And it came to pass as he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany at the mountain called [the mount] of Olives, he sent two of his disciples,
The road up from Jericho ends at two small villages on a hillside outside Jerusalem. There Jesus stops and sends two men ahead on an errand. The place, the messengers, the borrowed animal — every detail serves one act. The King is about to present Himself to His city.
The teaching about the kingdom has just ended. What comes next is its outcome, not a new subject.
He had declared what the kingdom was — what it would be. He now comes to present it for the last time in His own Person to the people of Jerusalem, according to the prophecy of Zechariah. All is gathered round His entrance. Jerusalem is in the day of her visitation, and she does not know it.
Luke names Bethphage and Bethany. One writer finds the meaning of each name fitting the moment.
Now He moves toward that end on purpose, though the way there meant rejection and death. He came near Bethphage, which means "the house of unripe figs." That pictures Israel being unready to receive Him. He came near Bethany, which means "the house of affliction." That pictures how His own people treated Him. Then He sent two of His disciples to a nearby village.
Commentators give Bethany's name a second meaning. It was also a house where He was welcome:
The "house of dates," a village on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, about two miles from Jerusalem, near the road to Jericho. It was where Lazarus, Martha, and Mary lived, in whose house the Lord found a resting place, among those whom He loved, and who were always ready to welcome Him.
Luke names the hill. The same hill appears at four turning points in His story.
From the same place He had entered Jerusalem as their King, according to this prophet (Zech. 9:9), riding on a donkey's colt. On that same Mount of Olives He sat in Matthew 24, surrounded by His Jewish disciples… From that same mountain He went up to heaven (Acts 1), after His nation had rejected Him and crucified Him. And on that same mountain His feet will stand when He returns to deliver them fully and completely in grace!
What He tells them to do is itself a claim. He describes an animal He has not seen, in a village He has not entered. He also tells them what to say if anyone stops them.
The sending for the colt shows the Lord as Jehovah, who has a perfect right to all. "The Lord has need of them." What could be more complete than His knowledge of circumstances hidden in the future? How clear His control over the owner's mind and feelings! He was meek, sitting on a donkey, the King of Zion the prophet spoke of. Yet He was as surely Jehovah as He was the Messiah coming in His name.
Who did the owners hear in that title, "the Lord"? Writing on Mark's account of the same errand, Kelly leaves the question open:
I suspect "the Lord" is here left purposely vague. The Lord had need of the donkey's colt, whether they took the title to mean Jehovah or the king who came in His name. If their faith did recognise the Messiah in Jehovah, that was entirely true, and so much the better for those who did.
The instructions were exact. So was their fulfilment. That precision is the point.
Old and modern writers work hard to find in this remarkable incident a picture of the Gentiles obeying the gospel. That does not seem intelligent to me. It was simply the evidence of His divine knowledge. It was His claim, made among the Jews, to be Jehovah Messiah. Facts proved that claim, and so did the submission of human hearts, where God was pleased to produce it for the honour of His Son. That is why the Spirit records so exactly the words that passed and the fulfilment of all He said.
- Approach — He had taught what the kingdom is. Now He goes to Jerusalem to present it in His own Person for the last time.
- Place — One writer reads the two village names as a picture of what waited for Him. Bethphage, "house of unripe figs," is a nation unready. Bethany, "house of affliction," is His own people treating Him badly.
- Shelter — Bethany was the home of Lazarus, Martha and Mary. There He found a resting place among people glad to welcome Him.
- Mount — Olivet ties the whole story together: He entered from it, taught on it, ascended from it, and will return to it.
- Claim — He sent two disciples for a colt He had never seen, and He knew someone would stop them. He knows what is hidden, and He owns all things.
saying, Go into the village over against [you], in which ye will find, on entering it, a colt tied up, on which no [child] of man ever sat at any time loose it and lead it [here].
Jerusalem is now in sight, and the Lord arranges His entry Himself. He sends His disciples ahead for a colt He has never seen, which raises the question the whole scene turns on: who is this, that He can claim an animal as His own?
Why record such small directions at all? One writer finds the answer in what the detail proves.
It was very simply the evidence of His divine knowledge, and the assertion among the Jews of His claim as Jehovah Messiah. Facts proved that claim, and so did the submission of human hearts, where God was pleased to produce it to the honour of His Son. That is why the Spirit notes in fine detail the words that passed and the carrying out of all He said.
The disciples are not sent to ask a favour. They carry a claim, and one writer roots it in the Creator's ownership of every living thing.
This act of the Lord flashes out once more His glory, and shows that the King-Messiah is Jehovah. He knew that a donkey was tied there with a colt, just as He knew about the fish with the coin in the sea. He commanded that fish to come to Peter's hook. Here He demands the use of the donkey and colt. He has a right to them, for He is the Creator. He can say what He has said: "For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine" (Ps. 50:10, 11).
Because the claim is His alone, the same act done by anyone else would be a crime.
Only the Lord could give such instructions, for all things are His property. For anyone else to do this would be stealing. The owners questioned the disciples at first. But no difficulty arose: the words "the Lord has need of him" settled the matter even for them.
The disciples were given an answer to use if anyone objected, and that answer was enough. What moved the owners was not the words but the One behind them.
So He knew and directed a heart far away. He showed how David's Lord had a good claim to be David's Son — indeed to be received as such by the title of His own Person and glory. He who did these things by this divine power and ordering was claiming the place of David's Son, in grace and with no needless untruth. All was already subject to Him, whatever He might subject Himself to. This reached several hearts, whoever they were. It was not merely knowledge of the owner, but control of their hearts.
This colt had never carried a rider. One writer draws out the lesson Israel should have taken from that.
Another significant fact here is that it was the colt of a donkey. He rode a young animal, unbroken, as Luke 19:30 proves. Though no one had ridden it before, it was fully submissive to the Lord Jesus. Israel should have learned from this that they too should submit to the authority of the lowly Son of Man.
The choice of animal said something about His kingship. It also matched Israel's own history.
We learn that in the purest days of Jewish government the leading men in Israel used no animals but donkeys (Judges 5:10; 10:4; 12:14). Horses only came in during the corrupt times of Solomon. So when the Lord took up the style of "King of Israel," He of course took every feature, however small, that belonged to the only pure and true form of that character. That is why He orders His disciples to bring a donkey's colt to Him. Besides, this was the Messiah showing Himself as King, just as the prophet had presented Him beforehand (Zech. 9:9). His being "meek and lowly" was as kingly a feature as any other.
The colt was tied because it was untrained; it was untied so that He could ride it. Commentators differ on how far to press this. Kelly, quoted above, thinks attempts to read a picture into the incident miss the plain force of it, while others find a lesson in the sequence.
The colt was unbroken, for no one had sat on it, and so it was tied up under restraint. It was loosed from restraint, but only so that He might sit on it. Under His powerful hand it was perfectly restrained. This is a picture of how grace sets us free from the bondage of the law.
- Knowledge. He describes a village and a colt He has not seen. That knowledge is divine, and it backs His claim as Jehovah Messiah.
- Ownership. He asks no permission because every beast of the forest is already His; the same act by anyone else would be theft.
- Control. His power reached the owners' hearts, not just the facts about the colt. They gave the animal up at a word.
- Submission. An animal no one had ridden carried Him without a struggle. Israel should have learned to submit to the lowly Son of Man in the same way.
- Lowliness. He chose the animal Israel's leaders used in its purest days, not a horse. Meekness is as kingly a feature as any other.
And if any one ask you, Why do ye loose [it]? thus shall ye say to him, Because the Lord has need of it.
Jesus sends two disciples to untie a young donkey that is not theirs, and gives them one sentence to say if anyone stops them. Everything rests on that sentence: on who this "Lord" is, and on how He can need a borrowed animal.
The disciples do not bargain or explain. They state a claim, and that claim rests on who owns every living thing.
He demands the use of the donkey and its colt. He has a right to them, because He is the Creator, and He can say what He has already said: "For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine" (Psalm 50:10-11)... These men either owned the colt or had charge of it. No doubt the majestic "The Lord has need of them" made a deep impression on their hearts. So they were at once ready to let them go. His word demanded obedience, and they obeyed.
Luke tells us who let the animal go. Their quick surrender suggests they already knew the One making the claim.
Luke is the only one of the four Gospel writers who certainly was not an eyewitness. From his account we gather that the owners of the animals allowed the disciples to take the foal. "The Lord has need of him" was enough. Surely they were disciples of the Master. Probably so was the owner of the upper room where they ate the last Passover. The owners acknowledged the Lord's claim at once, and the two disciples led off the foal without further discussion.
Jesus knew the owner's answer in advance. That knowledge came with power over the man's will.
They were to say simply, "The Lord has need of it"... So He knew and ordered the heart at a distance. He showed how David's Lord had a good claim to be David's Son... He did these things by divine power, and so He was surely claiming the place of David's Son, in grace and with no needless untruth. Everything was already subject to Him, whatever He might subject Himself to. This power was over several hearts, whoever they were. It was not merely knowledge of the owner, but control of their hearts.
One sentence settled every question that day. Writers see in that willingness a small picture of a day still ahead.
Coming as the King, He acts with kingly authority. Someone might ask why the disciples were untying the colt. The answer "that the Lord has need of him" would be enough, and straight away every question would cease. So it came to pass. And so it will be in the coming day of glory. Then it will be true of Zion: "Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power" (Psalm 110:3).
The One who owns everything asks for the loan of a donkey. The word "need" sits oddly beside the glory of the One who says it.
Sending for the colt shows the Lord as Jehovah, who has a perfect right to everything. "The Lord has need of them." What could be more complete than His knowledge of circumstances still hidden in the future? How clear His control over the owner's mind and feeling! He was meek, sitting on a donkey, the King of Zion that the prophet spoke of. Yet He was as surely Jehovah as He was Messiah coming in His name. The "need of them" is as amazing as the glory of His person.
The errand had two halves: untie the colt, and bring it to Jesus. Both halves shape service today.
Luke tells us that the colt was the one the Lord had need of. The Lord instructs the disciples to go and untie it, and more than that, to bring it to Jesus. That is a word that older believers and those who seek to serve the Lord should take to heart. Under the Lord's command, are we able to bring in a ministry that sets affections free for His service?... The Lord Himself has gone from the scene, but His name and His interests are here. We should want everything we do and say to free affections and attach them in loyalty to an absent Christ.
- Right — He asks for another man's colt because, as Creator, every beast and all the cattle already belong to Him.
- Word — the disciples carried no argument, only one sentence, and that word won obedience.
- Heart — He did more than know where the animal stood; He had control over the owners' hearts at a distance.
- Day — their quick willingness previews the promised day when His people offer themselves freely.
- You — the disciples untied the colt only to bring it to Jesus, and service still means setting affections free for Him.
And they that were sent, having gone their way, found as he had said to them.
Jesus sent two disciples ahead for a colt they had never seen, and gave them one sentence to say if anyone stopped them. This verse reports what they found, and what that proves about the One who sent them.
The weight of the verse falls on the match between what He said and what they found. One commentator warns against turning the scene into a picture of something else:
Ancient and modern writers have worked hard to find in this remarkable incident a picture of the Gentiles obeying the gospel, as the Lord received and rode on the colt. That effort seems to me far from intelligent. Instead, it was very simply the evidence of His divine knowledge. It was His claim among the Jews to be Jehovah Messiah. Facts verified that claim, and so did the proved submission of human hearts where God was pleased to produce it, to the honour of His Son. So the Spirit records every word that passed, and how everything He said came true.
Nobody suggested this to Him. The arrangement came from His side, down to the words the disciples were to use:
The disciples had not prepared the colt, nor asked the Lord to mount it. The Lord took the initiative by sending two of His disciples to the entrance of Bethphage to get it. The foal was there, tied, as Mark tells us, at a door outside in the open street. He told them where to find it, what to do, and what to say to the owners. Zechariah had foretold that the foal would be available for the King's use. The Lord made known where it was actually standing at that moment. It was there ready to bring in the King, according to prophecy.
He told the disciples to take an animal that belonged to someone else, and to explain it with one short sentence about the Lord's need:
Only the Lord could give such instructions, for all things are His property; for anyone else to do this would be stealing. No difficulty arose, for the words, "the Lord has need of it" settled the matter even for the owners, who at first questioned the disciples.
The disciples found the colt because He knew where it was. The owners let it go without a fight. One writer links this to a day still to come:
Jesus still acts on His supreme and holy Lordship. He knows all things, directs all things, and has all things at His command — including the wills of men. For His people shall be willing in the day of His power. This was a brief demonstration of what He was and of His rights. "The Lord has need of it."
The animal they untied had never carried anyone. Yet it gave the Lord no trouble at all:
He rode a young animal, unbroken, as Luke 19:30 proves. Despite never having been ridden before, it was fully submissive to the Lord Jesus. Israel ought to have learned from this, that they too should submit to the authority of the lowly Son of Man.
Commentators differ over how far to press this. Kelly, quoted above, rejected reading the incident as a picture of the Gentiles coming to the gospel. He took it as plain evidence of divine knowledge and of Christ's claim to be the Messiah.
The errand also says something about the two who ran it:
When the Lord sent two disciples to bring the colt, they were to say certain things. When questioned they said exactly those words, adding nothing and taking nothing away, and they completed the service successfully.
- Word. What He said and what they found matched exactly. Facts verified His divine knowledge, so the Spirit notes every detail.
- Right. Their one sentence rested on ownership. Anyone else sending men to take another man's animal would be stealing.
- Power. He knew where the colt stood, and He moved the owners to release it. It was a small sample of the day when His people will be willing.
- Submission. The unbroken colt carried Him without resistance. Israel should have learned to submit to the lowly Son of Man.
- Obedience. The two disciples spoke only the words He gave them, and the errand succeeded.
And as they were loosing the colt, its masters said to them, Why loose ye the colt?
Two disciples are untying an animal that is not theirs. The owners walk up and ask the obvious question. They answer with one short sentence. Everything turns on whether that sentence outranks a legal title deed.
The instruction given to the disciples would be criminal on any other lips. One writer notes that the whole errand rests on who is sending them:
Only the Lord could give such instructions, because all things are His property. For anyone else to do this would be stealing. No difficulty arose, because the words "the Lord has need of him" settled the matter even for the owners, who questioned the disciples at first.
The same claim runs through His life. One commentator lists moments when He took up glories that belonged to the God of Israel:
He healed leprosy, the well-known special honour of God (2 Kings 5:7). He put away all sicknesses, as Jehovah-rophi, the ancient Healer of Israel (Ex. 15:26). He fed the crowds in the wilderness again. He stilled the waves, as though He could once more divide the Jordan and the Red Sea. He made the fish bring Him tribute money, just as here He claims the donkey — treating the earth and everything in it as His own.
The disciples' reply names Him only as "the Lord." Commentators differ on how much the owners understood by that title:
The Lord had need of the donkey's colt, whether they applied the title to Jehovah or to the king who came in His name. If their faith truly recognised the Messiah in Jehovah, that was perfectly true, and so much the better for those who did. But I am not sure anyone can claim that the Spirit meant to imply that much.
Something more than a good argument moved these owners. One writer sees more than knowledge at work here:
So He knew and directed a heart far away, showing how David's Lord had a good claim to be David's Son... Everything was already subject to Him, whatever He might subject Himself to. This power reached several hearts, whoever they were, so it was not just knowledge of the owner, but control of their hearts.
Some read the owners' quick consent as a sign that they already belonged to Him. One writer links them with another unnamed host in the same closing week:
From Luke's account we gather that it was the owners of the animals who allowed the disciples to take the foal. "The Lord has need of him" was enough. They were surely disciples of the Master, probably like the owner of the upper room where the last Passover was eaten.
This was not a seizure. Mark's fuller wording adds a promise:
The owners saw the disciples untying the colt and asked why. They answered as the Master had told them: "The Lord has need of him, and He will send him back here at once." That is how Mark seems to have written it (11:3), hinting that the Master needed it for a short time, and would give it back when He was done with it.
Being untied did not leave the colt free to do as it pleased. One commentator reads the episode as a picture:
The colt was unbroken, for no one had ever sat on it, and so it was tied up and held in. It was set loose from that restraint, but only so that He could sit on it. Under His powerful hand it was held in completely. This is a picture of how grace sets us free from the bondage of the law.
These owners hand over a working animal at a moment's notice, with no explanation. One writer treats that as the normal call on anyone who owns anything:
We are so quick to think of things as ours. We should remember instead that all we have and all we are belongs to the Lord, and we should always give it up when He calls. This is not just a matter of rightful obedience; it is for our lasting good and happiness.
- His by right. For anyone else, taking another man's colt would be theft. It is lawful here because all things are already His.
- His by title. The reply names Him only as "the Lord." The owners may have heard Jehovah, or the King coming in His name.
- His over hearts. He did more than know the owners' minds. He held their wills, so their question stopped the moment they heard His name.
- His for a purpose. They untie the colt only so that He can sit on it, and Mark adds that He will send it back — a loan, not a loss.
- His at His call. He asks of every owner what He asked of these owners: hold everything as His, and give it up when He calls.
And they said, Because the Lord has need of it.
Two disciples are untying an animal that is not theirs, and its owners are standing right there asking why. Their whole answer is one short sentence Jesus gave them before they left.
On anyone else's lips, the instruction to take a tied-up colt would have been theft.
Only the Lord could give such instructions, for all things are His property; for another to do this would be stealing. There was no difficulty. The words, "the Lord has need of it," settled the matter even for the owners, who questioned the disciples at first.
The title is the point. "Lord" here stands for Jehovah, the covenant name of God, and this is the God who owns everything saying He has need of a donkey.
The sending for the colt shows the Lord as Jehovah, who has a perfect right to all. "The Lord (Jehovah) has need of them." What could be more thorough than His knowledge of circumstances hidden in the future? How clear His control over the owner's mind and feeling! He was meek, sitting on a donkey, the King of Zion that the prophet spoke of. Yet He was as surely Jehovah as He was the Messiah coming in His name. The "need of them" is as amazing as the glory of His person.
One writer sets this beside other moments when He acted as the earth's true Owner:
He claims the donkey from its owner, because He could say of Himself, "The Lord has need of it." It is very striking that through His life and ministry, though He was the rejected man from Galilee the whole time, there was no form of the ancient glory that He did not take up. He made the fish bring Him tribute, and here He claims the donkey, treating the earth and everything in it as all His own.
He knew what the owners would say before they said it, and more than one heart was involved.
He knew and directed a heart far away, showing that David's Lord had good claim to be David's Son. All was already subject to Him, whatever He might subject Himself to. This was over several hearts, whoever they were. So it was not only knowledge of the owner, but control of their hearts.
Luke's account tells us who let the colt go, and how fast they agreed.
From Luke's account we gather that it was the owners of the animals who let the disciples take the foal. "The Lord has need of it," was enough. They were surely disciples of the Master, probably along with the owner of the upper room where the last Passover was eaten. The Lord's claim was accepted at once, and the two disciples led the foal away with no further discussion.
Prophecy had already spoken about this colt, and Mark's record adds a few more words to the answer.
Zechariah had foretold that the foal would be there for the King's use. The Lord made known where it was standing at that moment. The owners saw the disciples untying the colt, and asked the reason. They answered as the Master had directed: "The Lord has need of it, and He will send it back here at once." So it seems Mark wrote (11:3). He means that the Master needed it for a short time, and would give it back when He had finished with it.
Commentators differ on whether the colt carries a symbolic meaning. Some read the untying of an unbroken animal as a picture of what grace does with a life:
The colt was unbroken, for no man had sat on it, and so it was tied up under restraint. It was loosed from restraint, but only so that He might sit on it. Under His powerful hand it was perfectly controlled. This is a picture of how grace sets us free from the bondage of the law.
Another writer holds that the point is plainer:
It was very simply the evidence of His divine knowledge. It was His claim, asserted among the Jews, to be Jehovah Messiah. Facts proved that claim, and so did the submission of human hearts, where God was pleased to produce it for the honour of His Son. That is why the Spirit records the words that passed, and the fulfilment of everything He said, so exactly.
- The claim. He treats the earth and everything in it as His own. What would be theft for anyone else is the Owner sending for His property.
- The word. One sentence — "The Lord has need of it" — was enough, and the owners let the colt go.
- The hearts. He knew where the colt stood and how its owners would react. That is not just knowledge of the owner, but control of their hearts.
- The wonder. That the One who owns everything should have need of anything is as astonishing as the glory of His person.
- The return. Mark adds that He would send it straight back. He borrows what He has every right to take.
And they led it to Jesus; and having cast their own garments on the colt, they put Jesus on [it].
The two disciples have done what they were told, and the owners have let the animal go. Now the colt stands in front of Jesus. The men who fetched it turn their own clothes into a saddle, and He rides into Jerusalem as King.
Writers have long asked whether the animal stands for something. One writer sets aside that reading and points to what the incident proves about Jesus:
Ancient and modern writers have worked hard to find in this remarkable incident a picture of the Gentiles obeying the gospel, since the Lord received and rode on the colt. That effort seems to me far from intelligent. It was very simply the evidence of His divine knowledge. It was His claim among the Jews to be Jehovah Messiah, asserted openly. Facts verified that claim, and so did the proved submission of human hearts, where God was pleased to produce it for the honour of His Son. That is why the Spirit records so carefully the words that passed and the fulfilment of all He said.
Others do read the scene as a picture. One writer ties the fulfilled prophecy to the unbroken colt, and sees in it bondage broken by grace:
The Lord led His disciples up toward Jerusalem, and He sent for the donkey's colt on which He rode into the city, just as Zechariah had prophesied. The colt was unbroken, for no man had sat on it, and so it was tied up under restraint. It was loosed from that restraint, but only so that He might sit on it. Under His powerful hand it was perfectly controlled. This is a parable of how grace sets us free from the bondage of the law.
The disciples took an animal that was not theirs, and the owners let them. That is only defensible if the one who sent them owns everything:
Only the Lord could give such instructions, for all things are His property. For anyone else to do this would be stealing. No difficulty came up. The words "The Lord has need of it" settled the matter even for the owners, who questioned the disciples at first.
The word for what the disciples did with their cloaks is a strong one. It appears again in a call to hand our worries to God:
"Casting (or, having cast) all your care — every anxiety — on Him." The word "casting" is a strong word. It really means "to fling," to part company with something completely. It is used that way in Luke 19:35, where the people cast their garments on the colt, letting them completely go!
One writer reads the clothing and the choice of animal together:
The people put their clothing on the animal for the Lord to ride on. Others spread their garments on the ground in the way, for the donkey to walk on. This symbolized the submission of the people to this blessed though lowly Messiah of Israel. He did not ride on a war horse, as He will when He comes in judgment (Revelation 19:11). He rode a lowly donkey's colt, for He was presented in grace, offering peace if peace would be received.
The disciples and the crowd were not acting on their own enthusiasm:
The same divine power was controlling the hearts of the disciples and the multitude. That power gave this testimony to the royalty of Jesus, and it fulfilled the words of the prophet. They threw their cloaks on it, and He sat on it. A new position for the lowly Jesus — yet lovely even in this.
Matthew mentions both the colt and its mother; Luke keeps the colt alone. One writer takes that difference as deliberate:
The colt here is seen alone, and not, as in Matthew, in company with its mother. It is grace entirely, not government. The King enters amid the applause of His people. When the Pharisees try to silence the disciples in their praise, He replies that the stones would cry out if the disciples kept quiet.
- Claim. Bringing the colt to Jesus showed His divine knowledge. It asserted His claim among the Jews as Jehovah Messiah, proved by facts and by hearts God made willing.
- Ownership. "The Lord has need of it" settled the question for the owners. All things are His property; from anyone else the same act would have been theft.
- Release. The colt was unbroken and tied. It was loosed only so that He might sit on it, and under His hand it went perfectly. That is a parable of grace freeing us from the bondage of the law.
- Surrender. The word for casting the garments means to fling, to let go completely — the same word used for casting every anxiety on Him.
- Grace. He rode a donkey's colt, not the war horse of judgment. Luke's account keeps the colt alone: grace entirely, not government.
And as he went, they strewed their clothes in the way.
Jesus rides toward Jerusalem on a donkey's colt. The crowd turns the road into a carpet of clothing, treating Him as a king. Two questions press on the scene: what did this gesture mean, and who put it into their hearts to make it?
The crowd did not invent this gesture on the spot. It belonged to an older practice.
They spread the garments in the way. It was an Eastern custom to put costly rugs before the feet of kings, and the crowds followed this custom by putting their own garments down.
The same custom appears in the Old Testament. When Israel's officers made Jehu king, they put their garments under him on the steps and blew the trumpet (2 Kings 9:13). One writer calls this an ancient custom that points forward to this very scene (C. Knapp).
Heaven had already given Him glory. Here the honour came from the crowd's own clothing.
At the entry into Jerusalem, we see Him accepted in Israel, receiving such honours as Israel could give Him. The owner of the donkey acknowledges His higher claim as Lord. The crowd, it is true, cannot bathe His garments in glory, as heaven had done before. But they can spread their own garments under His feet, and surround Him with the joys of a feast of tabernacles. No glorified ones come out from their homes of glory to wait on Him and honour Him. But His citizens will hail Him as their King.
Some have read the colt as a picture of the nations outside Israel submitting to the gospel. William Kelly rejects that reading. He points to what the scene proves about the rider.
Writers ancient and modern have laboured to find in this remarkable incident a picture of the Gentiles obeying the gospel, as the Lord received and rode on the colt. That seems to me far from intelligent. It was simply the evidence of His divine knowledge, and the assertion among the Jews of His claim as Jehovah Messiah. Facts confirmed that claim, and so did the proven submission of human hearts, where God was pleased to produce it, to the honour of His Son. This is why the Spirit records in such detail the words that passed and the fulfilment of all He said.
The clothes on the animal and the clothes on the ground carried one message. The animal He rode showed what His reign would offer.
The people put their clothing on the animal for the Lord to ride on. They spread other garments on the ground in the way for the donkey to walk on. This was a symbol of their submission to this blessed though lowly Messiah of Israel. He did not ride on a war horse, as He will when He comes in judgment (Rev. 19:11). He rode a lowly donkey's colt, for He was presented in grace, offering peace, if people would receive it.
No leader organised this welcome. Commentators trace the whole scene to God at work in ordinary people.
The sovereign power of God moves a very great crowd to lay their garments on the road He travels. Others cut branches from the trees to spread in the way... The Jewish leaders had arranged nothing of the kind, though you would expect it at the arrival of their Messiah. Yet without any arrangement God worked in men's hearts. The result was a public presentation of the Messiah that the leaders could not ignore, however strongly they disapproved.
The praise was real, but it did not last. Even so, God had His own reason for producing it.
How happy for them if their hearts had been changed so as to hold on to this testimony in the Spirit. But God in His sovereignty arranged their hearts to give this testimony. He could not allow His Son to be rejected without receiving it.
The colt was on that road because the Lord had need of it, and the disciples loosed it and brought it. That points to a lesson for anyone who serves Him.
Luke tells us that the colt was the one the Lord had need of. He instructs the disciples to go and loose it, and more than that, to bring it to Jesus. Those who are older, and those who seek to serve the Lord, should take that word to heart. Are we able, under the Lord's command, to bring in a ministry that results in affections being set free for His service?
- Custom — spreading garments on the road honoured a king, as Israel's officers did for Jehu.
- Submission — the clothes on the colt and on the road showed the people bowing to a Messiah who came lowly, not on a war horse.
- Claim — Christ was asserting His claim as Jehovah Messiah, proved by His divine knowledge and by hearts God moved to honour Him.
- Sovereignty — no leader arranged this welcome; God worked in the crowd, and the leaders could not ignore the result.
- Application — the Lord asks for what He needs to be loosed and brought to Him; our work is to set affections free for Him.