As we continue forward in our year looking at prophecies Jesus fulfilled and passages from the Old Testament that are connected in some way with the New Testament, we arrive at an event that happens early on within the week leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion. Depending on the gospel that you read, the event we will look at in Jesus’ life might have even been the first thing to happen following Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey, which was the focus of our past two episodes.
However, prior to diving into Jesus’ life and ministry, let’s look back in the Old Testament, in a psalm, that Jesus ultimately drew on to defend some people who were being targeted by the religious leaders.
Our passage for this episode is found in the Old Testament book of Psalms, chapter 8, and we will read it using the New American Standard Bible translation. Starting in verse 1, the psalmist writes:
1 O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth,
Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens!
2 From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength
Because of Your adversaries,
To make the enemy and the revengeful cease.
3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained;
4 What is man that You take thought of him,
And the son of man that You care for him?
5 Yet You have made him a little lower than God,
And You crown him with glory and majesty!
6 You make him to rule over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
7 All sheep and oxen,
And also the beasts of the field,
8 The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.
9 O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth!
In this psalm, we discover an amazing reflection on how much God loves and values us, and this psalm also reflects on how we are often very unworthy of God’s favor.
However, early on in this psalm, we read a phrase that Jesus draws upon shortly after He has cleared the commerce from the temple courtyard. Let’s read what happened and discover what we can learn.
Our passage from Jesus’ life and ministry is found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 21, and we will begin reading in verse 12:
12 And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. 13 And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a robbers’ den.”
14 And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became indignant 16 and said to Him, “Do You hear what these children are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies You have prepared praise for Yourself’?” 17 And He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.
As I picture this event take place, after Jesus has chased off all the merchants from the temple, those who were disabled come to Him to be helped. In addition to this, if this event happened on the same day as the triumphal entry, we have a group of people who has eagerly been traveling into Jerusalem singing praises to Jesus. It wouldn’t surprise me if the praise and celebration continued through Jesus’ arrival at the temple, and with every person who He healed.
However, also looking at this event were the chief priests and the scribes. While the religious leaders did not like what had happened, they could not openly speak against the miracles and healing Jesus was doing, primarily because this wasn’t the Sabbath. About the only case they could make against the healing Jesus did was if it had happened on the Sabbath, and in this event, everyone Jesus healed was receiving their blessing during the workweek.
I suspect for this reason, the religious leaders decide to criticize the only other angle they have available, and that is the source of the praise Jesus was receiving, specifically that it was young children being loud and that their loudness was openly praising Jesus with a Messianic title.
Jesus responds to their criticism by quoting this psalm, however for one reason or another, or perhaps because I don’t know the original languages to spot a potential connection, it seems as though Jesus shifts one word in His response from the word the psalmist used.
In the original psalm, we find the idea stated as, “From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength”. When Jesus quotes this line, He shares the following statement, “Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies You have prepared praise for Yourself’”.
From the way Jesus frames His statement, it is as though the praise these infants and children bring Jesus is a strong argument and defense against those who would accuse Jesus. It is also an amazing, God-like twist, to understand that God is able and willing to establish His strength through the mouths of children who are just beginning to talk. It would be interesting to know if the praise some of these children gave that day were actually their first words. While we have no way of knowing this, it is an interesting thought that just entered my mind.
In first century culture, perhaps even more so than today, children were often looked down on. However, like the Godhead often likes doing, we find a powerful example and prediction where the children are praised for their praise of Jesus, while the adults, who should be more aware of the significance of what is happening, are being left out because their minds and hearts were closed. While the religious leaders should have been the group to have seen the clearest the amazing significance of what Jesus was doing, they had let their minds and hearts harden against Jesus because He did not fit their pre-built picture of the Messiah.
However, before wrapping up our podcast, let’s look back at a couple phrases of this psalm that are not part of this prophecy. In Psalm 8, verses 3 through 8, the psalmist proclaims:
3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained;
4 What is man that You take thought of him,
And the son of man that You care for him?
5 Yet You have made him a little lower than God,
And You crown him with glory and majesty!
6 You make him to rule over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
7 All sheep and oxen,
And also the beasts of the field,
8 The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.
While we might be left wondering why God would care for a fallen race of rebels, or specifically why He would even still love us like this psalmist also wonders, we don’t need to look any further than Jesus to know that God truly loves us, and His big goal is redeeming you and me from the grip of sin!
As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:
As I always open by challenging you, intentionally seek God first in your life and thank Him for what He accomplished for you and me through Jesus’ life and death. Thank God for His love and caring, and if you ever feel as though God has abandoned you, open your Bible and reread the gospel record of Jesus.
Also, as I regularly challenge you to do, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow your personal relationship with God. Through regular prayer and Bible study, discover a God who loves you so much that He will stop at nothing to redeem you from sin.
And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or walk away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!