When the Lord Jesus returned to the people after His time of glory on the mountain, the first one He is told of helping was a child. The boy was in dreadful distress, worse than any we have known. The father grieved to see his boy suffer, and had brought him to the disciples, but they could not help him.
When the man saw Jesus, he begged Him to help; Jesus said, “Bring thy son hither.” And at the word of Jesus, the boy was made well. The father could take him home, which must have been a happy time for that family.
Little Children and Humility
Another child is told of here, not a sick child, but a little one, perhaps playing near where Jesus was. He took it and set it by Him, and said to the disciples, “Whosoever shall receive this child in My name receiveth Me ... for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great.”
The little child was not great or important, but Jesus loved it, and He wanted the disciples to be humble as a little child, and care for even the weakest ones for His sake. He wanted them not to think of their own honor or high positions, as He knew they were thinking.
How wonderful it was for that child to stand beside the Lord Jesus, and to know that He cared for him! Children now do not see the Lord on earth, but He loves all, and calls them to Him by His words, “Come unto Me,” so they can love Him. One of the disciples afterward wrote to those who did not see Jesus when He was on earth, and said,
The disciples learned to be very humble, and gave their lives for the Lord Jesus, without high positions on earth.
No Home in a World of Sin
There was one man who asked to follow Jesus, whom Jesus told that He had no home. It is not written if the man followed anyway, but Jesus’ words were: “Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head.”
A fox is a small animal and we might say of no use, except for its fur, but it has the instinct to dig a hole for itself, and the birds can make nests. Yet the Lord Jesus, who was Creator of all things, had no home on earth.
To have a home means to settle, or rest, and the Lord could not do that because of sin everywhere. He gave the people the great privilege of knowing that He would stay with them. In one village the people did not want Jesus to lodge there even for one night, and the disciples asked if they should not be destroyed, but Jesus answered,
Further Meditation
1. What did the Lord Jesus teach His disciples about the little child?
2. Our old nature loves to receive honor from others. What does it mean that we are to be “the least”? In what ways do we become “less” in our own eyes?
3. Humility has great value to our God. You might benefit by considering the subject in the small pamphlet The Beauty of Humility by G. V. Wigram.