God’s prophetic word revels His plans and His ways. Consider the prophecy, “All your children shall be disciples of GOD, and great shall be the happiness of your children” (Isa 54:13 JPS). God wants our children to be taught as His disciples. This is His intended way.
God’s plans are always contested by Satan and the humanistic cultures that he inspires. Therefore, God is consistent in His command for parents to diligently teach their children (Deut. 6:7, Eph. 6:4). As Jesus explained, there are many ways available that children can learn, but only one way through Him that leads to life—the way of discipleship (Matt. 7:13–14).
Jesus grew up as a child in an observant Jewish household in the first century world. He also learned as the Son of the Father. He lived and understood the dynamics of being discipled by God. He understood that discipleship—to hear and obey the commands of the Father—leads to true happiness. Therefore, Jesus affirmed, “Blessed [happy] are those who hear the word of God and observe it” (Luke 11:28)
Isaiah describes Jesus as a disciple of the Father. “The Lord God has given Me the tongue of disciples, that I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple” (Isa. 50:4). Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum affirms that this verse describes the learning or disciplining of Jesus. He says, “During His boyhood in Nazareth, every morning, Jesus was awakened by His Father in the early hours of the morning to receive instruction. In this way Jesus learned who He was, what His mission was, and how to act and react accordingly.”[1]
The impact of discipleship in the life of Jesus is described in the Psalms. “Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me. I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your Law is within my heart” (Ps. 40:7–8).[2] At age twelve, we hear Jesus’ words, “I must be involved in my Father’s business.” And at His baptism, before His ministry began, the Father said, “You are my beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased” (see Luke 2:49, 3:22).
Jesus knows the importance of discipling children in the ways of God. Therefore, He commands all who believe in Him, “Permit the children to come to me. Do not hinder them” (Mark 10:14, Luke 18:16). What does this command mean for parents today?
When a family and community of believers gathers in Jesus’ name, there He is in their midst (Matt. 18:20). When we truly study, keep, and teach the Scriptures (especially the words of Jesus) under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, Jesus is revealed (John 5:39, 14:26). Parents are to abide in Christ and in His Word as they disciple their children, bringing them into that same abiding place—an abiding place where Jesus said that He and the Father would dwell (John 14:23). Oh, the love of God that would draw whole families to Himself! Therefore, the apostle Paul encourages parents to not dishearten their children, but to nurture them in the love of God, discipling them in the instruction of the Lord (Eph. 6:4). One of the greatest expressions of love is leading children into true happiness that comes from being discipled in the ways of God, which children so desperately need in this age.
[1] Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, Messianic Christology: A Study of Old Testament Prophecy Concerning the First Coming of the Messiah (Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries, 1998), 51.
[2] See also Heb. 10:5–10.