And he said, “Truly I tell you, unless you repent and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
With these words Jesus radically redirects the disciples’ question, showing that the issue is not who is greater in the kingdom of heaven, but who can enter it at all. By setting a child as an example, he reveals the inner condition required for God’s kingdom. “To turn” means a deep turning of the heart: renouncing the sense of one’s own greatness, self-confidence, and calculating thinking, while “to become like children” speaks of humility, simplicity, trust, and complete dependence on God. Jesus is not praising childish inexperience, but the childlike heart that does not strive to rule, but is ready to receive and to trust. This saying clearly shows that entry into God’s kingdom is possible only when a person renounces self-sufficiency and stands before God with a humble, open, and trusting heart.