Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 21:16

"and said unto him, Hearest thou what these are saying? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea: did ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou has perfected praise?" — Matthew 21:16 (ASV)

Hearest thou what these say? — The priests and scribes had probably remained in the Temple and had not heard the Hosannas that were raised on the Mount of Olives. The shouts of the children were therefore a surprise to them, and they turned to the Teacher, asking whether He accepted the praise in the sense in which it was addressed to Him. Had He really entered the Temple claiming to be the expected Christ? Did He approve of this interruption to the order and quiet of its courts?

Better, did you never read? This was a question our Lord frequently asked when reasoning with the scribes who opposed Him (Matthew 12:3, 5; 19:4; 21:42; 22:31). It forcefully expressed His assessment of their character as interpreters. They spent their lives studying the Law, yet they perverted its meaning and failed to see its bearing on the events happening around them.

In this instance, He cites the words of Psalm 8:2, the primary meaning of which appears to be that a child’s wonder at the marvels of creation is the truest form of worship. As applied by our Lord, its lesson was the same. The cries of the children were the utterance of a truth that the priests and scribes rejected. To Him, for whom the innocent brightness of childhood was a delight, these cries were more acceptable than the half-hearted, self-seeking homage of older worshipers. The words are quoted from the Septuagint translation.