“Tell the daughter of Zion, behold, your King comes to you, humble, and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
Parallel Translations
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“Tell the daughter of Zion, behold, your King comes to you, humble, and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
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Tell ye the doughter of Sion: beholde thy kynge cometh vnto the meke and sittinge vpon an asse and a colte the fole of an asse vsed to the yooke.
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Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Beholde, thy King commeth vnto thee, meeke and sitting vpon an asse, and a colte, the foale of an asse vsed to the yoke.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (37)
Passages linked to Matthew 21:5 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Zechariah 9:9-10 Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King comes to you! He is righteous, and having salvation; lowly, and riding on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow will be cut off; and he will speak peace to the nations: and his dominion will be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.
- Isaiah 62:11 Behold, Yahweh has proclaimed to the end of the earth, “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your salvation comes! Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him!’ ”
- Isaiah 9:6-7 For a child is born to us. A son is given to us; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, on David’s throne, and on his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from that time on, even forever. The zeal of Yahweh of Armies will perform this.
- Isaiah 12:6 Cry aloud and shout, you inhabitant of Zion; for the Holy One of Israel is great among you!”
- Genesis 49:10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs. To him will the obedience of the peoples be.
- Hosea 1:7 But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and will save them by Yahweh their God, and will not save them by bow, sword, battle, horses, or horsemen.”
- Zephaniah 3:14-15 Sing, daughter of Zion! Shout, Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem. Yahweh has taken away your judgments. He has thrown out your enemy. The King of Israel, Yahweh, is among you. You will not be afraid of evil any more.
- Isaiah 40:9 You who tell good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who tell good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with strength! Lift it up! Don’t be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold, your God!”
- Jeremiah 23:5-6 “Behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that I will raise to David a righteous Branch, and he will reign as king and deal wisely, and will execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely. This is his name by which he will be called: Yahweh our righteousness.
- Psalms 110:1-4 Yahweh says to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool for your feet.” Yahweh will send out the rod of your strength out of Zion. Rule among your enemies. Your people offer themselves willingly in the day of your power, in holy array. Out of the womb of the morning, you have the dew of your youth. Yahweh has sworn, and will not change his mind: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”
- Daniel 2:44-45 “In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, nor will its sovereignty be left to another people; but it will break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it will stand forever. Because you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God has made known to the king what will happen hereafter. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.”
- Daniel 7:13-14 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, there came with the clouds of the sky one like a son of man, and he came even to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. Dominion was given him, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which will not pass away, and his kingdom that which will not be destroyed.
- Micah 5:2 But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, being small among the clans of Judah, out of you one will come out to me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings out are from of old, from ancient times.
- Zechariah 6:12-13 and speak to him, saying, ‘Yahweh of Armies says, “Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: and he shall grow up out of his place; and he shall build Yahweh’s temple; even he shall build Yahweh’s temple; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule on his throne; and he shall be a priest on his throne; and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.
- Matthew 2:6 ‘You Bethlehem, land of Judah, are in no way least among the princes of Judah: for out of you shall come a governor, who shall shepherd my people, Israel.’ ”
- Ezekiel 34:24 I, Yahweh, will be their God, and my servant David prince among them. I, Yahweh, have spoken it.
- Ezekiel 37:24 “ ‘ “My servant David will be king over them. They all will have one shepherd. They will also walk in my ordinances, and observe my statutes, and do them.
- Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls.
- Matthew 12:19-20 He will not strive, nor shout; neither will anyone hear his voice in the streets. He won’t break a bruised reed. He won’t quench a smoking flax, until he leads justice to victory.
- Mark 11:4-11 They went away, and found a young donkey tied at the door outside in the open street, and they untied him. Some of those who stood there asked them, “What are you doing, untying the young donkey?” They said to them just as Jesus had said, and they let them go. They brought the young donkey to Jesus, and threw their garments on it, and Jesus sat on it. Many spread their garments on the way, and others were cutting down branches from the trees, and spreading them on the road. Those who went in front, and those who followed, cried out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is coming in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” Jesus entered into the temple in Jerusalem. When he had looked around at everything, it being now evening, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
- Philippians 2:3-5 doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself; each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others. Have this in your mind, which was also in Christ Jesus,
- Psalms 9:14 that I may show all of your praise. I will rejoice in your salvation in the gates of the daughter of Zion.
- Psalms 72:1-20 God, give the king your justice; your righteousness to the royal son. He will judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice. The mountains shall bring prosperity to the people. The hills bring the fruit of righteousness. He will judge the poor of the people. He will save the children of the needy, and will break the oppressor in pieces. They shall fear you while the sun endures; and as long as the moon, throughout all generations. He will come down like rain on the mown grass, as showers that water the earth. In his days, the righteous shall flourish, and abundance of peace, until the moon is no more. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth. Those who dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him. His enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of the islands will bring tribute. The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Yes, all kings shall fall down before him. All nations shall serve him. For he will deliver the needy when he cries; the poor, who has no helper. He will have pity on the poor and needy. He will save the souls of the needy. He will redeem their soul from oppression and violence. Their blood will be precious in his sight. They shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba. Men shall pray for him continually. They shall bless him all day long. Abundance of grain shall be throughout the land. Its fruit sways like Lebanon. Let it flourish, thriving like the grass of the field. His name endures forever. His name continues as long as the sun. Men shall be blessed by him. All nations will call him blessed. Praise be to Yahweh God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds. Blessed be his glorious name forever! Let the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and amen. This ends the prayers by David, the son of Jesse.
- Micah 5:10-11 “It will happen in that day”, says Yahweh, “that I will cut off your horses out from among you, and will destroy your chariots. I will cut off the cities of your land, and will tear down all your strongholds.
- Matthew 2:2 “Where is he who is born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him.”
- John 19:15-22 They cried out, “Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar!” So then he delivered him to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus and led him away. He went out, bearing his cross, to the place called “The Place of a Skull”, which is called in Hebrew, “Golgotha”, where they crucified him, and with him two others, on either side one, and Jesus in the middle. Pilate wrote a title also, and put it on the cross. There was written, “JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” Therefore many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. The chief priests of the Jews therefore said to Pilate, “Don’t write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘he said, “I am King of the Jews.” ’ ” Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
- Numbers 24:19 Out of Jacob shall one have dominion, and shall destroy the remnant from the city.”
- Deuteronomy 17:16 Only he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he may multiply horses; because Yahweh has said to you, “You shall not go back that way again.”
- Judges 5:10 “Speak, you who ride on white donkeys, you who sit on rich carpets, and you who walk by the way.
- Judges 12:14 He had forty sons and thirty sons’ sons who rode on seventy donkey colts. He judged Israel eight years.
- 2 Samuel 16:2 The king said to Ziba, “What do you mean by these?” Ziba said, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride on; and the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat; and the wine, that those who are faint in the wilderness may drink.”
- 1 Kings 1:33 The king said to them, “Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon.
- 1 Kings 10:26 Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen. He had one thousand four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, that he kept in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem.
- Psalms 2:6-12 “Yet I have set my King on my holy hill of Zion.” I will tell of the decree: Yahweh said to me, “You are my son. Today I have become your father. Ask of me, and I will give the nations for your inheritance, the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron. You shall dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” Now therefore be wise, you kings. Be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve Yahweh with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Give sincere homage to the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish on the way, for his wrath will soon be kindled. Blessed are all those who take refuge in him.
- Psalms 45:1-17 My heart overflows with a noble theme. I recite my verses for the king. My tongue is like the pen of a skillful writer. You are the most excellent of the sons of men. Grace has anointed your lips, therefore God has blessed you forever. Strap your sword on your thigh, mighty one: your splendor and your majesty. In your majesty ride on victoriously on behalf of truth, humility, and righteousness. Let your right hand display awesome deeds. Your arrows are sharp. The nations fall under you, with arrows in the heart of the king’s enemies. Your throne, God, is forever and ever. A scepter of equity is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness, and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows. All your garments smell like myrrh, aloes, and cassia. Out of ivory palaces stringed instruments have made you glad. Kings’ daughters are among your honorable women. At your right hand the queen stands in gold of Ophir. Listen, daughter, consider, and turn your ear. Forget your own people, and also your father’s house. So the king will desire your beauty, honor him, for he is your lord. The daughter of Tyre comes with a gift. The rich among the people entreat your favor. The princess inside is all glorious. Her clothing is interwoven with gold. She shall be led to the king in embroidered work. The virgins, her companions who follow her, shall be brought to you. With gladness and rejoicing they shall be led. They shall enter into the king’s palace. Your sons will take the place of your fathers. You shall make them princes in all the earth. I will make your name to be remembered in all generations. Therefore the peoples shall give you thanks forever and ever.
- John 1:49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are King of Israel!”
- 2 Corinthians 10:1 Now I Paul, myself, entreat you by the humility and gentleness of Christ, I who in your presence am lowly among you, but being absent am bold toward you.
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Explain this verse (10 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain The city of Zion. An Hebrew kind of speech,…
The city of Zion. An Hebrew kind of speech, common in the lamentations of Jeremiah.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy…
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.
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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 40:4.
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.). ŒD
{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. ŒD
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Tell ye the daughter of Zion,.... These words seem…
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 Zac 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
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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.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain The daughter of Sion - That is, the inhabitants…
The daughter of Sion - That is, the inhabitants of Jerusalem: the first words of the passage are cited from Isaiah lxii, 11; the rest from Zech. ix, 9. The ancient Jewish doctors were wont to apply these prophecies to the Messiah. On an ass - The Prince of Peace did not take a horse, a warlike animal. But he will ride on that by and by, Rev. xix, 11. In the patriarchal ages, illustrious persons thought it no disgrace to make use of this animal: but it by no means appears, that this opinion prevailed, or this custom continued, till the reign of Tiberias. Was it a mean attitude wherein our Lord then appeared? Mean even to contempt! I grant it: I glory in it: it is for the comfort of my soul for the honour of his humility, and for the utter confusion of all worldly pomp and grandeur.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 5. Tell ye the daughter of Sion] The…
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.
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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!
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Some manuscripts read Isaias, others Zacharias: the text seems…
Some manuscripts read Isaias, others Zacharias: the text seems to be extracted from both, but particularly the latter, the sense of which is taken, though not verbatim, from the Septuagint version. See Isaias lxii. 2. and Zacharias ix. 9.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 5. Tell ye the daughter of Zion — This…
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.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 5. Tell ye the daughter of Sion, &c.] Zec_9:9.…
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 (chamâr, from a root meaning red) and a colt (air, ‘a young male ass’) the foal (lit. ‘the son’) of an ass (athôn = ‘a she-ass,’ from a root meaning ‘slow’).”
meek] See ch. Mat_5:5.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (5) Tell ye the daughter of Sion.—The words seem…
(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.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Tell ye the daughter of Zion. This is from…
Tell ye the daughter of Zion. This is from Isaiah. (comp. Zep_3:14) The passage in Zechariah begins, "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem." The "daughter of Zion" is Jerusalem herself, named from the chief of the hills on which the city was built. Of course, the term includes all the inhabitants. Behold; marking the suddenness and unexpected nature of the event. Thy King. A King of thine own race, no stranger, one predestined for thee, foretold by all the prophets, who was to occupy the throne of David and to reign forever. Unto thee. For thy special good, to make his abode with thee. (comp. Isa_9:6) Meek. As Christ himself says, "I am meek and lowly in heart", (Mat_11:29) far removed from pomp and warlike greatness; and yet, according to his own Beatitude, the meek shall inherit the earth, (Mat_5:5) win victories which material forces can never obtain, triumph through humiliation. The original in Zechariah gives other characteristics of Messiah: "He is just, and having salvation;" i.e. endowed with salvation, either as being protected by God, or victorious and so able to save his people. Sitting upon an ass. Coming as King, he could not walk undistinguished among the crowd; he must ride. But to mount a war horse would denote that he was leader of an army or a worldly potentate; so he rides upon an ass, an animal used by the judges of Israel, and chieftains on peaceful errands; (Jud_1:5:10 10:4) one, too, greatly valued, and often of stately appearance in Palestine. And (kai) a colt the foal of an ass; such as she asses bear, and one not trained. It is questioned whether the conjunction here expresses addition, implying that Christ mounted both animals in succession, or is merely explanatory, equivalent to videlicet, an ass, yea, even the foal of an ass. It seems unlikely that, in accomplishing the short distance between Bethphage and Jerusalem (only a mile or two), our Lord should have changed from one beast to the other; and the other three evangelists say expressly that Christ rode the colt, omitting all mention of the mother. The she ass doubtless kept close to its foal, so the prophecy was exactly fulfilled, but the animal that bore the Saviour was the colt. If the two animals represent respectively the Jews and Gentiles (see on ver. 2), it seems hardly necessary for typical reasons that Jesus should thus symbolize his triumph over the disciplined Jews, while it is obvious that the lesson of his supremacy over the untaught Gentiles needed exemplification. The prophet certainly contemplates the two animals in the procession. "The old theocracy runs idly and instinctively by the side of the young Church, which has become the true bearer of the Divinity of Christ" (Lange). No king had ever thus come to Jerusalem; such a circumstance was predicted of Messiah alone, and Christ alone fulfilled it to the letter, showing of what nature his kingdom was.
Vers. 5, 8. Signs of meekness and sifters of joy.
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"Thy King cometh unto thee, meek;" "And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way." The word "meek" is used in Scripture for "not self-assertive," "not seeking one"s own." It is not to be confounded with "humility." The apostle puts "humbleness of mind" and "meekness" alongside each other in such a way that we cannot fail to observe the distinction between them. Moses was the "meekest of men," but certainly not the most humble. It is usual to associate our Lord"s "meekness" with his riding on so lowly an animal; but this is to transfer our Western ideas of asses to Eastern lands; and it also fails to observe that in ver. 5 there are two assertions, each distinct from the other. Our Lord was "meek;" and our Lord was "sitting upon an ass." If we take the word "meek" here in its usual meaning, "not self-assertive," we may find fresh suggestion in the passage. The signs of joy given in vers. 8, 9 are characteristically Eastern. Bishop Heber thus describes his march to Colombo: "The road was decorated the whole way as for a festival, with long strips of palm branches hung upon strings on either side; and whenever we stopped we found the ground spread with white cloth, and awnings erected, beautifully decorated with flowers and fruit, and festooned with palm branches. These remnants of the ancient custom mentioned in the Bible, of strewing the road with palm branches and garments, are curious and interesting.
I THE MEEKNESS OF JESUS. This is not the thing which first arrests attention. Indeed, on this one occasion Jesus seems to be asserting himself. Look deeper, and it will be found that he is not. He is not in any of the senses men put into that term. There, riding into Jerusalem as a King, he has no intention of setting up any such kingdom as men expect; he does not mean to use any force; you could never mistake him for a conqueror. There is submission, there is no self-assertion.
II THE JOY OF THE PEOPLE. In calling Jesus the "Son of David," the people recognized him as the long promised Messiah; and, without clear apprehensions of what his work was to be, they could rejoice in the realization of the national hope. Their joy made it clear to the Jerusalem officials that Jesus claimed to be the Messiah. There could be no mistake. They must accept or reject the claim. R.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.