully temperamental when she’s with kids. I babysat her friend Eric last week and again today. Sarah was either hitting him or throwing something at him and screaming at the top of her lungs every time he picked up one of her favourite toys.
So if it’s not innocence that Yeshua is looking for, then what are the reasons that Yeshua thinks we should be like children?
First Reason: Kids are authentic
Don’t get me wrong, kids can be deceiving to get what they want, but they will always be authentic about the things they love.
I was in Charlottetown this past week, down by the water with the big 2025 sign. There’s an outdoor piano there and there was a little girl, about 4 years old plunking away at the piano and she began to sing, but it wasn’t words, it was just babbling sounds… but she was “singing” like it was the best song ever… and people stopped and watched her with huge smiles, not because she was talented or the song was good… on the contrary, it was rather terrible… but what gave all of us adults a smile was her joyous and passionate gusto about her “music”. This wasn’t about attention. She didn’t notice people paying attention to her; she had no idea she had an audience, she just sang for pure joy of singing and being creative. She didn’t care who was listening… she just wanted to raise her voice.
Most of us would worry about being off-key or being judged by the other adults around us… but this little girl had none of those worries. She didn’t care what anybody thought. She was being joyous, without fear… and absolutely authentic. And that’s exactly what Yeshua wants us to be: authentically joyous!
Second Reason: Kids are unapologetically passionate and devoted to the things they love.
One summer in my teens I had a full-time babysitting job looking after a family’s three children. The youngest, her name was Leanne, was 2 and a half years old. She was very devoted to her Mommy and so every morning, when Mom left the house, she was inconsolable. But she had one passion that would calm her down and bring her joy: Cinderella. Every. Single. Morning. We started off the day watching Cinderella on VHS because it made little Leanne so very happy. And she was unapologetic about her love. She didn’t care about the social construct that we shouldn’t watch the same thing over and over again.
To us adults that seems like a waste of time. Why watch something we’ve already seen?
But what’s wrong with watching the same thing over and over again if it gives you joy? Or reading the same novel over and over again. Why is that wrong? Who says we can re-read things we love? Shouldn’t we be reading our Bibles over and over and over again with the same joyous excitement that Leanne had about Cinderella?
Yeshua wants us to be like passionate, devoted, children… being excited about God… shouting out praise and reading our Bibles again and again like it’s the best thing ever!
One of the more overlooked child-moments in the Bible came during Yeshua’s final week. He had gone to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover and was greeted by a crowd shouting “Hosanna to the Son of David”. Who were the primary shouters of that phrase? Did you notice?… It was children:
Matthew 21:15-16
But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple area, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became indignant, and they said to Him, “Do You hear what these children are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read, ‘From the Mouths of Infants and nursing babies You have prepared praise for Yourself ’?”
Yeshua essentially was saying, “Yes! I have heard them singing this praise! Isn’t it great?! These children are joyously fulfilling scripture!”
Yeshua threw Scripture at the Pharisees, which they knew…very well:
Psalm 8:1-2
YHWH our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You who have displayed Your splendour above the heavens. From the mouth of infants and nursing babies You have established praise, because of Your adversaries, to silence the enemy and the avenger.
You see, under God’s authority, children have the power to silence the enemy! And at this moment, according to Yeshua, the Pharisees were acting like enemies… and that was not something they wanted to hear!
Third reason: Little kids are socially fearless.
We are so wrapped up in how other people see us, but young kids, they don’t care. Just like the little piano player, young kids don’t feel judgement, like we adults feel judgement. And as a result, they don’t judge others like we judge others.
James 4:12
There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbour?
Little kids rarely judge… partially because they’re so invested in their own world that they don’t have time to judge others. Maybe we should be so invested in God that we don’t have time to judge others either.
Fourth Reason: Kids are in Awe of God’s Creation
When talking about miracles, with His disciples, Yeshua made an interesting claim in His prayer:
Luke 10:21
[Yeshua:] “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for doing so was well pleasing in Your sight.”
We adults have somehow, over time, learned to be judge’y and critical… and so why should God reveal to us the miracles and mysteries of His Creation? We’ll probably just criticise it anyway.
But children? I think they see the stunning beauty of this world all the time. I remember the expression of awe and amazement when my kids tasted fruit for the first time… or saw a butterfly flutter by… or touched the soft coat of a kitten. When did we adults lose the wonderment?
And so Yeshua wants us to be child-like. Why? Because WE are the children of God:
John 1:12
But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.
We are not the Adults of God. We are His Children and it’s time to act like it. As His children we should be joyous and fearless and passionate about the God who created us and loves us:
Romans 8:14-17a
For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are children of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons and daughters by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”
The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ…
We will receive the inheritance of God… a citizen of the Kingdom where we can stand in the presence of God and see His face. And according to Yeshua, it’s children who can see the face of God, stand in His presence, and live in the shadow of His glory:
Matthew 18:10
…“See that you do not look down on one of these little ones; for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.”
I know how important it is to be responsible and pay your bills on time and do all those adult’y things… but would it kill us to be a little more child-like in our love for God? Maybe it should be the adults jumping for joy on the Bouncy Castle today. Let’s be ridiculous joyous about our love of God, without fear of judgement. Let’s be authentic in our love for Him and passionately devoted, so much so that we can’t stop praying and reading our Bibles over and over again. Let’s be in absolute awe of our Creator, like a child eating ice cream for the very first time. Yeshua meant it when He said, “whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”
Let’s not be so seriously “adult” that we forget we are God’s children. When we think about our loving, parental, God, we ought to be cheerful, bubbly, lighthearted, joyous, fearless, determined and unapologetically devoted! You are a child, so allow yourself to be one! If anyone gives you grief about “growing up”, tell them you’re just being the kid Yeshua wants you to be!
Next week: Sermon- Paul in Corinth
Hebrew Word Lessons 