And said unto him, Do you hear what these say? And Jesus said unto them,
Yea; have you never read, Out of the mouth of babes and infants you have perfected praise?
All Commentaries on Matthew 21:16 Go To Matthew 21
John Chrysostom
AD 407
With good reason were they moved at sight of a thing so to be wondered at. Manwas praised as God, but it was the God that was praised in the man. But, I suppose, that neither they who praised knew what they praised, but the Spirit that suddenly inspired there poured forth the words of truth.
Hom., lxvii: Which aggravates the fault of the Jews, who after He had done the same thing twice, yet persisted in their hardness.
For this reason also He overturns the tables of the money-changers, to signify that in the temple of God ought to be no coin save spiritual, such as bears the image of God, not an earthly image. He overturns the seats of those that sold doves, saying by that deed, What make in My temple so many doves for sale, since that one Dove descended of free gift upon the temple of My Body? What the multitude had proclaimed by their shouts, the Lord shows in deeds. Whence it follows, “And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them.”.
But not even thus were the Chief Priests convinced, but at His miracles and the shouts of the children they had indignation.
For as a pillar a little out of the perpendicular, if more weight be laid upon it, is driven to lean still more to one side; so also the heart of man when once turned aside, is only stirred the more with jealousy by seeing or hearing deeds of some righteous man. In this way the Priests were stirred up against Christ, and said, “Hearest thou what these say?”.
As though He had said, Be it so, it is My fault that these cry thus. But is it My fault that so many thousand years before the Prophet foretold that so it should be? But babes and sucklings cannot know or praise any one. Therefore they are called babes, not in age, but in guilelessness of heart; sucklings,because they cried out being moved by their joy at the wonderful things they beheld, as by the sweetness of milk. Miraculous works are called milk, because the beholding of miracles is no toil, but rather excites wonder, and gently invites to the faith. Bread is the doctrine of perfect righteousness, which none can receive but they who have their senses exercised about spiritual things.
