April 12 I Tuesday

1 Samuel 19-21

Luke 11:29-54

“But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things [Jesus] did and the children shouting in the temple courts, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David,’ they were indignant.”   —Matthew 21:15

After Jesus cleared out the Temple from money-changers and sellers, the blind and the lame came to Him and He healed them. As Jesus was overturning the Temple system, it drew people closer to Him. At this point, the chief priests and the teachers of the law were raging; even though they saw the wonderful things that Jesus was doing and heard the children shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant. They said to Jesus, “Do you hear what these children are saying?” (Matthew 21:16). It was like they were asking Jesus, “Do you hear what these kids are declaring? Do You understand? Do You comprehend? Do You know that they are referring to You as the Messiah?”

      In response to the question from the religious elite, Jesus answered, “Yes, have you never read, ‘From the lips of children and infants You, Lord, have called forth Your praise’?” (Matthew 21:16). Jesus quoted from Psalm 8, which goes, “LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens. Through the praise of children and infants You have established a stronghold against Your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger” (Psalm 8:1-2). Upon a closer examination of the psalm, we will realize that the lips of children and infants were directing their praise towards the Creator of the heavens and the earth, the One who sustains all things and the One whose glory is above the heavens. The rest of Psalm 8 describes how small humanity is in the grand scheme of the cosmos, but it is captivating that the Lord is even mindful of humanity. The Psalm speaks to the mystery that God makes Himself known to those who are humble and weak, but to the prideful and arrogant, they are sent away empty, because they are, in fact, enemies of God when they meet Him.

      Jesus’s statement was making an absolute monotheistic claim. He was declaring that the children were reading the situation correctly. On the Temple mount, where God’s name dwells, these children’s worship was directed towards its rightful place—towards Jesus. The children were testifying to who He is. Yet, despite all of that evidence, for the rest of Holy Week, the religious leaders opposed Jesus and sought to kill the Author of life. They were so dug into their opinions and their ways that no matter how hard He tried, Jesus’s words fell on deaf ears.  

      May we, who have ears to hear and a heart to know, believe that Jesus Christ is truly who He says He is—God in the flesh.

Prayer: Dear Jesus Christ, You are the Word that spoke creation into being, and God in the flesh dwelling among us. Thank You, Lord.