The Nugget:
Luke 9:48 And said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great.
My Comment:
It is very instructive to read and study the attitude of Jesus toward infants and children.
Here is the whole pericope from which Luke 9:48 is taken:
Luk 9:46 Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest.
Luk 9:47 And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by him,
Luk 9:48 And said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great.
As I read it, the disciples were still overly concerned about pride of position (Luke 9:46). This problem surfaces more than once. On another occasion, Jesus flatly stated that His true followers were not to be involved in hierarchy but were to humbly serve one another (Matthew 20:25, 26, 27).
We read in the text that Jesus perceived the thought of their heart. That speaks to me of the omniscience of Jesus. This divine attribute is mentioned several times in the Bible:
perceiving the thought. Luk 5:22; Luk 7:39, 40, Deut 7:17, Psa 139:2; Psa 139:23, +*Jer 17:10, Mat 9:4; Mat 22:18, +*Joh 2:25; Joh 16:30; Joh 21:17, **Heb 4:13, *Rev 2:23.
Jesus further said, “Whoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me.” This is a most important and serious matter. The matter of “receiving” one another, that is, of welcoming one another, is mentioned by Paul in Romans 15:7,
Romans 15:7
7 Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.
King James Version
I have written at length about Romans 15:7 and presented a thorough cross reference Bible study which may be directly accessed on this site under the category “Verse-by-Verse Studies” on the right hand side of this page.