The Good News is...  protection & care for the vulnerable 

Matthew 19:13-15 (Jesus blesses the children) Deuteronomy 24:17-22 (Care for the alien, the orphan, and the widow) 

In many modern contexts, it may seem sweet that Jesus welcomed little children; however, in Jesus’ context, spending time with children would have seemed wasteful or useless. When Jesus blesses a crowd of children (after the disciples rebuke them and try to send them away), he once again reorients socially constructed hierarchies to center the vulnerable. Throughout his ministry, Jesus emphasized the last, the least, and the lost, building upon the mandates of the Hebrew Scriptures to care for the immigrant, widow, and orphan among you. Deuteronomy repeatedly reminds the Israelites, “you were once slaves in Egypt.” Their memory of oppression should impel them to provide for anyone under-resourced or cut off from the protection of a household. Similarly, Jesus uplifting children is a…