This morning we looked at the question Jesus asked the religious leaders in Matt 21:16, when confronted about the raucous noise being made by children in the temple. They were outraged about all that Jesus was doing (healing the blind and the lame!) and about the shouting from the children (proclaiming ‘Hosanna to the son of David.’) Instead of being glad that God was working in such powerful ways, they were indignant and asked Jesus ‘Do you hear what these children are saying?’ (Matt 21:16) The implication is that if He were really such a good teacher, He would shut them up immediately!
But Jesus does not do this (nor should we!) Instead, he countered their question with one of His own: “have you never read, “‘From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise’?” (Matt 21:16) These were religious leaders whose lives were spent studying the Scriptures, yet Jesus makes it plain that they had missed the point altogether. He was the Messiah, the Son of David, the One promised in Scriptures to bring salvation and deliverance to the people, yet it was children who recognised this, not the leaders. On another occasion, He said, ‘You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.’ (John 5:39-40)
The Bible contains within its pages all that we need to navigate life. Jesus, in His question, quoted Ps 8, referring the religious leaders back to the word of God (and showing how God Himself views children.) We may feel this book can’t possibly have answers to our modern questions (what does it have to say about abortion, euthanasia, war, disease and modern-day dilemmas?), but in fact, we find in the Bible all the principles we need for every situation we will ever face. It’s vital we read the Bible, but we must also absorb its truths and apply them to our everyday lives so that we do not miss out, as these leaders did, on its life-giving truth.
