Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 18:2

"And he called to him a little child, and set him in the midst of them," — Matthew 18:2 (ASV)

Jesus called a little child unto him. As the conversation was “in the house” (Mark 9:33), and that house was probably Peter’s, the child may have been one of his.

As in similar incidents (Matthew 19:13; Matthew 21:15–16), we may recognize in our Lord’s act a recognition of the special beauty of childhood, and a tender love for the gracious trust and freedom from rivalry it shows when the taint of egotism is still undeveloped.

Mark adds that He folded His arms around the child in loving fondness and, before doing so, uttered the warning words: If any one will (wishes to) be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all. A later tradition of the Eastern Church identified the child with Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, interpreting the name he gave himself, Θεοφόρος (Theophoros), in a passive sense as “one who had been carried or borne by God.” Ignatius himself, however, used it in its active sense: “one who carries God within him.”