Luke 9:47

47 Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he took a child, stood him by his side,

Luke 9:47 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 9:47

And Jesus perceiving the thought of their heart
Not by any words he had heard; for the dispute was on the road, as they came along behind him; but as the omniscient God, who is the discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, he was privy to all their ambition, and the vanity of their minds, and to all their reasonings and debates: though he was before them, and out of the reach of hearing of them: and when he came to Capernaum, after having asked them what they disputed about by the way;

he took a child and set him by him.
The Ethiopic version reads, "before them", the disciples; and Matthew and Mark say, "he set him in the midst of them"; all which were true, Jesus sitting in the midst of them; so, that the child he set by him, was in the middle of them and before them; (See Gill on Matthew 18:2).

Luke 9:47 In-Context

45 But the disciples did not know what this meant. It had been hidden from them so that they could not understand it, and they were afraid to ask him about the matter.

46 An argument broke out among the disciples as to which one of them was the greatest.

47 Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he took a child, stood him by his side,

48 and said to them, "Whoever welcomes this child in my name, welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me, also welcomes the one who sent me. For the one who is least among you all is the greatest."

49 John spoke up, "Master, we saw a man driving out demons in your name, and we told him to stop, because he doesn't belong to our group."