Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

' teachings referring to little children (, ''paidíon'') and infants/babies appear in a few places in the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

and in the non-canonical

Gospel of Thomas The Gospel of Thomas (also known as the Coptic Gospel of Thomas) is a non-canonical Logia, sayings gospel. It was discovered near Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in 1945 among a group of books known as the Nag Hammadi library. Scholars speculate the works ...

New Testament

The

King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version (AV), is an Early Modern English Bible translations, Early Modern English translation of the Christianity, Christian Bible for the Church of England, wh ...

Matthew's gospel The Gospel of Matthew is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells the story of who the author believes is Israel's messiah ( Christ), Jesus, his resurrection, and his mission to the ...

(

chapter 18 Chapter Eighteen refers to an eighteenth chapter Chapter or Chapters may refer to: Books * Chapter (books), a main division of a piece of writing or document * Chapter book, a story book intended for intermediate readers, generally age 7–10 * ...

) relates that: The word translated as ''converted'' in the King James Version (, ''straphēte'') literally means 'turn'. It is translated as "turn" in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

and

American Standard Version The American Standard Version (ASV), officially Revised Version, Standard American Edition, is a Bible translation into English that was completed in 1901 with the publication of the revision of the Old Testament. The revised New Testament had ...

s and as "change" in the

New International Version The New International Version (NIV) is a translation of the Bible into contemporary English. Published by Biblica, the complete NIV was released on October 27, 1978, with a minor revision in 1984 and a major revision in 2011. The NIV relies ...

. Elsewhere in the New Testament, the change of heart demanded by

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

and by Jesus often uses the word ''metanoia'' (). German theologian

Heinrich Meyer Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer (10 January 1800 – 21 June 1873) was a German Protestant divine. He wrote commentaries on the New Testament and published an edition of that book. Biography Meyer was born in Gotha. He studied theology at Jena, was ...

suggests that Jesus' challenge to his

disciples A disciple is a follower and student of a mentor, teacher, or other figure. It can refer to: Religion * Disciple (Christianity), a student of Jesus Christ * Twelve Apostles of Jesus, sometimes called the Twelve Disciples * Seventy disciples in t ...

is to "turn round upon heroad, and to acquire a moral disposition similar to the nature of little children". The

Kingdom of Heaven Kingdom of Heaven may refer to: Religious * Kingdom of Heaven (Gospel of Matthew) **Kingship and kingdom of God, or simply Kingdom of God, the phrase used in the other gospels * Kingdom of Heaven (Daviesite), a schismatic sect, founded by Will ...

is compared to little children at other places in the

: * * * *

Gospel of Thomas

Another saying referring to small children can be found in the non-canonical

. The two passages (Matthew 18:1-6 and the passage in ''Thomas'') are different in tone. However, both start by comparing those who enter the Kingdom of Heaven to children, and then make references to ''eyes, hands,'' and ''feet''. In Matthew, Jesus suggests that these offending parts should be "cut off," whereas the passage in ''Thomas'' takes a different tone in describing spiritual cleansing and renewal: From the

Commentary

Cornelius a Lapide Cornelius Cornelii a Lapide (''né'' Cornelis Cornelissen van den Steen; 28 December 1567 – 12 March 1637) was a Flemish Catholic priest. He was a Jesuit and exegete of Sacred Scripture. Life Lapide was born in Bocholt, Belgium. He studied hu ...

makes the following note in his ''Great Commentary'':

Christ bids us become like little children. Briefly, and to the point, does St.
Hilary of Poitiers Hilary of Poitiers (; ) was Bishop of Poitiers and a Doctor of the Church. He was sometimes referred to as the "Hammer of the Arians" () and the " Athanasius of the West". His name comes from the Latin word for happy or cheerful. In addition t ...
sum up their characteristics which ought to be imitated by believers. “They,” he says, “follow their father; they love their mother: they wish no evil to their neighbour; they regard not the care of riches; they are not wont to be insolent, nor to hate, nor to tell lies. They believe what they are told; they regard as true what they hear. Let us return, therefore, to the simplicity of little children, for when we have that, we bear about with us a likeness of the Lord’s humility.”

Friedrich Justus Knecht Friedrich Justus Heinrich Knecht (7 October 1839 – 31 January 1921) was a Catholic Church in Germany, German Catholic theologian and writer who served as Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Freiburg, Auxiliary Bishop of Freiburg from 1894 until his ...

comments on the phrase “Suffer little children to come unto Me:”

This command was given for all times. Parents, and those who represent them, ought to bring their children to Jesus; they ought to take care that they are, first of all, admitted into the Church by holy Baptism; that they learn to know and love Him by means of a Christian education; and that, as soon as they are capable of receiving it, they are united to Him by Holy Communion, and strengthened in virtue by the imposition of hands and anointing of Confirmation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Little Children Sayings of Jesus Gospel of Matthew Gospel of Luke Children

New Testament

Gospel of Thomas

Commentary

See also

Further reading

References