The Child Jesus Held In His Arms

Only a few Sundays ago, I preached on the story of Jesus picking up a little child and holding him in his arms (Mark 9:30-37)

St. Mark did not name the child. But guess what? A tradition in the church says the child is none other than Ignatius, a native of Syria. This is the boy who later became the Bishop of Antioch, Syria (now in Turkey). He died as a martyr around 110 AD in Rome. The church remembers him today (17 October by the Western Church and 20 December by the Eastern Church).

(The earliest record of this tradition is found in an account by St. Andrew of Crete (8th century), who was, no doubt, drawing on an earlier tradition than inventing one. St. Symeon Metaphrastes (10th century) and Nikephoros Kallistos (14th century) also mention that Ignatius was the child Jesus held in his arms)

The story of Jesus and the little child is found in Matthew’s Gospel (18:1-4). In Matthew’s story, Jesus does not take the child in his arms but calls up a child and places the child among the disciples. Only Mark adds the extra detail of Jesus placing the child among the disciples, then picking the child up and holding him in his arms.

It is a hint that his accounts in the Gospel are from a first-hand eyewitness to the events. (Mark has a way of describing such finer details in most of his accounts of Jesus’ ministry. Another example of eyewitness accounts of Jesus' ministry is Mark's mention that there was grass for people to sit on at the feeding of the five thousand (Mark 6:39). The first-hand eyewitness is Peter)

The church tradition does not say how old Ignatius was when Jesus held him in his arms. I would say the average age of a child who may respond to the call of an adult other than his or her parents and then be comfortable being held in the arms of the adult could be four years old at the most. That is the upper age limit for a toddler.

My sermon today is about this Syrian toddler, Ignatius, whom Jesus held in his arms to teach his disciples about the Kingdom of God.

Only a few details of Ignatius of Antioch's life are known. They are limited to his journey from Antioch to martyrdom in Rome. On his way to Rome, Ignatius wrote seven letters to the local churches in Asia Minor (today Turkey). These seven letters have survived and testify to the faith and witness of a remarkable man.

The seven letters are short and can be read in almost one sitting. This is what I did – I read all the seven letters twice last week. The letters are full of gems of our faith, and I shall share a few with you today.

Before doing that, let me tell you about Ignatius's life.

The great city of Antioch is in modern Turkey and bears the Turkish name Antakya (Kms 783 southeast of Gallipoli). Antioch was one of the first places where the Christian church flourished.

Antioch was the first Gentile church, and it was there the believers were mocked and called “Christians” for the first time (Acts 11:26). The church in Antioch was founded by apostles Peter and Paul (Acts 13:13-14). It is believed that Peter was the first bishop of that city (between AD 37 -AD 53).

Following Peter, the second bishop of the city was St. Evodius, who served until AD 69. Ignatius succeeded Evodius.

Suppose Ignatius was about four years old when he met Jesus. He might have been in his late thirties or early forties when he became the bishop of Antioch in AD 69.

Before becoming a bishop, Ignatius was a disciple of the Apostle John. As we know, Apostle John is known as Jesus's “beloved disciple.” He also wrote the Gospel of John.

At that time, John was the head of the churches of Asia Minor (most of modern Turkey), and Ignatius travelled with him to many cities.

One tradition says that Apostle John ordained him bishop of Antioch. Another says Peter ordained him. Still, another says Paul ordained him. Whatever the case, Ignatius’s close association with the apostles and even with the Lord Jesus himself made him among the first to receive the message of the Gospel.

Having met Jesus as a child, grown up in the faith, and trained by Apostle John, Ignatius was the bishop of Antioch for many decades, perhaps thirty to fifty years. However, we do not know much about what Ignatius did during those years. One fascinating note is that Ignatius introduced antiphonal chanting to the church. As you know, we recite the Psalms antiphonally.

During the ninth year of his reign, Emperor Trajan began general persecution of Christians throughout the Roman Empire, declaring that they should partake in pagan sacrifices or be killed.