Scripture referenced 8 passages
The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
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Luke 18:15-17 primary text on people bringing babies to Jesus and the disciples rebuking them
15 They were also bringing their babies to him, that he might touch them. But when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them.
16 Jesus summoned them, saying, “Allow the little children to come to me, and don’t hinder them, for God’s Kingdom belongs to such as these.
17 Most certainly, I tell you, whoever doesn’t receive God’s Kingdom like a little child, he will in no way enter into it.”
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Keep this verse
Luke 18:17
repeated for emphasis: receiving the kingdom of God like a child
17 Most certainly, I tell you, whoever doesn’t receive God’s Kingdom like a little child, he will in no way enter into it.”
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Ephesians 2:8-9
cited as Paul's words on salvation by grace through faith as a gift, not works; attributed as 'Ephesians eight through nine'
8 for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9 not of works, that no one would boast.
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Luke 18:10-14
parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, illustrating self-righteous works-based thinking
10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray; one was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector.
11 The Pharisee stood and prayed to himself like this: ‘God, I thank you, that I am not like the rest of men, extortionists, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
12 I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I get.’
13 But the tax collector, standing far away, wouldn’t even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’
14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
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Luke 14
parable of the wedding feast, lesson about not taking the seat of honor
1 When he went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees on a Sabbath to eat bread, they were watching him.
2 Behold, a certain man who had dropsy was in front of him.
3 Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”
4 But they were silent. He took him, and healed him, and let him go.
5 He answered them, “Which of you, if your son or an ox fell into a well, wouldn’t immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?”
6 They couldn’t answer him regarding these things.
7 He spoke a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the best seats, and said to them,
8 “When you are invited by anyone to a marriage feast, don’t sit in the best seat, since perhaps someone more honorable than you might be invited by him,
9 and he who invited both of you would come and tell you, ‘Make room for this person.’ Then you would begin, with shame, to take the lowest place.
10 But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes, he may tell you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you.
11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
12 He also said to the one who had invited him, “When you make a dinner or a supper, don’t call your friends, nor your brothers, nor your kinsmen, nor rich neighbors, or perhaps they might also return the favor, and pay you back.
13 But when you make a feast, ask the poor, the maimed, the lame, or the blind;
14 and you will be blessed, because they don’t have the resources to repay you. For you will be repaid in the resurrection of the righteous.”
15 When one of those who sat at the table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is he who will feast in God’s Kingdom!”
16 But he said to him, “A certain man made a great supper, and he invited many people.
17 He sent out his servant at supper time to tell those who were invited, ‘Come, for everything is ready now.’
18 They all as one began to make excuses. “The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please have me excused.’
19 “Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I must go try them out. Please have me excused.’
20 “Another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I can’t come.’
21 “That servant came, and told his lord these things. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor, maimed, blind, and lame.’
22 “The servant said, ‘Lord, it is done as you commanded, and there is still room.’
23 “The lord said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
24 For I tell you that none of those men who were invited will taste of my supper.’”
25 Now great multitudes were going with him. He turned and said to them,
26 “If anyone comes to me, and doesn’t disregard his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he can’t be my disciple.
27 Whoever doesn’t bear his own cross, and come after me, can’t be my disciple.
28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, doesn’t first sit down and count the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it?
29 Or perhaps, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, everyone who sees begins to mock him,
30 saying, ‘This man began to build, and wasn’t able to finish.’
31 Or what king, as he goes to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?
32 Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends an envoy, and asks for conditions of peace.
33 So therefore whoever of you who doesn’t renounce all that he has, he can’t be my disciple.
34 Salt is good, but if the salt becomes flat and tasteless, with what do you season it?
35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile. It is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
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Luke 14:11
those who exalt themselves will be humbled; those who humble themselves will be exalted
11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
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Luke 9:46-48
disciples arguing about greatness; Jesus places a child beside him and says the least is the greatest
46 There arose an argument among them about which of them was the greatest.
47 Jesus, perceiving the reasoning of their hearts, took a little child, and set him by his side,
48 and said to them, “Whoever receives this little child in my name receives me. Whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For whoever is least among you all, this one will be great.”
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Luke 18:18-27
rich ruler asking what he must do to inherit eternal life; camel through the eye of a needle
18 A certain ruler asked him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
19 Jesus asked him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good, except one—God.
20 You know the commandments: ‘Don’t commit adultery,’ ‘Don’t murder,’ ‘Don’t steal,’ ‘Don’t give false testimony,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’”
21 He said, “I have observed all these things from my youth up.”
22 When Jesus heard these things, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have, and distribute it to the poor. You will have treasure in heaven. Come, follow me.”
23 But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was very rich.
24 Jesus, seeing that he became very sad, said, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter into God’s Kingdom!
25 For it is easier for a camel to enter in through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into God’s Kingdom.”
26 Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?”
27 But he said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”
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Recap
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
The message centered on Luke 18 and what Jesus means when He says the kingdom of God must be received like a little child. The surrounding passages in the same chapter, the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector before, and the story of the rich ruler after, frame the children story from both sides and help explain why that comparison matters. The core point is that the kingdom of God is a gift, and there is nothing any person can do to earn it.
What was said
Pastor started by asking what Jesus actually means by "the kingdom of God." He described it as everything Christians and people are imperfectly striving for: Jesus himself, the fellowship of those being shaped by Him, a kind of asylum for the soul, heaven, and eternity all together. With that definition in place, the weight of Jesus saying no one will receive it unless they receive it like a child becomes much heavier.
The next question was what it means to receive something like a child does. He pushed back on the idea that Jesus is pointing to children's innocence or lack of sin, noting that children had no special status or sentimental value in New Testament society. The real point, he argued, is simpler: children have not yet had the chance to merit anything. If a child receives something, it can only be as a gift.
The parable just before the children story in Luke 18 puts one kind of obstacle on display. The Pharisee stands in prayer and effectively presents God with a list of his own good deeds, already convinced he has earned his standing. That ditch, the self-righteous belief that good behavior adds up to salvation, is not limited to ancient Pharisees. He connected it directly to the common sentiment he has heard from friends, and used to hold himself, that being a good person is what gets someone into heaven.
The story directly after the children passage shows a different obstacle. The rich ruler asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life, and the keyword is "do." Jesus tells him to sell everything and give it to the poor, not as a general rule but because He knows this man's wealth is the specific thing blocking him from trusting in a gift he cannot buy or earn. A short video of a social experiment, a homeless man trying to give money to passersby who refused it, illustrated how pride and self-worth tied to wealth make it genuinely hard to accept something freely given.
Both stories point to the same impossibility from opposite directions. The Pharisee believes he has already earned his way in. The rich ruler believes there must be something he can do to earn it. Jesus responds to the disciples' question about who then can be saved by saying what is impossible with man is possible with God, because the perfect life and atonement have already been accomplished in Jesus. The works required have been done; what remains is to receive the result as a gift.
He closed by acknowledging that accepting gifts is genuinely difficult. When someone receives something they feel they do not deserve, the instinct is often to give it back or make it up somehow. But when you are the one giving, that guilt is never your intention. The intention is to express love, and that, he said, is exactly why God has given the gift of His grace. Paul, who stood by while Stephen was stoned and spent his early life persecuting Christians, received that same gift on the road to Damascus without any past deeds to recommend him, and accepted it anyway.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
- The preacher described the kingdom of God as 'asylum for your soul,' as heaven, as eternity, and as Jesus himself in person. What does that description stir up in you, and does any part of it surprise you?
- The preacher pointed out that children in New Testament society had no status and were not revered the way they are today. How does knowing that change the way you hear Jesus saying the kingdom of God belongs to 'such as these'?
and 3 more questions in the guide
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