Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Luke 18:15

"And they were bringing unto him also their babes, that he should touch them: but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them." — Luke 18:15 (ASV)

Jesus’ words about little children provide Luke’s second example of the attitude essential for receiving God’s grace. It is not age per se that is in view but childlike qualities such as trust, openness, and the absence of holier-than-thou attitudes. Jesus had compassion even on infants too young to understand the difference between right and wrong. In recent years we have begun to understand formally the importance of communication through touching.