Matt. 19:14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” 

Matthew 19:14 may be the most well-known “let” verse outside of “let not your heart be troubled.” As in that verse in John 14, there is an association of tenderness on the surface that can distract from the strength underneath. By saying “let,” Jesus is acknowledging that the disciples that they had the power to keep the little ones away, but were misusing that power.

The culture in which Jesus lived considered children the least significant members of society. Certainly, the disciples thought that the children would be infringing on Jesus’ time and ministry, and wanted to “help the Lord” by keeping them at bay. But Matthew says that Jesus “rebuked them,” and Mark goes further in Chapter 10 by saying that Jesus “was indignant.” This was clearly not a minor issue for Jesus.

“Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them” means to move out of the way  and allow something to take place, in this case a genuinely spiritual event that included personal connection. The Lord had something planned for these little ones, and the disciples needed to step aside and let Him work. As often happened with the disciples, they didn’t discern what was happening, so they did something that made sense to them. (Remember Matthew 16:22, where Peter rebuked the Lord and said that Jesus’ death “shall never happen” to Him? Peter missed God’s plan bigtime here.)

How often do we insert ourselves into situations that the Lord has set up for His own purposes, and inadvertently stop Him from moving? Mostly, of course, we do this because we think we’re doing the right thing, something that makes complete sense to us. But are we doing this because we might be looking down on some folks for being less than we are (like children were in ancient Israel). Or might it be because they are genuinely less spiritually mature than we are (and therefore we think they can’t receive that much from His hand)? Jesus, as the most spiritually mature person who ever lived, didn’t think it beneath Him to minister to any segment of society; in fact, He welcomed the lowest category of human (in that society’s view) to come and receive ministry from His hand.

Can we put our desire to control aside, and let God be God without our interference? Can we “let” Him do whatever He wants with whomever He wants? Let’s ask the Lord where we might be hindering anyone in heart or action.