Mark 10:13-16 “Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. (14) But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. (15) Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it." (16) And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.”
The New Testament only gives us two accounts of the practice of imparting blessing through the laying on of hands, and both were done by the Lord Jesus. In the above quoted passage of scripture our Lord Jesus blessed the little children by laying His hands on them and pronouncing a blessing on them. I have no doubt that our Lord prophesied blessings over these young lives and that each one of His prophetic utterances came to pass in their lives. And so our Lord would have done exactly what Israel did. He would have spoken a blessing over each one of their lives in faith.
Hebrews 7:7 “Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better.”
With regards to the ministry of blessing through the laying on of hands, it is subject to the spiritual law revealed to us in the passage of scripture quoted above. When this passage speaks of the lesser being blessed by the better, it simply means that the one who is walking in the Lord’s blessing can in turn impart that blessing to another who is not yet walking in that same degree of blessing. To give an example of how God views who is better and who is lesser we can look at the example of Israel blessing Pharaoh. At the time, Jacob was the head of a nation of just seventy-five people and because of the famine in the land; he was reliant on the generosity of Pharaoh to sustain him and his family in Egypt. Pharaoh on the other hand was the leader of the most powerful nation on the earth at that time, with all the wealth and prestige that went with his position. And yet the scripture tells us that when Israel stood before Pharaoh, that Jacob blessed Pharaoh. And so we see that in God’s eyes Jacob was the better and Pharaoh was the lesser, for God always looks at the eternal perspective (Genesis 47:7). Parents and grandparents need to take note here. You have biblical authority to lay hands on your children and grandchildren, and by faith pronounce blessings upon them. That which is spoken in faith God will honour and bring that to pass in their lives.
Luke 24:50-51 “And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. (51) Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven.”
Not always did the Lord physically lay His hands on people in order to minister His blessing to them. In the above account in scripture we see that our Lord raised His hands and blessed the disciples without physically touching them. It is therefore scriptural for people to be brought before the congregation for prayer and for the saints to stretch out their hands in prayer to bless those in need. And so we clearly see from this section that blessing can and should be imparted to people through the laying on of hands.
Michael E.B. Maher
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