People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. 16 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. 17 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” (NIV)
98% of the lives of adults are lived on autopilot. What are some things we tend to do on autopilot?
Young children aren’t yet living on autopilot. What advantages does that give them? What freedoms do children have that older people often don’t have?
Why do you think the disciples rebuked the people who were bringing babies to Jesus? What might they have been thinking?
Why did Jesus delight so much in children? What does that communicate about Jesus?
This story is followed by a story where Jesus might seem very different from how he was with the children. In Luke 18:22, Jesus told a rich man that in order to have eternal life he needed to sell everything he had and give his money to the poor. This appears to contradict the freedom and love that Jesus offered to the children. Talk about how Jesus is actually consistent in both stories in his offer of a life of freedom.
How did Jesus’s life and death redefine what it means to be free?
What does it mean to “receive the kingdom of God like a little child”?What could help us do that?
What did you sense God saying to you through this message?
