By Russ Zacek
A scan of Luke 18 on the page in your Bible shows: “The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector” (v. 9-14), then “The Little Children and Jesus” (v. 15-17), and finally “The Rich Man and the Kingdom of God” (v. 18-29.) We naturally see these as three separate passages with different stories.
We might assume that they are disconnected and have nothing to do with each other. The Pharisee and the Tax Collector talks about a proud, religious man who praises himself to God in his prayer. He brags about what a great guy he is and how well he follows the law. Then he disparages the pathetic, sinful tax collector in his own critical assessment. On the contrary, the tax collector humbly begs God to have mercy on him and accepts that he is a sinner. Jesus teaches the listeners that God prefers the penitent sinner’s prayer to the proud pharisee’s. The next section refers to a historical incident - the crowds were bringing babies and children to Jesus. The overzealous disciples were shooing the children away from Jesus. He corrected His disciples, invited the children to come to him, and blessed them. Jesus explained that children have the right posture toward the kingdom of God, a posture of humility and reliance. LIT Fire – Russ Zacek Blog June 9, 2025 2 The third passage is about a rich, young man who had a great resume of righteousness. He had obeyed the law and wanted Jesus to rubber stamp his righteousness so he could be sure that he would inherit eternal life. Jesus confirms all his lawful behavior. Jesus then shocks the man by asking him to give up what will be hardest for him – his life of wealth and luxury. The man declines and walks away. I have been fascinated lately by the context in the gospels. The writers did not gather all the stories and assemble them in any-old order, like a pile of fortune cookies for random inspiration. The grouping is significant so God can tell us something important. In these 3 passages there are self-justified people grandstanding about their righteous deeds. But their attitudes and actions are rejected by Jesus. Each story also has a desperate, helpless, humble person or group. The tax collector is heard and blessed because he knows that God is his only hope. The disciples are blessed because they have left everything else behind to follow the Messiah. These 2 stories highlight the middle story - the children. “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Luke 18:16b
The Church has hindered little children from coming to Jesus. Adults have looked at children condescendingly. The typical view of children in the church is that they are insignificant until older, a distraction, a nuisance, not useful for ministry, not able to understand God or operate in the Holy Spirit and gifts. LIT Fire – Russ Zacek Blog June 9, 2025 3 Most of the structures in modern church are designed to segregate children, remove them from sight, placate them with entertainment and childish activities and delay their participation in the life of the church until adulthood. I call this approach, the “Incubator Model.” And I blame this unspoken but real model for the mass exodus of the next generations away from the church. The only way we could say “we don’t need you” more is to actually speak the words. This “Incubator Model” is tragic for the Church, because the upper elementary and younger middle school age kids are the most available, most teachable, most humble and greatest potential assets in the church! Take a fresh look at preteens and stretch your faith to believe that God can use them in a mighty way in your church NOW! I can show you how to make disciples with your kids and youth! Russ Zacek russ@leadersintraining.com
