Luke 18:17

17 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.

Luke 18:17 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 18:17

Verily I say unto you
, Christ takes an occasion from hence to teach his disciples humility, and guard them against pride and vanity:

whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God;
the King Messiah, the doctrines of the Gospel, and the ordinances of it, even the whole Gospel dispensation;

as a little child;
without prejudice, pride, ambition, and vanity, with meekness, and humility:

shall in no wise enter therein;
a very unfit and improper person to be a professor of the Gospel; or to be admitted to Gospel ordinances: or be a member of a Gospel church; or be reckoned a subject of the Messiah's kingdom, which is of a spiritual nature; and as he has not a meetness for, and a right unto the kingdom of glory, he shall never see it, and enjoy it.

Luke 18:17 In-Context

15 And they brought unto him also infants that he would touch them; but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them.
16 But Jesus called them unto him and said, Suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God.
17 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.
18 And a certain prince asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
19 And Jesus said unto him, Why dost thou call me good? No one is good except one, that is, God.
The Jubilee Bible (from the Scriptures of the Reformation), edited by Russell M. Stendal, Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2010