Then were there brought unto him little
children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples
rebuked them. But Jesus said, Suffer
little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the
kingdom of heaven. And he laid his hands
on them, and departed thence (Matt. 19:13-15).
And they brought young children to him,
that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought
them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much
displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto
me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not
receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his arms, put
his hands upon them, and blessed them (Mark 10:13-16).
And they brought unto him also infants,
that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked
them. But Jesus called them unto him,
and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not:
for of such is the kingdom of God.
Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as
a little child shall in no wise enter therein (Luke 18:15-17).
BAPTIST
ARGUMENT:
“How does these passages teach infant
baptism? It doesn’t even mention baptism!”
(I)
Rev. Ronald
Hanko
(a)
[Source:
Sprinkling, Infant Baptism and the Bible]
[It]
is our conviction that only the teaching of infant baptism fits the doctrines
of grace and the truth that salvation is by grace alone without works. What a beautiful picture of salvation by
sovereign grace it is when a tiny infant, not even aware of what is happening
to him, receives the sign of God’s grace and salvation through the blood of
Jesus! Just as that infant receives
salvation “without his knowledge,” so also, he receives baptism as the sign of
that salvation “without his knowledge.”
All
this is the reason why Mark 10:13-16 is sometimes used a proof for infant
baptism, even though it does not mention baptism at all. The children who were brought to Jesus were infants
(in the parallel passage, Luke 18:15-17, the Greek word for an infant or baby
is used, something also suggested in Mark by the fact that these children were
“brought” to Jesus). And, without even
the possibility of any kind of believing response from them, Jesus grants them
salvation; for what else is it in being brought to Him, being received by Him,
and blessed by Him, but to be saved in Him? The argument, therefore, is that, insofar as
these infants received salvation from Him, the sign of that same
salvation should not be withheld from them.
How could it be withheld?
(b)
[Source:
Sprinkling, Infant Baptism and the Bible]
Matthew
19:13-15, Mark 10:13-16 and Luke 18:15-17
are parallel passages, though they do not necessarily all record the
very same incident:
Then were there brought unto him little
children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples
rebuked them. But Jesus said, Suffer
little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the
kingdom of heaven. And he laid his hands
on them, and departed thence (Matt. 19:13-15).
And they brought young children to him,
that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought
them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much
displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and
forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not
receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his arms, put his
hands upon them, and blessed them (Mark 10:13-16).
And they brought unto him also infants,
that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked
them. But Jesus called them unto him,
and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of
such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say
unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child
shall in no wise enter therein (Luke 18:15-17).
These
are important passages to every paedobaptist, but not because they are an
example of infants being brought for baptism.
To use the behavior of the twelve disciples at the time little children
were brought to Jesus to “prove” that the disciples were not accustomed to
seeing infants baptized, as some Baptists do, is as weak as some of the
arguments of the paedobaptists that they ridicule. None of the passages which record the
incident tell us why the disciples rebuked those who brought these children, or
give any indication that this was due to a supposed belief on the part of the
disciples that only adults could be baptized (or saved).
Nor
does any paedobaptist that we know of use these passages (Matt. 19:13-15, Mk.
10:13-16, and Lk. 18:15-17) to prove infant baptism by way of insisting that
these parents brought their children to Jesus that He might baptize them. Matthew Poole and other Baptists miss the
point entirely. The point is that these
verses prove that Jesus granted salvation to these infant children—the
salvation that baptism symbolizes—and that therefore it is not
incredible to suggest that these same infants might be able to receive the sign
of that salvation. This is an argument,
by the way, that no Baptist we know has addressed or answered—the argument from
reality to sign based on the correspondence between reality and sign.
If
the use of Matthew 19:13-15 as evidence for infant baptism shows “the absence
of stronger proof,” as one Baptist suggests, then, Watson’s argument here shows
equally the absence of stronger proof for his case. He argues fallaciously that because the Lord
did not use this occasion to command His disciples to baptize infants, or
because the disciples did not subsequently baptize these children, that
therefore infants are not to be baptized.
The point of these verses is that if infants can receive the spiritual
reality to which baptism points, then they can also receive the picture
or sign.
Indeed,
the fact that these verses prove infant salvation is only part of the argument
from these verses. Even more important
is what Jesus says about “receiving” the kingdom “as a little child.” The fact that we receive the kingdom and that we receive it as little children, both show that this is a matter of God’s sovereign
work—apart from, prior to, and not depending on any response from us. Of that, baptism is a sign. It is not,
as we have shown, a sign of faith and repentance, therefore, but of regeneration—something
that precedes both faith and repentance.
It is a sign, in other words, of how we “receive the kingdom”—not of what we do after we receive it
(i.e., repent, believe, live as disciples etc.).
Add
that to some of the other things that Jesus says about children and you have
clear proof that children can and do receive the reality to which water baptism
points. In Matthew 18, Jesus speaks of a
little child being humbled (v. 4), having Christ in him (v. 5), believing in
Him (v. 6) and being among the lost which the Son of man comes to save. These children are specifically described by
Him in the passage as “little”—literally “tiny” (vv. 6, 10)—indicating that
they were not, as the Baptists contend, children who were of an age to make a
credible profession.
Especially
what Jesus says about a little child believing in Him is important. That one statement destroys every argument
for “believer’s baptism” or that admits to baptism little children who can and
do believe! Again, we quote from Hooper:
The expression “child-like faith” has
entered common parlance as an expression of uncomplicated, unquestioning trust,
yet we find it difficult to accept that a small child is capable of
“child-like faith” toward the Saviour.
We make faith so complicated, so adult.
The Lord used children to illustrate an important point for grown-ups,
saying “Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall
in no wise enter therein (Luke 18:17; cf. Matt. 19:14 and Mark 10:15), but many
Christians show a strange reluctance to accept the full force of His
words. The kingdom of God includes
little children—the Greek word used by Luke means a babe in arms—and the
way by which they enter is the way we all must go: the way of faith. We must receive the kingdom as a little child
receives it—by simple trust in the Lord Jesus, an absolute dependence upon Him
and confidence in all that He has done for our salvation. This is the faith that is the gift of God
(cf. Eph. 2:8) and which He dispenses to whomsoever He will, including little
children. Let us never underestimate the
spiritual capacity of a little child in whom the Spirit of God is at work.[1]
To
this, we would add the fact that faith, in its deepest
reality, is not the act of believing and trusting, but union with Christ. That is why Scripture speaks so often of
believing “in” Christ, or “on” Christ or even “upon” or “into” Him. That spiritual reality can be given as easily
to a little infant of days as it can to an adult.
You
see the consequence, do you not?
Baptism, then, even in the case of an adult believer or professor, is
not marking some spiritual activity on his part, but rather his receiving the
kingdom through regeneration.
That kingdom, he receives as a little child; that is, without any
preceding activity on his part. His
faith and repentance, therefore, are not the reason for his receiving the
kingdom, but the consequence of it, and baptism marks the way he
receives the kingdom, as the sign so clearly shows. The water does not symbolize faith or
repentance, but the washing away of sins by the blood of Jesus
(justification and the washing of regeneration). To put it differently, baptism does not mark
the spiritual activity that is the result of God’s work, but the sovereign work
of God which begins our spiritual life, a work performed while we are
still like little children, unable to do anything at all even to further
that work. This is a crucial point.
All
the well-known Baptist writer, John Gill, can do with this passage is to say
that the passage is not speaking of actual infants, but of infants metaphorically,
that is, of adults who become like infants.
The passage makes it clear, however, that these were young children of
whom Jesus was speaking. Both the fact
that they were brought to Jesus and that He took them in His arms (Mark 10:16)
show that the reference to children is not metaphorical.
==========
FOOTNOTES:
1. Hooper, Believers, their
Children, and the Gospel of Sovereign Grace, p. 18.
-----------------------------------------------
(II)
(II)
Rev. James D. Slopsema
Quite
obviously Jesus blessed the children of believing parents. These parents showed
their faith in Jesus by following Him and desiring that Jesus bless their
children. Jesus complied with this request to bless their little ones because,
said He, “Of such is the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:14). In other
words, Jesus blessed these children because among these children Jesus
discerned the true seed of Abraham with whom God had established His covenant
and to whom, therefore, also the blessings of the covenant belonged. Hence, the
blessings, which God had signified and sealed in the circumcision of these
little children, Christ at this point also proclaimed to them.
-----------------------------------------------
(III)
(III)
More to come! (DV)
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