Hope is Here / 12. Hope is Here // 3 Jesus and the Children - Matt Carvel // Matthew 19:13-15

12. Hope is Here // 3 Jesus and the Children - Matt Carvel // Matthew 19:13-15

In the passage this week we hear a story of children being brought to Jesus so that He could lay His hands on them. Firstly what we can see is how the people wanted to bring their children to Jesus, showing His kindhearted nature. The disciples tried to turn them away but Jesus wanted to pray for the children. In that society, children had very little value and so when Jesus did this He was challenging a social norm. This is a repeated theme throughout Jesus's life, He comes to the people who are overlooked and marginalised.
Jesus says to the disciples, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” In doing this He is pointing us towards a greater truth about the nature of his Kingdom. If we look at the whole of Matthew 18 and 19 for context we see that Jesus speaks a lot about judgement, faith and eternity. Over and over He challenges the views that people have about what the Kingdom is like and how to enter. He is trying to get them to see that it’s impossible without God. We have to be childlike and learn dependency, humility and helplessness before God.
The more mature we become the more we realise that we need to rely on Him because we can’t do it in our strength, we need His help. Counter-culturally, we need to believe in Christ and not ourselves. We can’t lean on our own experience, gifting and knowledge, but on the Lord who is the upholder of our lives. He richly supplies encouragement and help and we are invited to draw from His abundant goodness daily. When we are doing well and when we are struggling, we need Him all of the time.
Jesus laid His hands on the children and prayed for them. When we come before god, knowing our need, we place ourselves under the hands that were nailed to the cross. He purchased our forgiveness so that we are free to live under the blessing of the gospel.

Application
Begin the day with prayer, bringing everything to God and asking for his help.
Have humility and learn to be more and more dependent, like a child, because the most helpless are the most helped and these are the most effective.
Don’t lean on your abilities to save you but trust that Jesus did enough when He bought your forgiveness on the cross.

More Episodes

  • 17.Easter Sunday // Starting Again - Joel Virgo // Matthew 28:1-15

    In the final passage of our Hope Is Here Series, we look at how Jesus’ resurrection makes a difference to us in our lives today.
    The guards at Jesus’ tomb had an extraordinary encounter with an...

    Show episode   34:44

  • 16.Hope is Here // 12 The Cross - Tobi Ford-Western // Matthew 27:27-50

    Summary:
    The cross represents different things to different people, to some it symbolises Christianity, to others, crucifixion, and others Jesus Himself. While the cross displays many things,...

    Show episode   39:47

  • 15.Hope is Here // 11 Gethsemane - Matt Carvel // Matthew 26:30-56

    The word ‘Gethsemane’ is derived from two Hebrew words: gat, which means "a place for pressing oil (or wine)" and shemanim, which means "oils." During Jesus' time, heavy...

    Show episode   34:32

  • 14.Hope is Here // 10 The Lord's Supper - Joel Virgo // Matthew 26:17-35

    In the passage this week, we read about the last night before the crucifixion. This is the crisis point that the story has been building up to. The disciples have been repeatedly told that Jesus is...

    Show episode   35:24

  • 13.Hope is Here 9 // Jesus Curses The Fig Tree - Tobi Ford-Western // Matthew 21:12-14, 18-22

    Summary:
    In this week’s passage, after throwing the people out of the temple Jesus came across a fig tree with no fruit on it and cursed it so that it withered. It would be easy to get the...

    Show episode   38:42

  • 12.Hope is Here // 7 The Cleansing of the Temple - Joel Virgo // Matthew 21:12-17

    Throughout the bible, we see God’s people taking the gifts that God has given then and using them to be a means of privilege. For example, the sabbath was intended to be a gift of rest but it was...

    Show episode   35:08

  • 11.Hope Is Here // 6 The Triumphant Entry - Tobi Ford-Western // Matthew 21:1-11

    Summary
    This week’s passage tells the story of Palm Sunday and Jesus’ return to Jerusalem. We know that it is an important story because it is written about in all four gospels.
    In...

    Show episode   38:21

  • 10.Hope is Here // 5 What do you want? // Application

    Application of the sermon: https://youtu.be/16w9LYvEhck

    Show episode   05:04

  • 09.Hope is Here // 5 What do you want? - Joel Virgo // Matthew 20:17-34

    Recap:
    In Matthew 17 we read about the transfiguration where the voice of God says, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” After witnessing this, it would be fair...

    Show episode   34:11

  • 08.Application // The Temple Tax // Matthew 17:24-27

    From the sermon:
    https://youtu.be/3mDd4eKrdLU

    Show episode   04:31

  • 07.Hope is Here // 4 The Temple Tax - Matt Carvel // Matthew 17:24-27

    In this week’s passage, Peter is asked if Jesus pays taxes. As laid out in Exodus 30, the Israelites paid tax for the upkeep of the tabernacle and this seems to have been carried over and applied to...

    Show episode   33:10

  • 06.Hope is Here // 3 Jesus and the Children - Matt Carvel // Matthew 19:13-15

    In the passage this week we hear a story of children being brought to Jesus so that He could lay His hands on them. Firstly what we can see is how the people wanted to bring their children to Jesus,...

    Show episode   32:23

  • 05.Hope is Here // Jesus heals a Boy with a Demon Q and A Live

    Following the evening service, Tobi Ford-Western and Joel Virgo engaged in a live Q and A around the Sunday passage from the Matthew teaching series

    Show episode   24:05

  • 04.Application // Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon // Matthew 17:14-20

    Summary and discussion questions from the talk:
    https://youtu.be/udhX9wJDs9Y

    Show episode   04:53

  • 03.Hope is Here // 2 Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon - Tobi Ford-Western // Matthew 17:14-20

    In the passage this week, we read the story of Jesus healing a boy with a demon. Firstly, we see the contrast between the transfiguration in the previous verses, with the chaos of fallen humanity...

    Show episode   37:11

  • 02.Application // The Transfiguration // Matthew 17:1-9

    Summary and discussion questions from the talk:
    https://youtu.be/bu3wCl9gxrs

    Show episode   06:01

  • 01.Hope is Here // 1 The Transfiguration - Joel Virgo // Matthew 17:1-9

    This Sunday we began our new spring term series ‘Hope Is Here’. We will be looking at the book of Matthew from where we previously left off as a church, launching into chapter 17.
    Often in our...

    Show episode   40:46