Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Matthew 21:15 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 15. 15And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased,
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Contrasts leaders' displeasure with children's Davidic hosannas and visible wonders.
Read It With
- Matthew 21:12–21:17
Read Matthew 21:15 with 21:12–21:17. In isolation, this verse's contribution—contrasts leaders' displeasure with children's Davidic hosannas and visible wonders—can be detached from its speaker, audience, narrative or teaching sequence, and outcome. The complete unit establishes: Jesus drives sellers and buyers from the temple, cites prayer and robbers, heals blind and lame people there, receives children's hosannas, and leaves hostile chief priests and scribes for Bethany.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Contrasts leaders' displeasure with children's Davidic hosannas and visible wonders. This precise contribution belongs inside “Jesus confronts temple commerce and receives children's praise” because Jesus drives sellers and buyers from the temple, cites prayer and robbers, heals blind and lame people there, receives children's hosannas, and leaves hostile chief priests and scribes for Bethany.
What Remains True
Jesus drives sellers and buyers from the temple, cites prayer and robbers, heals blind and lame people there, receives children's hosannas, and leaves hostile chief priests and scribes for Bethany. Matthew 21:15's proportionate contribution is this: Contrasts leaders' displeasure with children's Davidic hosannas and visible wonders.
How It Can Shape Life
- Matthew 21:15 contributes this specific claim: Contrasts leaders' displeasure with children's Davidic hosannas and visible wonders. Confront systems that exploit worshipers while protecting people from violence and examining one's own institution; do not turn temple critique into contempt for Jews or Judaism.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Matthew 21:12–21:17 — Jesus confronts temple commerce and receives children's praiseSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Matthew 21:12–21:17, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording and punctuation control without treating one edition as a complete apparatus.
Exact location: SBLGNT official text file data/sblgnt/text/Matt.txt, Matthew 21:12–21:17
Open the Matthew Greek text file ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Morphology and lexical cross-check for the expressions actually discussed in this thought unit.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data TAGNT rows for Matthew 21:12–21:17
Open source ↗open translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Matthew with Translators' and Textual Notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005-2026 online edition
Supports: Verse-attached textual, translation, language, historical, Jewish-background, and Synoptic notes for this unit.
Exact location: NET Bible Matthew PDF, printed pp. 1808-1867, exact tn/tc/sn entries attached to 21:12–21:17
Open source ↗