Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 21:5
Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy king cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.
5. Tell ye the daughter of Sion, &c.] Zec 9:9. The prophet is predicting the triumph of Israel and the fall of the neighbouring nations. The prophecy contains three distinct Hebrew words for an “ass.” “Sitting upon an ass ( chamr, from a root meaning red) and a colt ( air, ‘a young male ass’) the foal (lit. ‘the son’) of an ass ( athn = ‘a she-ass,’ from a root meaning ‘slow’).”
meek ] See ch. Mat 5:5.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 5. Tell ye the daughter of Sion] The quotation is taken from Zec 9:9, but not in the precise words of the prophet.
This entry into Jerusalem has been termed the triumph of Christ. It was indeed the triumph of humility over pride and worldly grandeur; of poverty over affluence; and of meekness and gentleness over rage and malice.
He is coming now meek, full of kindness and compassion to those who were plotting his destruction! He comes to deliver up himself into their hands; their king comes to be murdered by his subjects, and to make his death a ransom price for their souls!
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Tell ye the daughter of Zion,…. These words seem to be taken out of Isa 62:11 where it is said, “say ye to the daughter of Zion, behold thy salvation cometh”, or “thy Saviour cometh”; meaning, without doubt, the Messiah: by the daughter of Zion is meant, not the city of Jerusalem, but the inhabitants thereof, the Jewish synagogue; or as the Targum renders it, , “the congregation of Zion”, the people of the Jews; particularly the elect of God among them, those that embraced the true Messiah, and believed in him:
behold, thy king cometh unto thee: this, and what follow, are cited from Zec 9:9 and to be understood of the king Messiah, who, in a little time after this prophecy was given out, was to come to Zion, and redeem Jacob from all his iniquities, and was now come. One of the Jewish commentators says x, that interpreters are divided about the sense of this prophecy; but observes, that there are some that say this is the Messiah: and another y of them affirms, that it is impossible to explain it of any other than the king Messiah; and that it can be understood of no other, I have elsewhere z shown. “Meek”; in the prophecy of Zechariah it is, , “poor”, as the Messiah Jesus was, in a temporal sense; but the word, both by the Septuagint, and our evangelist, is rendered
meek; as it is by the Targum, Jarchi, and Kimchi, who all explain it by , “lowly, humble, or meek”: and a character it is, that well agrees with Jesus, who, in the whole of his deportment, both in life and in death, was a pattern of meekness and lowliness of mind: and
sitting upon an ass, and a colt, the foal of an ass. This is applied to the Messiah by the Jews, both ancient a and modern v, who consider this as an instance and evidence of his humility: they suppose, this ass to be a very uncommon one, having an hundred spots on it; and say, that it was the foal of that which was created on the eve of the sabbath w; and is the same that Abraham and Moses rode upon: and they own, as before observed, that Jesus of Nazareth rode on one to Jerusalem, as is here related. Their ancient governors, patriarchs, princes, and judges, used to ride on asses, before the introduction and multiplication of horses in Solomon’s time, forbidden by the law of God: wherefore, though this might seem mean and despicable at this present time, yet was suitable enough to Christ’s character as a king, and as the son of David, and king of Israel; strictly observing the law given to the kings of Israel, and riding in such manner as they formerly did.
x Aben Ezra in Zech. ix. 9. y Jarchi in ib. z Prophecies of the Messiah literally fulfilled in Jesus, c. 9. p. 151, &c. a T. Bab. Sanhedrim, fol. 98. 1. & 99. 1. Bereshit Rabba, fol. 66. 2. & 85. 3. Midrash Kohelet, fol. 63. 2. Zohar in Gen. fol. 127. 3. & in Num. fol. 83. 4. & in Deut. fol. 117. 1. & 118. 3. Raya Mehimna in Zohar. in Lev. fol. 38. 3. & in Num. fol. 97. 2. v Jarchi in Isa. xxvi 6. Baal Hatturim in Exod. fol. 88. 2. Abarbimel, Mashmia Jeshua, fol. 15. 4. w Pirke Eliezer, c. 31. Caphtor, fol. 81. 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The daughter of Zion ( ). Jerusalem as in Isa 22:4 (daughter of my people). So Babylon (Isa 47:1), daughter of Tyre for Tyre (Ps 45:12).
Riding (). Perfect active participle of , “having gone upon.”
And upon a colt the foal of an ass ( ). These words give trouble if is here taken to mean “and.” Fritzsche argues that Jesus rode alternately upon each animal, a possible, but needless interpretation. In the Hebrew it means by common Hebrew parallelism “upon an ass, even upon a colt.” That is obviously the meaning here in Matthew. The use of (a beast of burden, under a yoke) for ass is common in the LXX and in the papyri (Deissmann, Bible Studies p. 161).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Daughter of Sion. Jerusalem. Compare daughter of Babylon for the city of Babylon (Psa 137:8; Isa 47:1); daughter of Tyre for the city or people of Tyre (Psa 45:12); daughter of my people (Isa 22:4).
Sitting [] . Lit., having gone upon, or mounted. Rev., riding.
Foal of an ass [ ] . Lit., son of a beast – of – burden. Upozugion, from uJpo, beneath, zugov, a yoke. Wyc., son of a beast – under – yoke. The phrase emphasized the humble state of Jesus. He is mounted, not on a stately charger with embroidered and jewelled housings, nor even on an ass for the saddle, the Eastern ass being often of great beauty and spirit, and in demand for this purpose. He rides on a common beast – of – burden, furnished with the everyday garments of his disciples.
Garments [] . Outer garments. See on Mt 5:40.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
5. Say to the daughter of Zion. This is not found, word for word, in Zechariah; but what God commanded one Prophet to proclaim, the Evangelist justly and appropriately applies to all godly teachers; for the only hope, on which the children of God ought both to build and to rely, was, that the Redeemer would at length come. Accordingly, the Prophet shows that the coming of Christ yields to believers a full and complete ground of joy; for, since God is not reconciled to them in any other way than through the agency of the Mediator, and as it is the same Mediator who delivers his people from all evils, what can there be, apart from him, that is fitted to cheer men ruined by their sins, and oppressed by troubles? And as we must be altogether overwhelmed with grief when Christ is absent, so on the other hand, the Prophet reminds believers that, when the Redeemer is present with them, they ought to be perfectly joyful. Now though he bestows on Christ other commendations — namely, that he is just, and having salvation — Matthew has taken but a single portion, which applied to the object he had in view, which is, that Christ will come, poor or meek; or in other words, that he will be unlike earthly kings, whose apparel is very magnificent and costly. Another mark of poverty is added, that he will ride on an ass, or the foal of an ass; for there can be no doubt that the manner of riding which belongs to the common people is contrasted with royal splendor.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(5) Tell ye the daughter of Sion.The words seem to have been cited from memory, the Hebrew text of Zec. 9:9 beginning, Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion; shout O daughter of Jerusalem, and inserting just, and having salvation in the description of the King. As the words stand in Zechariah (we need not here discuss the question as to the authorship or composition of that book) they paint the ideal King coming, not with chariot and horse and battle bow, like the conquerors of earthly kingdoms, but as a prince of peace, reviving the lowlier pageantry of the days of the Judges (Jdg. 5:10; Jdg. 10:4; Jdg. 12:14), and yet exercising a wider dominion than David or Solomon had done, from sea to sea, and from the river (Euphrates) to the ends of the earth (Zec. 9:10). That ideal our Lord claimed to fulfil. Thus interpreted, His act was in part an apparent concession to the fevered expectations of His disciples and the multitude; in part also a protest, the meaning of which they would afterwards understand, against the character of those expectations and the self-seeking spirit which mingled with them. Here, as before, we trace the grave, sad accommodation to thoughts other than His own to which the Teacher of new truths must often have recourse when He finds Himself misinterpreted by those who stand altogether on a lower level. They wished Him to claim the kingdom, that they might sit on His right hand and on His left. Well, He would do so, but it would be a kingdom not of this world (Joh. 18:36), utterly unlike all that they were looking for.
A colt the foal of an ass.Literally, of a beast of burden, the word not being the same as that previously used. In the Hebrew of Zechariah the word reproduces the old poetic phraseology of Gen. 49:11.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
5. Tell ye the daughter of Zion This is a memorable prophecy of the Messiah in his humble and peaceful character. It is thus translated from the Hebrew by Hengstenberg: “Rejoice greatly, thou daughter of Zion! shout for joy, thou daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, thy king comes to thee; he is just and protected of God, afflicted and riding upon a foal the son of an ass.” The prophecy of the entire preceding part of the ninth chapter of Zechariah, Hengstenberg holds to be a clear prediction of the conquests of Alexander the Great. But with these words at the ninth verse commences, in contrast, the descriptive picture of Jesus the Prince of peace. It was applied by the ancient Jews to the Messiah.
Daughter of Zion The pious part of the Jewish people. And a colt the foal of an ass Strauss and ether objectors have maintained that this is simply a Hebrew parallelism, in which the last clause is but an echo of the former, both possessing the same meaning. Thereby the colt foal in the last clause would be the same as the ass in the first clause, both being terms for one and the same animal. But Hengstenberg justly denies that by the laws of Hebrew parallelism the two would necessarily mean the same individual animal. In the passage Gen 49:11: “Binding his foal unto the vine, his ass’s colt unto the choice vine,” no one would claim that the foal and the colt were necessarily the same individual. In the present case it was our Lord’s purpose to make his procession with both animals into Jerusalem a sort of visible embodiment of the prophet’s words. Nor must this voluntary act upon the part of our Lord be looked upon as being a literal and final fulfilment of the prophecy. The prophet does not by these words intend to describe this or any particular scene. He only takes the riding upon the ass as the image to illustrate the meekness of the Messianic King. And our Lord, in thus acting the image of the prophet in visible form, does call the attention of the Jewish nation to his claim to be the King predicted by this prophetic image. This our Saviour performed at the passover, when the Jewish nation was, by representatives, present to behold; when perhaps millions of the nation were actually present to bear the news to all parts of the land.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“Tell you the daughter of Zion,
Behold, your King comes to you,
Meek, and riding on an ass,
And on a colt the foal of an ass.”
That Jesus’ careful arrangement for the obtaining of the colt, followed by His equally deliberate riding of it into Jerusalem in Passover week, is intended to have significance is undoubted, for while certainly some wealthy pilgrims did ride into Jerusalem on asses at that time, it was not common practise, and it would certainly not have been expected of Jesus, for the pilgrims flocked in continually on foot. Thus He was by it deliberately making Himself stand out, and all would know that by it He was intending to make a declaration. And a careful reading of the witnesses suggests that they saw His intention as being to proclaim His prophetic status (Mat 21:11; Luk 19:37; Joh 12:16-18). It may also be that they saw Him as deliberately using an acted out prophecy in order to remind them of the soon coming Messiah. It was only later that recognition would dawn on many who believed, that it was in fact a declaration that He was the Messiah, coming in lowliness to commence the official establishment of His Kingly Rule in Jerusalem (Joh 12:16-18), as it had already first been established in Galilee. The quotation from Zechariah was certainly seen by the Jews as Messianic, but Jesus’ clothing and demeanour would not have encouraged full recognition.
Note. Writing as a Jewish Christian to Christian Jews Matthew avoids putting emphasis on Jerusalem as far as he can, for while he acknowledges that Jesus is Jerusalem’s King, he does not want Christ’s Kingship to be seen as tied to Jerusalem, and he considers that the Kingly Rule of Heaven has first been proclaimed in Galilee, which he sees as in a sense its natural home. That is why later he will present Christ’s coronation as something which, while having been accomplished in Heaven, is connected with Galilee with its freedom from the old traditional leadership, rather than being connected with Jerusalem (Mat 28:16-20). Indeed he sees anything that happened in Jerusalem as being due to the failure of the Apostles immediately to obey the angel’s urgent indication that they were to go to Galilee (Mat 28:7; Mar 16:7), for on hearing the news that He would be awaiting them in Galilee they should have gone at once. It was only unbelief that kept them in Jerusalem. By this he is further affirming that the old Israel, centred on Jerusalem, has been replaced by the new Israel, an Israel which has more in common with Galilee in not being tied to the old ways. For Matthew, as for Paul, the real Jerusalem was now the heavenly Jerusalem (Gal 4:26), and he wants his readers to see it in that way too. Neither wanted the baggage of the old Jerusalem. As far as they were concerned the old Jerusalem was in the past, and should stay that way.
Luke can, however, present things differently, for to him and his readers Jerusalem was the old capital of ancient Israel and the place where prophecy would be fulfilled, but nothing more. They were in no danger of being sucked in by the old Jerusalem with its powerful religious attractions, for it had no great hold on their hearts, and it could therefore be seen objectively. He is quite happy therefore to connect Christ’s heavenly activity with Jerusalem. Moreover, unlike Matthew, he will go on to make clear precisely what the relationship of the new congregation was to Jerusalem. To him Jerusalem was the starting point and there was no danger that Luke’s readers might be sucked back to the old ways. When John writes Jerusalem’s ties are broken so that again there is no danger of wrong ideas arising from the connection with Jerusalem. Matthew’s emphasis therefore must be seen as favouring an early date for his writing, with all ties to Jerusalem intended to be seen as broken.
End of note.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.
Ver. 5. Tell ye the daughter of Sion ] Here was that also of the Psalmist fulfilled, “God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth,” Psa 74:12 . For Jerusalem is by the Fathers observed to stand in the very centre and navel of the habitable earth, as if it were fatally founded to be the city of the great King.
Thy King cometh unto thee ] All in Christ is for our behoof and benefit, 1Co 1:30 , and Mic 4:8-9 “Unto thee shall it come, O daughter of Zion, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem. Why then dost thou cry out aloud? Is there no King in thee? Is thy counsellor perished?” A mandamus a from this King will do it at any time,Psa 40:4Psa 40:4 .
Meek, and sitting upon an ass ] Not upon a stately saddle horse, as Alexander, Julius Caesar, &c.; no such state here. Christ’s kingdom was of another world; “He came riding meekly;” and his word (the law of his kingdom) is both to be taught and received with meekness, 2Ti 2:25 ; Jas 1:21 . At Genoa in Italy they show the tail of the ass our Saviour rode on for a holy relic; and bow before it with great devotion. On Palm Sunday, their priests bring forth an ass in state, and bow before him and worship him, as if Christ himself were there present; which when the Turkish ambassadors once beheld at Craeonia in Poland, they blessed themselves, and cried out, O terram impietatem! Siccine asinum brutam bestiam adorari? Oh detestable impiety! should an ass be so adored? Neither will these dull dizards be reclaimed from such fond fopperies; being herein like those Italian asses, which feeding upon the weed henbane, a are so stupefied, that they lie for dead, neither can they be awakened till half-skinned.
a A term ‘originally applied generically to a number of ancient writs, letters missive, or mandates, issued by the sovereign, directing the performance of certain acts’, but afterwards restricted to the judicial writ (called ‘the high prerogative writ of mandamus’) issued in the King’s name from the Court of King’s Bench (now, from the Crown side of the King’s Bench Division of the High Court of Justice) and directed to an inferior court, a corporation, an officer, etc., commanding some specified thing to be done. ‘Its general object is to enforce the performance of some public duty in respect of which there is no other specific legal remedy’ (G. H. B. Kenrick in Encycl. Laws Eng. s.v. ). D
b The common name of the annual plant Hyoscyamus niger, a native of Europe and northern Asia, growing on waste ground, having dull yellow flowers streaked with purple, viscid stem and leaves, unpleasant smell, and narcotic and poisonous properties; also extended to the genus as a whole. D
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Mat 21:5 . he prophetic quotation, from Zec 9:9 , prefaced by a phrase from Isa 62:11 , with some words omitted, and with some alteration in expression as compared with Sept [114]
[114] Septuagint.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Tell ye, &c. Quoted from Zec 9:9. See App-107. Compare Isa 62:11. App-117.
Behold. Figure of speech Asterismos. App-6.
upon. Greek. epi.
an ass = a beast of burden. Not the same word as in the preceding clause.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Mat 21:5. , …, tell ye, etc.) This passage is one of those which show that many things in the prophets ought to be received by us, not only as they were meant by them, but as they were destined to be meant by the apostles. This part occurs in Isa 62:11; the rest in Zechariah, whom St Matthew quotes, beginning at the more important part; for the word rejoice is thus supplied. At the time of its fulfilment it is to be told: joy then arises spontaneously.[904] In Zec 9:9, the LXX. have , , [905] , [906] ,-Rejoice greatly, daughter of Sion; shout,[907] daughter of Jerusalem: behold the King cometh unto thee; He is just and having salvation:[908] meek, and riding on an ass, even a young colt.- , to the daughter of Sion) put synecdochically for Jerusalem.- , thy King) and also Bridegroom.-, to, or for thee) sc. for thy sake or advantage.- , …, meek and, etc.[909]) The same thing is frequently expressed in the same passage by literal and metaphorical words. The horse is a warlike steed, which the King of Peace did not make use of; see Zec 9:10. He will make use of it hereafter; see Rev 19:11.-, an ass) not a she ass. In Hebrew, .- , the male foal of an ass[910]) who, though the offspring of one that had borne the yoke, had not himself yet borne it. Our Lord rode upon the foal, but employed also the mother as a companion to the foal.
[904] Beng. seems to mean, the introductory words in Zec 9:9, Rejoice greatly, etc., Shout, etc., are omitted here, on the occasion of the passage being quoted by St Matthew, because, at the time of the fulfilment of the prophecy, all that was needed was the telling (and therefore Tell ye is substituted from Isa 62:11, Say ye): the joy was sure to arise of its own accord.-ED.
[905] The Codex Alexandrinus reads .-(I. B.)
[906] The Oxford Edition of 1848 has a comma after , and omits the colon after .-(I. B.)
[907] The word denotes, in the orig., the voice of a herald or a preacher.-(I. B.)
[908] Lit. Himself saving.-(I. B.)
[909] It is this very virtue that renders both her King, and the tidings as to the approach of her King, so delightful to the daughter of Sion.-V. g.
[910] Literally, the son of one who bears the yoke; rendered accurately by the Vulgate, which Bengel has followed here, filium subjugalis. He has not been equally exact in his German Version.-(I. B.)
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
the daughter: Psa 9:14, Isa 12:6, Isa 40:9, Isa 62:11, Zep 3:14, Zep 3:15, Mar 11:4-11
thy King: Mat 2:2, Mat 2:6, Gen 49:10, Num 24:19, Psa 2:6-12, Psa 45:1-17, Psa 72:1-20, Psa 110:1-4, Isa 9:6, Isa 9:7, Jer 23:5, Jer 23:6, Eze 34:24, Eze 37:24, Dan 2:44, Dan 2:45, Dan 7:13, Dan 7:14, Mic 5:2, Zec 6:12, Zec 6:13, Joh 1:49, Joh 19:15-22
meek: Mat 11:29, Mat 12:19, Mat 12:20, 2Co 10:1, Phi 2:3-5
sitting: Deu 17:16, Jdg 5:10, Jdg 12:14, 2Sa 16:2, 1Ki 1:33, 1Ki 10:26, Hos 1:7, Mic 5:10, Mic 5:11, Zec 9:10
Reciprocal: Num 12:3 – very Psa 138:5 – they shall Psa 149:2 – let the Isa 3:16 – the daughters Isa 33:22 – the Lord is our king Isa 37:22 – the daughter Jer 4:31 – the voice Jer 30:21 – governor Zec 9:9 – behold Mat 5:5 – the meek Mat 11:3 – he that Mat 13:35 – it Mat 25:34 – the King Mar 11:7 – the colt Mar 15:12 – whom Jam 3:13 – with meekness 1Pe 3:4 – a meek Rev 19:12 – on his
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
THE COMING KING
Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.
Mat 21:5
I. The King.Our Lord is described as thy King. We are glad to greet Christ as our Saviour; but are we equally ready to take Him for our King? How is Christ our King? He is King naturally, as God. But His kingly power was also a part of His mediatorial office. He came not only to preach doctrines, be our example, and atone for sin; but He came also to found a kingdom. After His Resurrection, He said, All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Then, as an exercise of that power, He gave the sacred commission to His Church.
II. To whom He comes.He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. The pronoun, however, is capable of wider and of narrower application. Behold, thy King cometh may be applicable to humanity. The individual soul must have applied to it and must appropriate the blessings which the Incarnation and Passion of the Redeemer have obtained. He must reign over our thoughts; He must rule our affections. The willthat difficult faculty to surrendermust be given up to Him. The Kingdom of God is not only an external, visible kingdomthe Church; but must also be established in our own heartthe Kingdom of God is within you.
III. In great humility.Meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. It is evident that the twin graces of lowliness and meekness were to be signs of His royalty. Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, says St. Paul, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich. Pride was the principal of mans ruin. Through pride Adam fell. The second Adam came in great humility. It was a new type of character, a new measure of greatness.
IV. How shall we receive Him?Not at His coming in the hour of death and in the Day of Judgment, but now. He comes to us spiritually, and He comes to us sacramentally. Of the first our Lord says, If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him. And of the other Christ saith, Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.
The Ven. Chancellor Hutchings.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
21:5
Any statement of an event may include more than is specifically mentioned but it will never take in less than is named. Verses 3 and 4 clearly stated that the mother and the colt were to be loosed and brought to Jesus. Also in verse 7 both colt and mother were brought and the people put their clothes on them. And now our present verse cites a prophecy which definitely predicts that Jesus was to ride on an ass and its colt. Most commentators believe that Jesus rode the colt only, and that the mother was taken along because of a humane feeling for the mother and her young offspring. It is true that neither of the other three accounts says a thing about the mother, but that could be accounted for by the fact that the use of an unbroken colt was the unusual feature of this event and hence it only is given notice by them. If it should be questioned how one man could ride two beasts, the explanation is that he would sit on the back of the mother and place his feet on the colt in the place of stirrups. This would identify the rider as the one foretold by the prophet, while the fact of riding only one would not be so rare as to attract attention. Even the riding of an unbroken colt would not be so unusual because somebody had to ride it for the first time, and besides this, the public crowd would not know it was an unbroken animal since it would be under control of this supernatural rider.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.
[Meek, and sitting upon an ass.] This triumph of Christ completes a double prophecy: 1. This prophecy of Zechariah here mentioned. 2. The taking to themselves the Paschal lamb, for this was the very day on which it was to be taken, according to the command of the law, Exo 12:3; “In the tenth day of this month, they shall take to them every man a lamb.”
It scarce appears to the Talmudists, how those words of Daniel concerning the Messias, that “he comes with the clouds of heaven,” are consistent with these words of Zechariah, that “he comes sitting upon an ass.” “If (say they) the Israelites be good, then he shall come with the clouds of heaven; but if not good, then riding upon an ass.” Thou art much mistaken, O Jew: for he comes “in the clouds of heaven,” as judge and revenger; but sitting upon an ass; not because you are, but because he is, good. “King Sapores said to Samuel; ‘You say your Messias will come upon an ass, I will send him a brave horse.’ He answers him, ‘You have not a horse with a hundred spots as is his ass.” In the greatest humility of the Messias they dream of grandeur, even in his very ass.
Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels
Mat 21:5. Tell ye the daughter of Zion. From Isa 62:11.
Behold thy king cometh, etc. From Zec 9:9. Both prophecies were referred to the Messiah by the Jews. Our Lord was to enter Jerusalem in a prominent position, not lost in the crowd thronging to the Passover feast; He chooses to ride upon the foal of an ass, not on a horse, the symbol of pride. But He thus fulfilled a prophetic announcement, in which the Messiah is represented as the king entering Jerusalem, and yet as lowly, the meekness symbolized by His riding upon an asss colt. The Fathers allegorized the incident, regarding the colt as a symbol of the Gentiles, untamed and unclean before Christ sat upon them and sanctified them, the mother representing Judaism under the yoke the law.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
21:5 Tell ye the {b} daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.
(b) The city of Sion. This is a Hebrew idiom, common in the Lamentations of Jeremiah.