Matthew 19:13-14

Jesus and Little Children

19:13 Then little children were brought to him for him to lay his hands on them and pray. ¹  But the disciples scolded those who brought them. ²  19:14 But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not try to stop them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” ³ 

Matthew 19:1

Questions About Divorce

19:1 Now when ⁴  Jesus finished these sayings, he left Galilee and went to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan River. ⁵ 

Matthew 3:7

3:7 But when he saw many Pharisees ⁶  and Sadducees ⁷  coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

Jeremiah 1:7

1:7 The Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ But go ⁸  to whomever I send you and say whatever I tell you.

Mark 9:36-37

9:36 He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, 9:37 “Whoever welcomes ⁹  one of these little children ¹⁰  in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”

[19:13]  ¹ tn Grk “so that he would lay his hands on them and pray.”

[19:13]  ² tn Grk “the disciples scolded them.” In the translation the referent has been specified as “those who brought them,” since otherwise the statement could be understood to mean that the disciples scolded the children rather than their parents who brought them.

[19:14]  ³ sn The kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. Children are a picture of those whose simple trust illustrates what faith is all about. The remark illustrates how everyone is important to God, even those whom others regard as insignificant.

[19:1]  ⁴ tn Grk “it happened when.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[19:1]  ⁵ tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity. The region referred to here is sometimes known as Transjordan (i.e., “across the Jordan”).

[3:7]  ⁶ sn Pharisees were members of one of the most important and influential religious and political parties of Judaism in the time of Jesus. There were more Pharisees than Sadducees (according to Josephus, Ant. 17.2.4 [17.42] there were more than 6,000 Pharisees at about this time). Pharisees differed with Sadducees on certain doctrines and patterns of behavior. The Pharisees were strict and zealous adherents to the laws of the OT and to numerous additional traditions such as angels and bodily resurrection.

[3:7]  ⁷ sn The Sadducees controlled the official political structures of Judaism at this time, being the majority members of the Sanhedrin. They were known as extremely strict on law and order issues (Josephus, J. W. 2.8.2 [2.119], 2.8.14 [2.164-166]; Ant. 13.5.9 [13.171-173], 13.10.6 [13.293-298], 18.1.2 [18.11], 18.1.4 [18.16-17], 20.9.1 [20.199]; Life 2 [10-11]). See also Matt 16:1-12; 22:23-34; Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-38; Acts 5:17; 23:6-8.

[1:7]  ⁸ tn Or “For you must go and say.” The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) is likely adversative here after a negative statement (cf. BDB 474 s.v. כִּי 3.e). The Lord is probably not giving a rationale for the denial of Jeremiah’s objection but redirecting his focus, i.e., “do not say…but go…and say.”

[9:37]  ⁹ tn This verb, δέχομαι (decomai), is a term of hospitality (L&N 34.53).

[9:37]  ¹⁰ sn Children were very insignificant in ancient culture, so this child would be the perfect object lesson to counter the disciples’ selfish ambitions.