The Gospel According to Luke - Luke 18:15-18

14 September 2026

In this sermon, Jonathan explores what Jesus's welcome of children in Luke 18:15-17 reveals about the nature of God's kingdom and how people must enter it. He structures the message around three questions: whom are we bringing to Jesus, whom are we hindering from Jesus, and how must we come to Jesus. The sermon shows how people brought infants to Jesus seeking his blessing, but the disciples rebuked them—until Jesus called the children to himself and declared that the kingdom belongs to those who receive it like a child. Jonathan emphasizes that entry into God's kingdom is not earned through qualifications or righteousness but received as a gift. Drawing on the imagery of dependent infants, he urges listeners to come empty-handed, laying down their self-sufficiency and self-righteousness, and to trust wholly in what Christ has accomplished rather than what they can contribute. The sermon concludes with both a warning and an invitation: those who have truly received the kingdom must do so with the receptive dependence of a child, not relying on their own spiritual achievements or faith's strength, but on Christ's sufficiency alone.

Listen to the sermon