Out of the Mouth of Babes

You Have Perfected Praise

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When the children shouted praise to Jesus in the temple, the leaders were upset. Jesus answered them with a verse from Psalm 8 (Matthew 21:15-16).

A song of David. David wrote Psalm 8. It begins and ends with the same praise: O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth (Psalm 8:1, 9).

Above the heavens. David said God has set His glory above the heavens (Psalm 8:1). God is greater than the sky, the stars and everything He made.

Then the babies. Right after that, David wrote about babies and little children. He said God brings strength out of their mouths (Psalm 8:2). The great God who made the heavens uses the voices of the smallest people.

Quieting the enemy. David said God does this because of His enemies, to silence the enemy (Psalm 8:2). Little voices praising God can quiet proud voices.

Do You hear? The chief priests and scribes asked Jesus, “Do You hear what these are saying?” (Matthew 21:16). They wanted Him to stop the children.

Jesus' answer. “Yes. Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise’?” Jesus said the children's praise was the kind of praise God makes complete. In Jesus' words, the strength God puts in children's mouths is their praise.

Praise for Jesus. Psalm 8 is praise to the Lord. When the children praised Jesus, He did not stop them. He accepted praise that the psalm gives to the Lord.

Proud leaders, humble children. The leaders knew the Scriptures well, but they would not praise Jesus. The children knew far less, but they praised Him.

Why praise matters. Praise tells God how great He is. It also reminds us and the people around us who Jesus is. When you praise Jesus, you are telling the truth about Him.

The One they praised. The children shouted to the Son of David. That same week He died on the cross for our sins, and on the third day He rose again (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). He is worthy of every song.

What to do. Praise Jesus out loud this week. Sing a song to Him, thank Him before a meal, or tell a friend something great He has done.

Matthew 21:15-16 records the children's cry in the temple and the leaders' complaint. Jesus answered with Psalm 8:2, from a psalm that begins and ends with praise.

The frame of the psalm. Psalm 8 opens and closes with the same line: O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth (8:1, 9). Everything between is praise for the Lord's greatness.

Glory and babies. In 8:1 God has set His glory above the heavens. In the very next verse, David turns to the mouths of babes and nursing infants. The God of the heavens chooses the smallest voices.

Strength that silences. David says God has ordained strength from those mouths because of His enemies, to silence the enemy and the avenger (8:2). Jesus speaks of it as perfected praise. The praise God puts in children's mouths is a kind of strength that proud enemies cannot answer.

Nepios. The Greek word for babes in Matthew 21:16 is nepios (say: NAY-pee-os), a little child, too young to be thought wise. Jesus chose that word for the ones who saw Him clearly.

Katartizo. “You have perfected praise” uses katartizo (say: kah-tar-TEED-zoh), to put in order, to make complete. God Himself prepares and completes the praise that children bring.

The leaders' question. “Do You hear what these are saying?” They expected Jesus to correct the children. Instead He answered with a question of His own: “Have you never read?”

Praise that belongs to God. Psalm 8 gives praise to the Lord. Jesus applied it to the praise being given to Him and did not refuse it. He accepted praise that the psalm gives to the Lord.

Humble hearts. The scribes were experts in the Scriptures, yet they were indignant. The children knew far less, yet their praise was the praise God completed.

The Son of David they praised. Within days He was crucified for our sins, and He rose again the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). The praise of the children was praise for the Savior on His way to the cross.

Praise at home. Psalm 8 is a good prayer for a family. Pray it together, and thank Jesus for each thing it says about God.

Application. Do not wait to be older or wiser before you worship. Praise Jesus out loud this week, and when someone mocks your faith, keep praising with a kind heart.

Have You Never Read?

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When the leaders complained about the children, Jesus asked them a question: “Have you never read?” (Matthew 21:16). The scribes were experts in the Scriptures, yet they missed what the children could see.

Shown to babes. One day Jesus thanked His Father for hiding these things from the wise and prudent and showing them to babes (Matthew 11:25-26). God shows His Son to people who come to Him humbly, the way a child trusts a loving parent.

Read every Sabbath. Years later Paul said that the people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not know who Jesus was. They did not understand the words of the prophets, even though those words were read aloud every Sabbath (Acts 13:27).

Words that came true. When the rulers condemned Jesus, they made those very words come true (Acts 13:27). They had heard the verses all their lives, but they missed the One the verses were about.

Another question. Later some leaders asked Jesus a tricky question about rising from the dead. Jesus answered, “Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?” (Mark 12:24).

Have you not read? Then He pointed them to the burning bush: “have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him” (Mark 12:26). Jesus wanted them to read God's Word and truly believe it.

The Bible is about Jesus. The whole Bible points to Jesus. When you read it, look for what it shows you about Him and His love.

The children saw. The children in the temple had not studied like the scribes, but they called Jesus the Son of David. Their hearts were open to Him.

Reading with an open heart. Reading the Bible is good, but God wants more than eyes on a page. He wants a heart that trusts Jesus and does what He says.

Ask before you read. Before you open your Bible, ask God to help you see Jesus there and to trust what you read. God is glad to answer that prayer, even for the youngest reader.

The good news. Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose again on the third day. The Bible promises “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).

What to do. Read a few verses of a Gospel each day this week. Before you read, ask Jesus to show you more of who He is. Afterward, tell someone one thing you learned about Him.

Jesus' answer in Matthew 21:16 began with a question: “Have you never read?” The scribes were experts in the Scriptures. The question went to the heart of their problem.

Revealed to babes. In Matthew 11:25-26, Jesus thanked the Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for hiding these things from the wise and prudent and revealing them to babes. He added that this seemed good in the Father's sight.

What babes means here. Jesus was not saying that knowing less is better. He was praising humble trust, the kind of heart that receives what God shows instead of trusting its own cleverness.

Read every Sabbath. In Antioch, Paul said the people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not know Jesus, nor the voices of the prophets read every Sabbath, yet they fulfilled those words by condemning Him (Acts 13:27).

Hearing without knowing. Hearing Scripture every week did not open their eyes. Study was not their problem; they would not receive the One the Scriptures are about.

Mistaken about the Scriptures. When the Sadducees tested Him about the resurrection, Jesus said, “Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?” (Mark 12:24).

Have you not read? He sent them back to the burning bush, where God called Himself the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and concluded, “He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living” (Mark 12:26-27).

Reading with the heart. In each case the leaders had read or heard the words. They had not let the words lead them to trust and worship. The children in the temple had done what the experts would not.

Hearing and doing. Real reading ends in trusting and obeying the One the words are about.

The center of the Scriptures. The prophets read every Sabbath pointed to His cross and resurrection. He died for our sins, was buried and rose again the third day.

The invitation. “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). Coming to Him is what the Scriptures were written for.

Application. Before you open your Bible, ask God for a humble, teachable heart. Read to find Jesus, then do one thing the passage tells you.

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