Why did Jesus say "Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me?"?

Mat 18:2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,

Matthew 18

3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.

6 ¶ But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and [that] he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

I think that the complete verses of this give the meaning - A humble acceptance of Jesus, his Father and the Gospel message which Jesus taught were what was needed. We can all be proud and arrogant when the moment takes us but we have to adopt a difference approach to life to please our Heavenly Father. Jesus did his Father's will to the uttermost and we must be happy to believe all that he did was for our sakes if we are faithful.

That heavenly kingdom, as we are shown in the book of Revelation, is to come down from heaven to earth. A kingdom in which God's will is done, true government prevails and the wonder of joy and healing. The prophesies of the Old Testament give such a wonderful description of how these things will be. That is if we accept all that Jesus has done for us and accept him as our future king.

I wouldnt take it too seriously. It's very much the same type of thing you see today, with politicians holding babies and kissing them in front of the camera in order to look good. Jesus and his followers now for 2000 years have brought murder, slaughter, forced conversions, tortures, inquisitions, crusades, and all manner of pogroms against the Jews including millions of Jewish children. And native children all over the world wherever Christianity went in and wiped out "savages" and people of color. And of course you realise that this is the exact opposite of the actual prophecies.

Kate when a child is conceived it, she/he is a pure spirit totally unsullied, and possibly He was referring to the fact that He also was without sin.

There is another passage somewhere that says "Unless you come as a new born child you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven".

That does not mean that you have not sinned: it means that you were prepared to ask for forgiveness of your sins in the true christian tradition.

Here endeth the lesson.

"Welcome, in the name of Jesus."

I don't think I've ever heard anyone say this? However, it could be an incredibly apt reference for priests to baptize newborns, since they are baptized, (welcomed into the parish) in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit.