Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 11:25

"At that season Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou didst hide these things from the wise and understanding, and didst reveal them unto babes:" — Matthew 11:25 (ASV)

Answered and said — This phrase is a Hebraism, suggesting the words were spoken in response to an unrecorded event. Luke connects them with the return of the seventy (Luke 10:17–24), but since their mission is not recorded by Matthew, it seems reasonable to connect the words here with the return of the twelve and their report of their work (Mark 6:30; Luke 9:10). It is worth noting that their presence is implied in the narrative that opens the next chapter. However, the words were likely repeated whenever similar occasions arose.

I thank thee — Literally, "I confess to you," meaning "I acknowledge with praise and thanksgiving." The abruptness of these words points to the fragmentary nature of the record Matthew incorporates into his Gospel. The context in Luke implies a reference to the truths of the kingdom that the disciples had proclaimed, and it makes special mention of the joy that expressed itself in this way. The two reasons for that joy are inseparably linked.

The "wise and prudent" (compare the use of the same words in 1 Corinthians 1:19) were the scribes and Pharisees. They were wise in their own conceit, seeking human praise rather than truth for its own sake, and were therefore shut out from the knowledge that requires, above all, sincerity of purpose. The "babes" were the disciples who had received the kingdom in the spirit of a little child. They were childlike, and at times even childish, in their thoughts about it. But because they were earnest and simple-hearted, they were brought under the training that would make them true scribes for the kingdom of heaven.

Their Lord taught them as they were able to bear it, giving them (to use Paul’s familiar image) the milk that belonged to babes (1 Corinthians 3:2). Yet beyond His personal teaching, there were flashes of intuition. Through these moments—as seen conspicuously in Peter’s confession (Matthew 16:17)—new truths were suddenly revealed to them, or old truths were seen with increasing clarity.