Bible Strands
Matthew 11:25
At that time Jesus declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses the Father directly, not the assembled crowd, immediately after pronouncing woe on Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum (11:20–24). The moment is public rejection turning into private address.
The words — ἀποκριθεὶς (apokritheis), "having answered" (aorist participle of ἀποκρίνομαι), frames the praise as a response rather than a spontaneous outburst. The BSB renders it "declared," which loses the responsive quality.
The thread — The same pattern appears in Matthew 16:17, where Peter's confession is credited to the Father's revelation, not to "flesh and blood," and in Matthew 21:16 / Psalm 8:2, where God ordains praise from the mouths of children. The throughline: divine disclosure is not correlated with human standing.
Why it lands — It forces a choice: the reader is either among those from whom these things are "hidden" or among those to whom they are "revealed," and the verse does not permit a middle position. It asks whether one has been treating intellectual or religious achievement as the default qualification for understanding God.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.
Cross-references
- Matthew 21:16 “Do You hear what these children are saying?” they asked. “Yes,” Jesus answered. “Have you never read: ‘From the mouths of children and infants You have ordained praise’?”
- Psalms 8:2 From the mouths of children and infants You have ordained praise on account of Your adversaries, to silence the enemy and avenger.
- Matthew 16:17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven.
- Luke 10:21 At that time Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was well-pleasing in Your sight.
- 1 Corinthians 1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
- Matthew 18:3 “Truly I tell you,” He said, “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
- Romans 11:8 as it is written: “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that could not see, and ears that could not hear, to this very day.”
- Mark 10:14 But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and told them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
- John 9:39 Then Jesus declared, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind may see and those who see may become blind.”
- 1 Corinthians 2:6 Among the mature, however, we speak a message of wisdom—but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.