Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 21:2
Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose [them,] and bring [them] unto me.
2. an ass tied, and a colt with her ] “A colt tied whereon never man sat” (Mark and Luke). St Matthew notes the close correspondence with the words of the prophecy; see Mat 21:5.
Oriental travellers describe the high estimation in which the ass is held in the East. The variety of Hebrew names for these animals indicates the many uses to which they are put. “His lot varies as does the lot of those he serves. The rich man’s ass is a lordly beast. In size he is far ahead of anything of his kind we see here at home. His coat is as smooth and glossy as a horse’s. His livery is shiny black, satiny white or sleek mouse colour. I never saw one of the dingy red of his Poitou brethren.” Zincke’s Egypt.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Go into the village over against you – That is, to Bethphage See the notes at Mat 21:1.
Ye shall find an ass tied … – In Judea there were few horses, and those were chiefly used in war. People seldom employed them in common life and in ordinary journeys. The ass, the mule, and the camel are still most used in Eastern countries. To ride on a horse was sometimes an emblem of war; on a mule and an ass, the emblem of peace. Kings and princes commonly rode on them in times of peace, and it is mentioned as a mark of rank and dignity to ride in that manner, Jdg 10:4; Jdg 12:14; 1Sa 25:20. So Solomon, when he was inaugurated as king, rode on a mule, 1Ki 1:33. Riding in this manner, then, denoted neither poverty nor degradation, but was the appropriate way in which a king should ride, and in which, therefore, the King of Zion should enter into his capital, the city of Jerusalem.
Mark and Luke say that he told them they should find a colt tied. This they were directed to bring. They mention only the colt, because it was this on which he rode.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 2. Ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt] Asses and mules were in common use in Palestine: horses were seldom to be met with. Our blessed Lord takes every opportunity to convince his disciples that nothing was hidden from him: he informs them of the most minute occurrence; and manifested his power over the heart in disposing the owner to permit the ass to be taken away.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Saying unto them, go into the village over against you,…. Munster’s Hebrew Gospel reads, “before you”; not Jerusalem, as some have thought, for that would never be called a village; though the Ethiopic version reads it, “the city”; but rather Bethany, which was near to Bethphage, and is mentioned with it; though the Jews say u, the name of the village was Nob, and was near to Jerusalem, and own, that Christ had an ass from hence, on which he rode to Jerusalem, and applied to himself the prophecy in Zec 9:9. And it is very likely this was the village; for Nob was very near to Jerusalem; it was over against it, within sight of it, and from thence might be taken a view of the whole city, according to the Jews; who say w, that Sennacherib stood in Nob, a city of the priests, over against the walls of Jerusalem, and saw the whole city, and it was little in his eyes; and he said; is not this the city of Jerusalem, c.
and straightway, or, as in Mark, “as soon as ye be entered into it” and in Luke, “at your entering”, at the town’s end, at one of the first houses in it, at the door thereof,
ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her. The other evangelists only make mention of the colt, or young ass; but, no doubt, both were spoken of by Christ, and both were found by the disciples, the ass, and the colt by her, and both were brought away by them; and on both of them, very probably, Christ rode; first on one, and then on the other, as the prophecy hereby fulfilled seems to require, and as the sequel of the account shows. The ancient allegorical sense of the ass and colt is not to be despised: that the ass may signify the Jews, who had been used to bear the burdensome rites and ceremonies of the law; and the colt, the wild and untamed Gentiles, and the coming of Christ, first to the one, and then to the other:
loose them, and bring them unto me, both ass and colt. So the Arabic version reads it, “loose both, and bring them, both to me”.
u Toldos Jesu, p. 9. w T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 95. 1. Targum, Jarchi, & Kimchi in Isa. x. 32.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Into the village that is over against you ( ). Another use of . If it means “into” as translated, it could be Bethany right across the valley and this is probably the idea.
And a colt with her ( ‘ ). The young of any animal. Here to come with the mother and the more readily so.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
A colt with her. The Lord does not separate the colt from its dam.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
2. Go into the village. As he was at Bethany, he did not ask for an ass to relieve the fatigue of traveling; for he could easily have performed the rest of the journey on foot. (714) But as kings are wont to ascend their chariots, from which they may be easily seen, so the Lord intended to turn the eyes of the people on himself, and to place some mark of approbation on the applauses of his followers, lest any might think that he unwillingly received the honor of a king. (715)
From what place he ordered the ass to be brought is uncertain, except, what may naturally be inferred, that it was some village adjoining to the city; for the allegorical exposition of it, which some give, as applying to Jerusalem, is ridiculous. Not a whit more admissible is the allegory which certain persons have contrived about the ass and the colt “The she-ass,” they tell us, “is a figure of the Jewish nation, which had been long subdued, and accustomed to the yoke of the Law. The Gentiles, again, are represented by the colt, on which no man ever sat. Christ sat first on the ass for this reason, that it was proper for him to begin with the Jews; and afterwards he passed over to the colt, because he was appointed to govern the Gentiles also in the second place.” And indeed Matthew appears to say that he rode on both of them; but as instances of Synecdoche occur frequently in Scripture, we need not wonder if he mentions two instead of one. From the other Evangelists it appears manifestly that the colt only was used by Christ; and all doubt is removed by Zechariah, (Zec 9:9,)who twice repeats the same thing, according to the ordinary custom of the Hebrew language. (716)
And immediately you will find That the disciples may feel no hesitation about immediate compliance, our Lord anticipates and replies to their questions. First, he explains that he does not send them away at random, and this he does by saying that, at the very entrance into the village, they will find an ass-colt with its mother; and, secondly, that nobody will hinder them from leading him away, if they only reply that He hath need of him In this way he proved his Divinity; for both to know absent matters, and to bend the hearts of men to compliance, (717) belonged to God alone. It was, no doubt, possible that the owner of the ass, entertaining no unfavorable opinion of Christ, would cheerfully grant it; but to foresee if he would be at home, if it would then be convenient for him, or if he would place confidence in unknown persons, was not in the power of a mortal man. Again, as Christ strengthens the disciples, that they may be more ready to obey, so we see how they, on the other hand, yield submission. The result shows that the whole of this affair was directed by God.
(714) “ Car il y avoit si pen de la iusques en Ierusalem, qu’il y fust aisee-merit alle a pied;” — “for it was so short a distance from that place to Jerusalem, that he would easily have gone thither on foot.”
(715) “ Afin qu’on ne pensast point qu’il prinst cela a desplaisir, et qu’on lui attribuast l’honneur de Roy contre son vouloir;” — “that it might not be thought that he took offense at this, and that the honor of King was given to him in opposition to his will.”
(716) “ Car voyla ses mots, Estant monte sur an asne, et sur un asnon poullain d’asnesse ; ” — “for his words are these, Sitting on an ass, and on an ass-colt, the foal of an ass. ”
(717) “ Et de faire flechir les coeurs des hommes, pour accorder ce qu’il luy plaist;” — “and to bend the hearts of men to grant what he pleases.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(2) Go into the village over against you.This may have been either Bethany or, on the assumption that it was nearer Jerusalem, Bethphage itself.
An ass tied, and a colt with her.St. Mark and St. Luke name the colt only. St. John speaks of a young or small ass, using the diminutive of the usual name (). The colt was one on which man had never sat (Mar. 11:2; Luk. 19:30). The command clearly implies a deliberate fulfilment of the prophecy cited in Mat. 21:4-5. They were to claim the right to use the beasts as for the service of a King, not to hire or ask permission.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
2. The village over against you The Greek preposition rendered over against, simply signifies before or in front of you. Our Lord had spent the previous night at Bethany. If Bethphage was the village before them, as their faces were towards Jerusalem, that village must have been west of Bethany. Such was probably the fact. Matthew mentions Bethphage only, and says they came to it; that is, it was now before them.
An ass tied, and a colt with her The horse was an animal of pride and war; the ass, of humility and peace. Yet there was nothing mean in the humble state which our Lord now assumed. Even Solomon, the Jewish prince of peace, rode on a mule in state. 1Ki 1:38.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Mat 21:2 f. , . . .] Bethphage .
] essentially appropriate to the specific character of the instructions: immediately , after you have entered.
The mention of two animals made by Matthew, though seemingly at variance with Mar 11:2 , Luk 19:30 , Joh 12:14 , represents the matter more correctly than the other evangelists, and is neither to be explained symbolically (of Judaism and heathenism, Justin Martyr), nor to be regarded as a reduplication on the part of Matthew (Ewald, Holtzmann), nor to be traced to a misapprehension of the words of the prophet (de Wette, Neander, Strauss, Hilgenfeld), who intends as an epexegetical parallel to ; for just in the same way are we to understand , Mat 21:5 , so that, according to Matthew as well, Jesus rides upon, the foal, though accompanied by the mother, a detail which the other evangelists fail to notice. Moreover, it is simply arbitrary to assign a mythical character to the prediction of Jesus on the strength of Gen 49:11 (Strauss; on the other hand, Bleek).
] recitative.
] so far from refusing, He sends them away. The present represents as already taking place what will immediately and certainly be realized. Comp. Mar 4:29 . In , but at once, observe Jesus’ marvellous knowledge, not merely of the fact that the animals would undoubtedly be found awaiting them exactly as He said they would be, but of the further fact that the people of the place are so loyal to Him as perfectly to understand the meaning of the , . . ., and to find in those words sufficient reason for at once complying with His request. Comp. Mat 26:18 . The idea of a magical virtue attaching to the use of the name Jesus (Strauss) is foreign to the text; while, on the other hand, we fail to satisfy the requirements of the three accounts of this incident by resolving it into a mere case of borrowing (Paulus) or requisition (Keim).
The simple account of John does not affect the credibility of the synoptic narrative (also in answer to Bleek). See note on Joh 12:14 f.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
2 Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them , and bring them unto me.
Ver. 2. An ass tied, and a colt with her ] There are those who by the ass understand the Jews laden with the law, a and by her foal, the Gentiles that wandered whither they would. That canonist made the most of it, that said that children are therefore to be baptized, because the apostles brought to Christ not only the ass, but the colt too.
a Oneramus asinum et non curat quia asinus est. Bern.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
2, 3. ] . . ., i.e. Bethphage. Mark and Luke mention the only, adding “ whereon never yet man sat ” (see note on Mark): John . Justin Martyr (Apolog. i. 32, p. 63) connects this verse with the prophecy in Gen 49:11 , , .
, here, ‘the LORD,’ Jehovah (see reff.): most probably a general intimation to the owners, that they were wanted for the service of God . I cannot see how this interpretation errs against decorum, as Stier (ii. 332, edn. 2) asserts. The meanest animals might be wanted for the service of the Lord Jehovah. And after all, what difference is there as to decorum , if we understand with him . to signify “the King Messiah”? The two disciples were perhaps Peter and John: compare Mar 14:13 and Luk 22:8 .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mat 21:2 . : that is, naturally, the one named, though if we take before as = into, it might be Bethany, on the other side of the valley. Some think the two villages were practically one (Porter, Handbook for Syria and Palestine , p. 180). . , a she-ass with her foal, the latter alone mentioned in parall.; both named here for a reason which will appear. , loose and bring; without asking leave, as if they were their own.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Go = go forward.
over against = or just off the high road. Greek. apenanti = facing you. In Mark and Luke katenanti = opposite and below, preferred, here, by all the texts. But the text may have been altered to make Matt, agree with Mark and Luke.
straightway = immediately.
ass . . . colt. Here the two are sent for, because Zec 9:9 was to be fulfilled. In Mark, and Luke, only one (only one being necessary to fulfill the part of Zechariah quoted by Joh 12:14, Joh 12:15).
with. Greek. meta. The Lord. App-98.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
2, 3.] . . ., i.e. Bethphage. Mark and Luke mention the only, adding whereon never yet man sat (see note on Mark): John . Justin Martyr (Apolog. i. 32, p. 63) connects this verse with the prophecy in Gen 49:11, , .
, here, the LORD, Jehovah (see reff.): most probably a general intimation to the owners, that they were wanted for the service of God. I cannot see how this interpretation errs against decorum, as Stier (ii. 332, edn. 2) asserts. The meanest animals might be wanted for the service of the Lord Jehovah. And after all, what difference is there as to decorum, if we understand with him . to signify the King Messiah? The two disciples were perhaps Peter and John: compare Mar 14:13 and Luk 22:8.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mat 21:2. , which is over against you.-, immediately) The word is repeated in the next verse. All things are easy to the Lord.-, tied) already as it were prepared.-, a colt) The colt had never carried any one before. Jesus had never been carried before by any animal, except perhaps at a very tender age. He took the mother from the village for a short way.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Mat 26:18, Mar 11:2, Mar 11:3, Mar 14:13-16, Luk 19:30-32, Joh 2:5-8
Reciprocal: Luk 19:31 – the Lord Act 8:27 – he arose
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
21:2. Jesus knew all things that pertained to his activities and hence could tell the disciples what they would find in the nearby village.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them; and bring them unto me.
[An ass and her foal.] In the Talmudists we have the like phrase, an ass and a little colt. In that treatise Mezia, they speak concerning a hired ass, and the terms that the hired is obliged to. Among other things there, the Babylon Gemara hath these words, Whosoever transgresses against the will of the owner is called a robber. For instance, if any one hires an ass for a journey on the plains, and turns up to the mountains, etc. Hence this of our Saviour appears to be a miracle, not a robbery; that without any agreement or terms this ass should be led away; and that the owner and those that stood by should be satisfied with these bare words, “The Lord hath need of him.”
Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels
Mat 21:2. Into the village. Bethphage; not Bethany, from which He had just come.
An ass tied, and a colt with her. More particular than Mark and Luke, who mention only the colt. The more literal fulfilment of the prophecy is thus shown. The unbroken animal would be quieter if the mother was with him.
Loose them. This act was to be significant of Christs royal prerogative. Yet in His exercise of power the willingness of men concurs.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 2
The village over against you; Bethany, a village near Bethphage.