It started after Jesus performed several miracles, which should have been sufficient proof of who He was; yet, the Pharisees still asked Him in Matthew 16 to prove who He was. Some translations say they tempted Jesus, while others say they tested Him. Immediately after this, Jesus took His disciples on a two or three-day hike up to Caesarea Philippi, where He asked them, “Who do people say I am?” It was here that Peter responded, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” After everything Jesus had already done, this should have been obvious, but it seems like everyone was struggling to accept the deity of Christ.

Several more incredible things happened immediately on the heels of Peter’s confession that should have removed any remaining doubt. The transfiguration, the healing of the lunatic boy, and finding money in the mouth of a fish. It was a remarkable time of ministry. In the midst of all these miracles, Jesus told them of His impending death. For a moment, they were sad, but then, something strange happened. They began to argue amongst themselves who would be the greatest in the Kingdom that Jesus was building. They stopped thinking about Jesus and started thinking about themselves. It must have broken the heart of Jesus.

Jesus then preached an illustrated sermon that they never forgot. He sits a child in His lap and said, “If you don’t have the heart of a child, you won’t even be allowed into heaven.”  That must have stopped them in their tracks. In conversations recorded in Mark and Luke, Jesus said the same thing. If we do not have the heart of a child, we cannot go to heaven. This stands in stark contrast to the attitude of the Pharisees and Sadducees, whom Jesus often rebuked because they sought the applause of men and loved to sit in the seats of honor.

Heaven is a place reserved for the redeemed, and the redeemed are those who love, who show compassion, who serve, and who give. In an age where so much emphasis is placed on self, perhaps we also need to be reminded of what life is all about and what it takes to get to heaven. According to Jesus, we must have the heart of a child.