Finally, the largest group of all. A large crowd was standing around as observers (Matthew 19:2). They weren’t trying to stop children from coming near to Christ, but they weren’t trying to help them either.
These onlookers were not concerned either way. They were following Jesus for their own benefit, hoping to hear some of His teaching and possibly observe or even experience His miraculous healing. Children were apparently nonentities. This largest group of people in the story is completely uninterested.
Today, this largest group in Matthew’s account is also the largest group in the church. People in that group have a variety of reasons for not being involved in the lives of children in the church or in the community around them.
During my years of ministry, I have labeled some of these groups:
“We Paid Our Dues” – Some older church folks are quick to tell you that they paid their dues back in the day. They taught Sunday school for years. (Some in this group used to point out to me that they were teaching children before I was even born. I’m getting older, so I don’t hear that as much 
)
Scholars – These intellectuals prefer working with people who are able to understand deep ideas and make important decisions. Children cannot really grasp spiritual truths.
Narcissists – Many people are just too self-absorbed and not at all interested in serving anywhere. Many in this group are young people, and many are also members of the Scholars group.
“We Need a Break” – Individuals in this category are often parents, especially mothers who are with their children all week long and need a break. Also in this group are teachers who teach all week and need the weekend off.
Machismo – Too many men have been taught that working with children is for women. Some Christian men have even been taught by the church that they are to earn the money while their wife raises the children. These men have also been convinced that they should do the important ministry in the church like parking, ushering, and counting the offering so that the women can do the little things like teach the children and share the gospel with them.
In my experience, these four groups of people we find in Matthew 19:13-15 exist today:
- Children
- Those bringing the children
- Those trying to keep the children from being brought to Jesus
- Those standing around doing nothing
What was true about people in Jesus’ day remains true today. However, we who are children’s ministry leaders or Sunday school teachers can find inspiration and motivation from the central figure in the passage: Jesus Himself.
Jesus and the Call
Towering over Matthew’s account is the Person of Jesus Christ, and He rebuked the disciples for hindering the children. The disciples had not understood Jesus’ priorities.
The Twelve thought that key to reforming and transforming Israel was influencing the powerful—the leaders in Jerusalem, the men in high-society positions, and other pillars of influence. The disciples were certain that the kingdom of God would come through the world’s avenues of power.
Yet Jesus repeatedly worked in the backwater of Palestine with people on the margins of society. There Jesus gathered the children, laid His hands on them, and prayed for them. Jesus understood the importance of touching the lives of children.
As Geoffrey Bromiley, one of my former professors, a noted church historian, and a translator of German theology books, said, “A characteristic feature of the ministry is the importance [Jesus] attaches to the child and to children” (Bromiley, et al., vol. 1, 646).
Jesus loves us and gave His life for each and every one of us, including the smallest child.
Furthermore, Jesus desires each one of us to come to Him as a child. Jesus urges us to reach out with the love of Christ to children around our world. He wants us to extend His love and grace and to welcome into His family everyone who will come.
May the love and grace we have received and continue to receive from Jesus spur us on to invite the children of the world to join us in His family. This is the vision Jesus gave His disciples in Matthew 28, where we turn next.