Matthew 21 Devotional

Praise from Unlikely Voices

““Do You hear what these children are saying?” they asked. “Yes,” Jesus answered. “Have you never read: ‘From the mouths of children and infants You have ordained praise’?””Matthew 21:16 (BSB)

Jesus enters Jerusalem as the prophet foretold the king would come, gentle and seated on a donkey (21:4-5). The crowds spread cloaks and branches on the road and shout praise to the Son of David (21:8-9). In the temple courts he overturns the money changers' tables, and then the blind and the lame come to him there, and he heals them (21:12-14).

Not everyone welcomes it. The chief priests and scribes are indignant at his wonders and at the children shouting praise in the temple courts (21:15). When they ask whether he hears what the children are saying, he answers with a psalm about God drawing praise from children and infants (21:16; Psalm 8:2). Later Jesus tells the leaders that tax collectors and prostitutes who believed are entering the kingdom ahead of them (21:31). This King welcomes praise that has no polish or position behind it. You do not need to be important or eloquent to honor him. Simple, childlike praise is welcome to him today.

To think about: What keeps your praise of Jesus quiet or guarded, and what would it look like to praise him simply today?