Luke 9:47

47 Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he took a little child and stood the child beside him.

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 followers did not understand what this meant; the meaning was hidden from them so they could not understand. But they were afraid to ask Jesus about it.

46 Jesus' followers began to have an argument about which one of them was the greatest.

47 Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he took a little child and stood the child beside him.

48 Then Jesus said, "Whoever accepts this little child in my name accepts me. And whoever accepts me accepts the One who sent me, because whoever is least among you all is really the greatest."

49 John answered, "Master, we saw someone using your name to force demons out of people. We told him to stop, because he does not belong to our group."