Parenting

I'll turn to Matthew chapter 19, Matthew 19, and I want to look at verses 13-15.

Matthew 19 · chapter mention

! We've slowed down in this early part of Matthew 19, just so I think it's helpful to look at

! these things. Matthew 19 and verses 13-15 is on page 824. Jesus loves the little children.

I think it's fair to say that children in our culture occupy a position of extremes.

My children are catered for unlike any previous generation. So I think for example the massive

industry of early education, children's entertainment, all targeted at little people, aren't they?

There are lucrative targets for marketing. Food that's targeted at little children. Clothing

brands, games. And then on the other hand, many children in our day are overlooked, neglected,

and abused. Abortion. And the question that we're going to look at tonight is who will care

for the children? Who will cater for their immortal souls? Bishop Jason Ryle says, who even notices

that each infant possesses within its little body an undying principle that will outlive the pyramids

of Egypt and see the sun and moon quenched on the last day? Who will address their greatest need of all their

immortal souls? And the answer to that question is Jesus Christ. Christ, the omnipotent Son of God, and the

creator of all things, the sustainer and upholder of the universe, spends down and cuddles little babies.

It's a marvellous thought, isn't it? And it is his glory that the slightest of all

should get

particular attention.

The weakest and the most vulnerable and the most overlooked of all,

Jesus loves the little children.

Let's think about these three verses, three headings.

Bringing the little children,

forbidding the little children,

blessing the little children.

Now bring me the little children. Verse 13.

Then children were brought to him,

that he might lay his hands on them,

literally bless them,

and pray for them.

And the disciples rebuked the people bringing the children,

the parents.

Remember the context Jesus has been giving us,

the really practical teaching on the subject of marriage,

and of divorce and of singleness.

That's a really fairly obvious place to go next,

isn't it, children?

And think about who is being brought to

Jesus' children.

Little children.

The word literally here in Matthew

can refer to anything from newborn infants

to small children,

to toddlers,

and so on.

But Luke is even more explicit in his account.

He says, Luke 18, verse 15,

Luke 18:15

they will bring even infants to him

that he might touch them.

Babies in arms, presumably.

Brought by their parents

to Jesus.

And we have to ask him,

why were they brought to Jesus?

And we're told,

that he might lay his hands on them

and pray for them.

And we need to recognise

this is not like an American politician

where the baby is kind of given to the politician.

It's not like that.

It's not in a kind of,

if, let's say,

Wales won the World Cup

and I take Phoebe to Cardiff

for the open top bus parade

and I get her to be held

by one of the players.

That's not going to happen.

But that's not what's happening here either.

These are not

simple, uneducated people

coming to some well-known miracle worker,

some celebrity,

hoping that he's going to give them

some magic touch.

It's not superstitious.

If it was superstitious,

what would Jesus have done?

Jesus would have stopped them

and rebuked them

and sent them to write,

but these are

old covenant believers.

They've come to recognise

that in Jesus of Nazareth,

they've come to see who he is.

And they want to seek

his priestly benediction.

That's the word blessing.

And his blessing

on their covenant children.

So this is more than

some kind of baby dedication.

Some kind of sentimental,

well-wishing ceremony

for the kids.

What those parents desire

is a personal encounter

with Jesus Christ.

And that will issue forth

in them being blessed.

Blessed in all the fullness

of the blessing of God.

Being brought into blessing.

Salvation.

Now if that is what is happening here,

what does this account tell us

about their children?

what does this little story

tell us about little children?

Well, shoot,

it's really obvious, isn't it?

It's really obvious

that little children

need Jesus.

Little children need Jesus.

Little children have

sinful hearts.

They come into the world

with the children of Adam.

And they bear the guilt

of original sin.

There are fewer things,

aren't there,

more glorious in life

than the birth of a new baby.

A new life.

A new life brought

into the world.

And yet,

such babies,

the Bible tells us,

are born,

spiritually speaking,

stillborn.

And they come into this world

and came to them by sin.

We find that so hard

to accept,

don't they?

And so,

they come to Jesus

and they need Jesus.

You see,

to lay his hands upon them

and impart to them

spiritual life.

Let me read to you

from Westminster,

the Shorter Catechism.

wherein consists

the sinfulness

of that estate

wherein to man fell.

Here's the answer.

The sinfulness

of that estate

wherein to man fell.

This is where man fell.

Consists in the guilt

of Adam's first sin,

the want of original righteousness,

the corruption

of his whole nature,

which is commonly called

original sin,

together with all

actual transgressions

which proceed from it.

And many people

would read that

or you'd hear that

and say,

well, of course,

actual transgressions

that proceed from it.

There you go.

The little baby

hasn't committed

any transgressions.

These little babies

can't commit any transgressions

on their own.

They're so little,

beautiful,

innocent things,

aren't they?

To which,

of course,

we have to say no.

Because even little ones

have inherited

Adam's corrupt nature.

And as Paul says

in Romans 5,

Romans 5:19

verse 19,

by one man's disobedience,

the many

were made sinners.

Do you remember,

children,

we did it,

didn't we,

with the dominoes

and we did the children's talk

on that question

and one domino

sets off

all the other dominoes.

And so little children

share in the guilt

of Adam's sin,

but as Paul continues,

also by one man's obedience,

many will be made righteous.

And that's why

little children

need Jesus.

He is the man

and by his obedience

they too

can be made righteous.

So little children

need Jesus.

But we should also

see here tonight

very, very simply

that little children

should be brought

to Jesus.

Little children

must be brought

to Jesus.

It goes without saying,

doesn't it,

that little babies

cannot bring themselves

to him.

They need Jesus

to pray for them

because they cannot

pray for themselves.

Little children,

little babies

cannot pray

the sinner's prayer.

The sinner's prayer

is not what saves

either adults

or infants.

You see,

what actually saves us

is the priestly

work of the Lord Jesus.

Where we confess

that we are saved

by Christ alone

and by his life

and his death

and his atonement

and his intercession.

And he gives that

salvation

sovereignly

and graciously

to whomever he wills

and that includes

little children.

Notice here

that the ignorance

and the incapacity

of little children

is no barrier.

It's no barrier

to their personally

receiving the benefits

of the covenant

of grace.

Any more than

an adult

who's got a mental

disability

for them

to be eligible

for salvation.

You just need

to be a sinner.

A sinner.

Salvation is not

dependent upon

your age.

It's not dependent

on your earthly status.

That's the message

of the next passage,

isn't it,

in Matthew 19,

the rich young ruler.

What it depends on

is your need

of salvation

as a son

or a daughter

of Adam.

And that's not

ignoring

justification

by faith

that we are

made right

by trusting

in Christ

and declared

right by God.

That as little

ones come of age

in the Christian

home,

the reality

of their

inclusion

in the covenant

that they are

part of the covenant

people will

be seen

in them

exercising

faith and

repentance

just as

adults do.

It very well

might not be

dramatic.

But in anticipation

of that,

children must be

brought to Jesus

on the arms

of their parents'

faith.

Because if little

children are not

brought,

they never will be.

That's what we

learn about little

children in this text.

But what does it

say about parents?

Well,

parents must

believe

the promises

of the covenant

of grace.

They must

believe

the promises

of the covenant

of grace,

of God's

promise

and pledge.

These little

children are

brought to Jesus

on the arms

of their parents'

faith.

We've already

contended that

these people

were Old

Testament believers

who understood

that the covenant

of grace

extends to

their children

also.

Genesis

Genesis 17 · chapter mention

chapter 17

and verse 7.

Let me read it

to you.

And I will

establish my

covenant

between me

and you

and your

offspring after

you throughout

their generations

for an

everlasting

covenant

to be

God

to you

and to

your offspring

after you.

So I

cross the

apostle Paul

in 1

1 Corinthians 7:14

Corinthians 7

verse 14

says that the

children of

unbelievers

are unclean.

Whereas the

children of

believers are

holy.

And so what

you have in

this passage

is excellent

parental

role models.

they have

faith in

the covenant

promise and

they act

upon that

faith.

And this

faith is not

a shrink

wrapped

compartment

of their

life.

Here's my

religious life

over here

and here is

my parenting

techniques.

Their faith

is driving

their parenting.

And Christian

parents they

have liberty

conscience

like we

talked about

with dating

this morning.

Our Christian

parents have

liberty of

conscience.

We can

differ on

styles of

parenting.

That's okay.

Methods of

education.

That's okay.

Discipline.

How we

discipline.

But all

Christian parents

should be

united in

this.

They should

be united in

this that

they are

trusting the

covenant

promises of

God.

And they're

trusting the

covenant

promises of

God for

themselves.

Yes.

But also

for their

children.

And so it

follows by way

of application

parents bring

your children

to Jesus.

And that

goes for

you that

have adult

children.

I'm sure

that you do

bring them

to Jesus.

I know

that.

You bring

them to

Jesus in

prayer all

the time.

And maybe

tonight you're

saying you don't

have children

but you know

children.

let's bring

the little

children to

Jesus.

They have

immortal

souls and

they need

to be

saved.

And they

have a

mighty

saviour who

welcomes the

weakest

child.

So you

knew who was

coming.

Therefore

parents present

your children

for baptism.

Recognize

their status

as children

of the

covenant and

obtain for

them the

outward sign

and seal

of that

covenant.

You claim

that promise

and then you

bring them

up in the

training and

the admonition

of the

Lord.

Ephesians

Ephesians 6:4

6 verse

4.

Do you

believe that?

Do we really

believe that our

children are

covenant

children and

not pagan

children?

But they're

not strangers

to the covenant

promise of

Ephesians 2

Ephesians 2:12

verse 12

but rather

they are

recipients

of all

the means

of grace

bestowed upon

the Christian

home and

the visible

church.

This is what

the text says

about little

children and

about parents

but what does

the text say

about Jesus?

We'll come

back to what

I just said.

It says

that Jesus

has something

to give

little children.

Jesus has

something to give

to little

children that

the parents of

these children

cannot give.

You see

parents can

give life

can't you?

You can

make provision

you can

materially

provide for

your children

give them

sustenance.

Parents can

even bring

their children

to the

saviour.

Parents can

point their

children to

the saviour

by the means

of grace

as we've

just seen

but parents

cannot give

their children

new hearts.

Can you?

There's no

doubt that

these parents

in our

story had

themselves

put their

hands upon

the children

and prayed

for them.

But it is

Jesus' touch

that these

children need.

It is Jesus'

blessing.

It is Jesus'

intercession.

That is what

these parents

can give.

John Trapp

was a Puritan.

He had 12

children,

four of whom

died in

childhood.

And he

commented on

this passage.

He says,

we must

present our

children to

Christ by

training them

up in

God's holy

fear,

beseeching

God to

persuade their

hearts.

For we

may speak

persuasively,

but God

only persuades.

As Rebecca

cooked the

meat, but

it was Isaac

only who

gave the

blessing.

parents to

be unsparingly

active and

diligent in

the use of

means.

But they

must also

passively wait

in full

dependence and

trust upon

the Lord,

the blessing

giver, to

bestow his

salvation on

their children

in his good

time.

So much

then,

after braiding

the little

children.

Secondly,

let's move

on to

forbidding the

little children.

Let's look at

the second part

of verses

13 and 14.

the disciples

rebuked the

people.

But Jesus

said, let

the little

children come

to me and

do not hinder

them, for

such belongs

the kingdom

of heaven.

And we

read, don't

we, it's a

very strong

word at the

end of verse

13, the

disciples

rebuked

them.

That is to

say, they

rebuked the

parents who

were bringing

the children

in verse

13.

So the

amazing thing

is that here

are Jesus'

closest friends

and they

stand between

the parents

and the

source of

blessing for

their children.

I think it's

hard to

imagine a

more discouraging

thing than

verse 13.

these parents

in this

situation.

They would

scratch our

heads and

say, why

the stern

rebuke for

these loving

parents from

the disciples?

You read the

commentators,

they're all

over the map

on this.

Maybe the

disciples felt

that Jesus

was too

busy, too

important for

their own

children.

It's quite

possible.

That this

prejudice is

coming in

here.

There's lots

of talk about

the culture.

But actually

we don't have

to guess the

reason it's

given to us

in verse 14.

Jesus shows

us that

the disciples

have got a

theological

problem.

That's the

issue.

As well as

the prejudicial

one.

And their

issue is not

so much with

the parents,

but it is

with their

view of the

children.

And Jesus

shows in

verse 14

that the

disciples,

when they

rebuke the

parents,

secondly,

they forbid

the little

children.

And let

me say

that again.

The

disciples are

rebuking the

parents, but

in so doing,

what the

disciples are

doing is

they are

forbidding the

little children.

Can you see

the connection?

Jesus says,

don't hit them,

hinder them,

don't forbid

them.

That's obviously

what they were

doing.

Look closely at

what the text

says.

It says the

disciples rebuked

them, that is

the parents, but

Jesus said,

let the little

children come to

me and do

not forbid

them.

You wouldn't

say that unless

they were

forbidding them.

Because the

little children

of such is the

kingdom of

heaven.

Do you see

the implication

of what's

being said?

The disciples

are assuming

that little

children are

not of the

kingdom of

heaven.

They have a

theological

problem.

They have a

wrong theology

of little

children, if

you want to

put it that

way.

They assume

that these

little ones,

they are

incapable of

being subjects

of the

king.

They are

too little

to understand.

For what

they did not

understand, and

what they did

not reckon, is

that this

king does

not overlook

even the

weakest of

his subjects.

Even the

tiniest.

In fact, Jesus

has been

warning them,

chapter 18,

about putting

stumbling

blocks in the

way of the

most vulnerable

and overlooked

people.

You remember

back in

18, verses

5 and 6,

whoever receives

one such child,

one such little

one in my

name receives

me, but

whoever causes

one of these

little ones

who believe

in me to

sin, it

would be

better for

him to

have a

great millstone

fastened

around his

neck, and

be drowned

in the

depths of

the sea.

So take

heed.

And then

verse 10,

see to it

then that

none of you

despise one

of these

little ones.

And again,

we shake

our heads

and say

these are

short

memories,

didn't

they?

they rebuked

the parents

and the

disciples are

forbidding the

children.

And then

the disciples

are rebuked

by Jesus.

A.B.

Bruce says,

our Lord did

not thank his

disciples for

thus guarding

his person from

the intrusion

like a band of

overzealous

policemen.

Our Lord did

not thank them.

In fact,

Mark 10,

Mark 10:14

verse 14,

says that

Jesus was

greatly

displeased.

In Matthew's

account,

that kind of

displeasure is

shown by a

public

contradiction

of the

disciples'

attitude.

There they

are with

the multitude.

No,

no,

you can't

bring them

here and

Jesus cuts

them off.

It's very

embarrassing

for the

disciples.

Jesus is

most displeased

when we put

stumbling blocks

in the way of

little children

coming to him.

And again,

we say,

how can the

disciples be

so mean?

In what

ways can

each of us

do the

same thing?

How can

the little

children be

forbidden,

even by

well-meaning

disciples of

the day?

Well,

one way it

can happen

is quite

simple.

It's by

erecting

theological

barriers.

So,

it's easy

to point

a Roman

Catholic

theology.

The Roman

Catholic

catechism

says,

by baptism

all sins

are forgiven,

original

sin,

all personal

sin,

as well

as all

personal

sin.

Well,

if that

happened at

baptism,

why do you

need Jesus?

Why would

you come

to Jesus?

I grew

up as

a

Baptist.

and

children

of

believers,

if you

push them

out,

although

thankfully

their

practice

is a

lot

better

than

their

theology,

if you

push them,

children are

often regarded

as not

different

from pagans

and stators.

They can't

be saved

until they

profess faith

and are

baptised.

There's this

really mysterious

age of

accountability

that's been

invented and

seems to

change from

author to

author.

And before

which point,

before the

age of

accountability,

whatever that

is,

all children

go to

heaven.

And of

course,

Jesus might

well have

sent these

children

packing,

mightn't he?

And he

might have

said,

oh listen,

can you

bring them

back to

me when

they've

reached

the age

of

accountability?

They're

good to

go then.

Now,

what he

does is

very different

isn't it?

But closer

to home,

I think we

can adapt.

We can

adopt practical

barriers.

We run

the same

risk.

More often

than not,

we can

fail to

instruct our

children.

Remember that

baptismal vow we

ask of parents

that they will

teach their

children?

They will set a

good example.

We may of

course fall short

by neglecting to

teach them at

all.

We may

forbid the

little children

by discouraging

their involvement

in the life

of the

church.

So we

believe,

don't we,

that preaching

is a means

of grace.

It's how

God chooses

to strengthen

our faith.

And so,

as you know,

we are against

children being

sent out of

worship.

because we

want children

to have

access to

the means

of grace.

They want

to understand

everything.

This is

children's

church.

Let the

little children

come to me.

They are

covenant

members,

and as

members of

the visible

church,

and how

easy it

is to

view

children

as a

nuisance.

Listen,

1 Thessalonians

1 Thessalonians 5:14

5 verse

14,

Paul says,

we urge

you brothers,

admonish the

idle,

encourage the

faint-hearted,

help the

weak,

be patient

with them

all.

And

children

need

patience

sometimes,

don't

they?

Children

need

patience

from

parents

and the

church.

And so

when they're

being trained

for worship

and their

noisy,

we must

not

harumph.

You know,

churches,

we see that

sometimes,

when there's

a noisy

child,

and the

poor

parent

maybe

doesn't

take them

out as

quickly as

they should,

and the

person

harumphs,

or just

glances

over.

But we

don't want

that,

be patient,

chill out,

alright?

Mums,

particularly

mums,

don't feel,

don't pull

up with

harumphing.

We're

very

grateful

to have

your

children

here.

Children

need

patience

from

parents,

don't

they?

And they

need

patience

from

the

church.

I'm

probably

more

like this,

we can

forbid the

little

children

by making

the way

of Jesus

seem

unpleasant.

By

making

the way

of Jesus

seem

unpleasant.

And of

course,

I know

that the

way of

Jesus

is a

narrow

way,

and there

is a

cross

which we

must

take up

daily.

But we've

got to ask,

do our

lives and

discipline,

display great

grace to our

children,

do we show

that following

Jesus is

the best

life?

That his

yoke is

easy and

his burden

is light.

What do we

harden our

hearts against

the gospel

by legalism?

There are

little ones

out there

that have

been turned

away from

Jesus because

they've been

taught all

law and

they've not

been taught

as clearly

the gospel

of redeeming

grace.

It's

possible to

portray

God more

as a

threatening

judge than

as a

loving

father.

And if

we do

that we've

got the

gospel wrong.

Do we

model a

joyful

Christian

life and

show before

the little

ones that

the best

day of

all days

is Sunday,

the best

place to

be of

all places

to be,

is to be

with God's

people.

And the

best life

to live

is the

Christian

life.

And do

we urge

them to be

participants in

church or do

we make

it a

chore?

Do we

encourage

them simply

to be

spectators in

worship?

And all

of this is

forbidding the

little children.

Jesus loves

the little

children.

So let me

speak to the

little children

if you're

awake.

How can you

come to

Jesus?

Come to

Jesus by

going to

the places

where he

will meet

with you.

Jesus

already met

with you

when you

were

baptized.

You

don't

remember

that.

You

were

little

babies.

But now

you are

older,

you can

meet with

Jesus

when you

pray.

When you

pray you

find a

quiet place

to talk

to him.

When you

meet

Jesus

as he

reads

the

Bible.

You

read the

Bible.

Mum and

Dad,

when they

read the

Bible to

you,

what about

family

worship?

You ask

questions,

what does

that mean

Dad,

what does

that mean

Mum?

read the

Bible to

you.

When you

come here

to worship

in church,

I hope

you sing,

I hope

you pray,

I hope

you listen

well.

Because

Jesus

says,

all of

us need

to hear

this,

let the

little

children

come to

me.

And

this

is

your

church.

for

the

little

children

and

finally

blessing

the

little

children.

Let's

go back

to

verses

14

and

15.

But

Jesus

said,

let the

little

children

come to

me and

do not

hinder

them for

such

for

long as

the

kingdom

of

heaven.

And

he

laid

his

hands

on

them.

And

he

departed

from

there.

ran

away.

And

we've

seen

the

little

children

have

to

come

to

Jesus

on

the

arms

of

faith.

the

parents

disappointed.

And

the

son

of

God

bestows

on

these

little

ones

his

benediction.

He

blesses

the

little

children.

He

responds

to

the

faith

of

the

parents.

And

he

lays

his

hands

on

them.

Because

he

says,

of

such

are

the

kingdom

of

heaven.

He

doesn't

say,

theirs

is the

kingdom

of

heaven

when

they

reach

the

magical

age

of

accountability.

He

doesn't

say,

theirs

!

is the

kingdom

when

they

heaven

as

little

children.

What

does

the

kingdom

of

heaven

mean?

It

means

in

Matthew's

gospel

the

saving

rule

of

heaven

through

God's

appointed

King

Jesus

Christ.

So

to belong

to the

kingdom

is to be

a personal

subject

of

King

Jesus

Christ.

And

we

become

his

subject

not

because

of

something

we

do,

not

because

of

something

we

have

done,

rather

because

he

has

done

something.

He

has

blessed

us.

Let me

read to

you again

from

the

larger

catechism.

And let

me

read to

you

from

question

62

about

who

is

part

of

the

church.

What

is the

visible

church?

The

visible

church,

what you

can see

in a

church is

a society

made up

of all

such as

in all

ages

and places

of the

world

to profess

the true

religion

and of

their

children.

And I

put it

to you,

if Jesus

says little

children are

subjects of

his kingdom,

then they

are to be

afforded the

privileges of

the kingdom,

the means of

grace to

bring them to

a full

understanding

of the

faith.

And of

course,

I want to

argue,

don't I,

that baptism

is the

means to

admittance,

that is the

entrance point

of participating

in those

blessings.

And at

this point,

the

Baptists

will say

to me,

hang on

a minute,

there's no

mention of

water baptism.

It's not

mentioned in

this text.

Why do you

pedo-baptists

always bring

water baptism

into Jesus'

blessing with

children?

And you're

right.

But I

don't

argue with

you that

you shouldn't

expect it

to be

mentioned

because the

sacrament of

baptism

doesn't come

until Matthew

Matthew 28:19

28 verse

19,

when Jesus

institutes it.

Jesus

and this

passage is

not

illustrative

of infant

baptism,

but we

have to

say it

is

illustrative

of covenant

theology

that's behind

it.

The promise

of God.

We can

say and

argue that

all the

component

parts of

infant

baptism are

here minus

the water.

Parents

bringing their

children to

Jesus by

faith in the

promises of

the covenant

of grace.

Jesus

blessing each

child

individually,

bringing them

all the