Jesus Welcomes Children^(A)

¹³ Then the people brought their little children to Jesus so he could ·put [lay] his hands on them [^Can act of blessing] and pray for them. [^LBut] His ·followers [disciples] ·told them to stop [scolded/rebuked them], ¹⁴ but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t ·stop [hinder] them, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to people who are like these children [^Cmeaning humble and dependent].” ¹⁵ After Jesus ·put [lay] his hands on the children [^Ca sign of blessing; Mark 10:16], he left there.