Section 18:15–17

People should enter God’s kingdom humbly like children

Jesus used the story of the tax collector in the previous section to teach that God accepts people who are humble. In this section he used young children to teach the same lesson. People brought their children so that Jesus could bless them. The disciples probably thought that Jesus was too busy as an important teacher to bless the children. So they tried to stop the people from bringing them, but Jesus allowed the children to come to him. He wanted to bless them. He said that the people whom God rules should be like children. The text does not say exactly how they should be like children. Some possibilities are that God’s people should have humble faith like children, they should depend on God, and they should humbly accept God’s authority to rule their lives.

It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it. Some examples of headings for this section are:

Jesus Blesses Little Children (Good News Translation)
-or-
The kingdom is for people who are like children

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 19:13–15 and Mark 10:13–16.

Paragraph 18:15–17

18:15a

Now: The event in this section may not have happened during the same time period as the preceding section. Luke may have told about it here because it illustrated what Jesus taught in that section. Luke introduces this event with a Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Now to indicate that this verse part provides background information. In some languages it may be natural to begin this section with a general time phrase. For example:

One day (New Living Translation (2004))

people were even bringing: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as people were…bringing is more literally “they were bringing.” The Revised Standard Version and several other English versions translate it that way. In some languages, it may be necessary to supply a general subject that includes both men and women. For example:

some parents (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Some people (God’s Word)

even…their babies to Jesus: The common Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as even here probably emphasizes babies. The babies were another group of humble people like the tax collector in 18:9–14. Jesus welcomed even babies, who had no status in the society. Another way to translate this emphasis in English is:

they were bringing even infants to him (Revised Standard Version)

In some languages the emphasis may be difficult to translate or it may imply a wrong meaning. If that is true in your language, you may choose not to translate this word. For example:

Some people brought their babies to Jesus (Good News Translation)

their babies: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as babies refers to infants or very young children. It was normally used of children who still needed their parents to carry them. However, it could include other young children as well.

18:15b

for Him to place His hands on them: The phrase for Him to place His hands on them tells the purpose for the people bringing children to Jesus. Other ways to translate this purpose are:

for him to touch (Revised English Bible)
-or-
so he could touch them (New Century Version)

In this context place…hands on is a symbolic action. It refers to giving a blessing. In Jewish culture, parents often brought a young child to a religious leader so that he could bless the child. When the leader gave the blessing, he would place his hands on the child’s head and pray for him.

In some areas people may not understand the special meaning of the phrase place His hands on in this context. If that is true in your area, some other ways to translate it are:

• Translate the action and make the meaning explicit. For example:

to touch them ⌊and bless them⌋
-or-
to put his hand on their ⌊heads⌋ and ask God to be good/kind to them

• Translate only the meaning of the action. For example:

to bless them
-or-
to give them God’s/his blessing
-or-
to ask God to favor them

For more information, see bless, Meaning 1, in the Glossary.

18:15c

And when the disciples saw this: The word this refers to people bringing little children to Jesus. Other ways to translate the clause are:

But when his disciples saw them doing this (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
when the disciples saw them (Revised English Bible)

18:15d

they rebuked those who brought them: The phrase they rebuked those who brought them indicates that Jesus’ disciples spoke sternly to the parents. They told them that they should not bring their babies to Jesus. For example:

they told them to stop (New Century Version)
-or-
they told the people not to do that (God’s Word)

In some languages it may be more natural to use direct speech here. For example:

…but the disciples said ⌊to the parents⌋, “Do not ⌊bring the children/babies to him⌋.”

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