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From: Matthew 21:1-11 (At the Procession with Palms)

The Messiah Enters the Holy City

[1] And when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount
of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, [2] saying to them, “Go into the village
opposite you, and immediately you will find an ass tied, and a colt with her; un-
tie them and bring them to me. [3] If any one says anything to you, you shall
say, “The Lord has need of them,’ and he will send them immediately.” [4] This
took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, [5] “Tell the daugh-
ter of Zion, Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on an ass,
and on a colt, the foal of an ass.” [6] The disciples went and did as Jesus had
directed them; [7] they brought the ass and the colt, and put their garments on
them, and he sat thereon. [8] Most of the crowd spread their garments on the
road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. [9]
And the crowds that went before him and that followed him shouted, “Hosanna
to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna
in the highest!” [10] And when he entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, sa-
ying, “Who is this?” [11] And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus from
Nazareth of Galilee.”

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Commentary:

1-5. In his triumphant entry into Jerusalem Jesus reveals himself as Messiah,as
St Matthew and St John (12:14) stress by quoting the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9.
Although the Latin translation says “mounted on a [female] ass”, the original He-
brew text says “mounted on a [male] ass”, and the latter is text followed in this
translation (in the Greek translation of the Septuagint no sex is specified). The
other two Synoptic Gospels limit themselves to giving the key fact of Jesus’ mes-
sianic entry into the Holy City mounted on the colt (Mk 11:2; Lk 19:30). St Mat-
thew sees in the fact that the colt is with the ass a further detail of the prophecy,
which refers to the colt being the foal of ass (that seems to be why the ass is re-
ferred to throughout the account, the ass being with the colt, although Jesus was
mounted only on the colt).

In the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9 (which in the original Old Testament is longer
than the quotation in Matthew) the future messianic king is described as “hum-
ble”. The ass, originally a noble mount (cf. Gen 22:3; Ex 4:20; Num 22:21; Jud
5:10), was replaced by the horse in the period of the Israelite monarchy (cf. 1
Kings 4:26; 10:28; etc). The prophecy, by referring to an ass, shows that the
King of peace wins his victory by humility and gentleness, not by force of arms.

The Fathers have read a deeper meaning into this episode. They see the ass
as symbolizing Judaism, for long subject to the yoke of the Law, and the foal
on which no one has ridden, as symbolizing the Gentiles. Jesus leads both
Jews and Gentiles into the Church, the new Jerusalem.

9. The Hebrew word “Hosanna”, which the people use to acclaim our Lord, was
originally an appeal to God meaning “Save us”. Later it was used as a shout of
joy, an acclamation, meaning something like “Long live...”. The people are de-
monstrating their enthusiasm by shouting, “Long live the Son of David!” The
phrase “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” comes from Psalm
118:26 and is a jubilant and appreciative greeting to someone entrusted with a
mission from God. The Church takes up these acclamations, incorporating them
into the preface of the Mass, to proclaim the kingship of Christ.

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.