Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Matthew 21:15

"But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children that were crying in the temple and saying, Hosanna to the son of David; they were moved with indignation," — Matthew 21:15 (ASV)

The “chief priests and teachers of the law” express indignation, not so much at what he has done, as at the acclamation he is receiving for it. The children cry out, “Hosanna to the Son of David”; and if Jesus is prepared to accept such praise, then “the wonderful things” he is doing must have messianic significance.

When challenged, Jesus supports the children by quoting Ps 8:2, introducing it with his “have you never read.” Jesus’ answer is a masterstroke and simultaneously accomplishes three things. (1) It provides some kind of biblical basis for letting the children go on with their exuberant praise and thus stifles, for the moment, the objections of the temple leaders. (2) Thoughtful persons, reflecting on the incident later (especially after the Resurrection), perceive that Jesus was saying much more. The children’s “Hosannas” are not being directed to God but to the Son of David, the Messiah. Jesus is therefore not only acknowledging his messiahship but justifying the praise of the children by applying to himself a passage of Scripture applicable only to God (Psalms 8 was not considered a messianic psalm). (3) The quotation confirms that the humble perceive spiritual truths more readily than the sophisticated (cf. 19:13–15).