Matthew 21:15 Commentary and Bible Study

Now the children take up the adults’ cry from the previous day, and the religious leaders come forward to complain to Christ with even more force. The children are using the language of praise from the Psalms and applying it the Jesus, and the priests and scribes are appalled. What the children are crying out is taken from Psalm 118:26. The whole multitude has been using the same words already (verse 9) and the children are now joining in, but not just in imitation of the adults; they are speaking these words with understanding. That is implied by Christ’s commendation of their worship, which he would not do if it was mere imitation of words without understanding. The chief priests react as if this is the corruption of the young, and needs to be immediately corrected. Although Jesus can hear it, he is doing nothing about it. In their eyes he is allowing the children to apply the language of the psalm to himself and accepting praise which should only ever be given to God. It is blasphemy in the estimation of the religious leaders and should be stopped immediately. They of course reject his claim to be the divine Messiah.But there is a problem for them. Mark adds the words: ‘And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine’ (Mark 11:18). This shows conclusively that they were seeking to destroy him by cunning and deception. They could not destroy him openly because the people admired him and were amazed at his teaching, so that the leaders were afraid to act openly against the will of the people. They were cowards who lacked any true principles for what they did. They must therefore act surreptitiously without the people being aware of it. They must try to break his prestige in the eyes of the people, and turn the people against him. They must take him before it was publicly known – quite a problem for them.