The Meaning of Matthew 21:15 Explained

Matthew 21:15

KJV: And 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,

YLT: and the chief priests and the scribes having seen the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, 'Hosanna to the Son of David,' were much displeased;

Darby: And when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonders which he wrought, and the children crying in the temple and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David, they were indignant,

ASV: But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children that were crying in the temple and saying, Hosanna to the son of David; they were moved with indignation,

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And  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, 

What does Matthew 21:15 Mean?

Context Summary

Matthew 21:8-17 - The Lord Of The Temple
It was only a crowd of poor people who escorted Jesus on Palm Sunday to the Holy City; but they sent their hosannas upward to the highest, and their shouts of acclamation and praise are ever ringing down the ages. Let us take them up and pass them on. Hosanna means Save now, Psalms 118:25, which formed part of the Great Hallel, or Passover Psalms. Thus, one day, His Church, and probably the literal Israel of the future, will hail Him with transports of joy. See Zechariah 2:10. Where Jesus comes, He cleanses. At His word the heart that was filled with the din of worldly care becomes the home of prayer, and children-the emblems of humility, simplicity, and faith-gather. While the needy and the childlike are attracted by our Lord's gentleness, wrongdoers are driven out before the "terror of the Lord." [source]

Chapter Summary: Matthew 21

1  Jesus rides into Jerusalem upon a donkey
12  drives the buyers and sellers out of the temple;
17  curses the fig tree;
23  puts to silence the priests and elders,
28  and rebukes them by the parable of the two sons,
33  and the husbandmen who slew such as were sent to them

Greek Commentary for Matthew 21:15

The children [τους παιδας]
Masculine and probably boys who had caught the enthusiasm of the crowd. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Matthew 21:15

Matthew 11:20 Most of his mighty works [αι πλεισται δυναμεις αυτου]
Literally, “His very many mighty works” if elative as usual in the papyri (Moulton, Prolegomena, p. 79; Robertson, Grammar, p. 670). But the usual superlative makes sense here as the Canterbury translation has it. This word δυναμις — dunamis for miracle presents the notion of power like our dynamite. The word τερας — teras is wonder, portent, miraculum (miracle) as in Acts 2:19. It occurs only in the plural and always with σημεια — sēmeia The word σημειον — sēmeion means sign (Matthew 12:38) and is very common in John‘s Gospel as well as the word εργον — ergon (work) as in John 5:36. Other words used are παραδοχον — paradoxon our word paradox, strange (Luke 5:26), ενδοχον — endoxon glorious (Luke 13:17), ταυμασιον — thaumasion wonderful (Matthew 21:15). [source]
Mark 10:14 He was moved with indignation [ηγανακτησεν]
In Mark alone. The word is ingressive aorist, became indignant, and is a strong word of deep emotion (from αγαν — agan and αχτομαι — achthomai to feel pain). Already in Matthew 21:15; Matthew 26:8. Old and common word. [source]

What do the individual words in Matthew 21:15 mean?

Having seen now the chief priests and scribes the wonders that He did the children crying out in the temple saying Hosanna to the Son of David they were indignant
ἰδόντες δὲ οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ γραμματεῖς τὰ θαυμάσια ἐποίησεν τοὺς παῖδας κράζοντας ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ λέγοντας Ὡσαννὰ τῷ υἱῷ Δαυίδ ἠγανάκτησαν

ἰδόντες  Having  seen 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: εἶδον 
Sense: to see with the eyes.
δὲ  now 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: δέ  
Sense: but, moreover, and, etc.
ἀρχιερεῖς  chief  priests 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: ἀρχιερεύς  
Sense: chief priest, high priest.
γραμματεῖς  scribes 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: γραμματεύς  
Sense: a clerk, scribe, esp.
θαυμάσια  wonders 
Parse: Adjective, Accusative Neuter Plural
Root: θαυμάσιος  
Sense: wonderful, marvellous.
  that 
Parse: Personal / Relative Pronoun, Accusative Neuter Plural
Root: ὅς 
Sense: who, which, what, that.
ἐποίησεν  He  did 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ποιέω  
Sense: to make.
παῖδας  children 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Plural
Root: παῖς  
Sense: a child, boy or girl.
κράζοντας  crying  out 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Accusative Masculine Plural
Root: κράζω  
Sense: to croak.
ἱερῷ  temple 
Parse: Noun, Dative Neuter Singular
Root: ἱερόν  
Sense: a sacred place, temple.
λέγοντας  saying 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Accusative Masculine Plural
Root: λέγω 
Sense: to say, to speak.
Ὡσαννὰ  Hosanna 
Parse: Hebrew Word
Root: ὡσαννά  
Sense: hosanna.
τῷ  to  the 
Parse: Article, Dative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
υἱῷ  Son 
Parse: Noun, Dative Masculine Singular
Root: υἱός  
Sense: a son.
Δαυίδ  of  David 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: Δαβίδ 
Sense: second king of Israel, and ancestor of Jesus Christ.
ἠγανάκτησαν  they  were  indignant 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Plural
Root: ἀγανακτέω  
Sense: to be indignant, moved with indignation, be very displeased.