RESOURCES — SHORT ARTICLES

 

SHORT ARTICLES BY TOM ELSEROAD
	2021-01-21	Out Of The Mouth of Babes…You Have Perfected Praise (Mt.21:16)
		Mat 21:12 Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. Mat 21:13 And He said to them, "It is written, 'MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER,' but you have made it a 'DEN OF THIEVES.'" Mat 21:14 Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. Mat 21:15 But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant Mat 21:16 and said to Him, "Do You hear what these are saying?" And Jesus said to them, "Yes. Have you never read, 'OUT OF THE MOUTH OF BABES AND NURSING INFANTS YOU HAVE PERFECTED PRAISE'?" Jesus is in Jerusalem during His final days leading up to His death. He is in the Temple area healing the blind and the lame (v.14). The priests and scribes saw Jesus perform miracles, and heard children shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” These religious leaders were angry. They asked Jesus, “Do You hear what these are saying?” (v.16) Jesus responds, “Yes.” Then He goes on to quote from Psalm 8:2. Psa 8:2 Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, Because of Your enemies, That You may silence the enemy and the avenger. Jesus uses “praise” instead of “strength.” In the context of Psalm 8, God silences His enemies and puts them to shame by the words coming out of the mouths of babes, who tell of the Lord's strength. Earlier in the day, Jesus had ridden on a donkey into the city of Jerusalem. The crowds celebrated Him as a Messiah and followed Him into the city like an exalted king (Mt.21:8-9). The Jewish leaders could not miss the implications as they observed everything taking place. They witnessed Christ's victorious entry. They saw the ecstatic crowd of worshipers hailing Jesus as the Messiah. These leaders became outraged. They thought that pointing out the dreadful error of the children worshiping Him as Messiah, He would stop it. They believed He would be horrified that He misled these innocent children. They thought the children were speaking blasphemy. Luke's account records the Pharisees trying to stop the crowds from praising Jesus (Lk.19:39). However, Jesus received the praise (Lk.19:40). Luk 19:40 But He answered and said to them, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out." He even supported their actions by quoting a familiar Old Testament passage these leaders would recognize. The rub is that the children understood what the leaders did not. So the Jewish leaders were the same as God's OT enemies who would be silenced and put to shame by children's praise. Jesus is affirming the ability of children to perceive the secrets of God's kingdom, when the leaders could not. The children crying out praises proved to be wiser than the so-called “wise” (1Co.1:18-25). Out of the mouths of babes the praise of little children is perfect praise. Children can comprehend the realities of God's kingdom (Mt.19:14; Mk.10:13-15; Lk.18:16-17). Children are not blinded by pride and hypocrisy and are better able to perceive spiritual truth (Mt.18:3-4). Jesus accepts their worship because it is untainted and reserved for God alone. Pastor Tom Elseroad

 

An Evangelical Free Church of America

23304 E Wellesley Ave. Otis Orchards, WA 99027 Church Office: 509.926.9552 Church Cell: 509.342.9145 Pastor Cell: 509.828.8843 tomelseroad@gmail.com