Mateo 21:1

‘And when they drew near to Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, to the mount of Olives,’

The journey from Jericho having been completed, Jesus and the disciples settled down in their camp which was established by Bethphage, and near Bethany, on the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives was the Mount that towered over even the Temple Mount and gave a panoramic view of the city. It was connected in Jewish minds with the eschatological future (Zechariah 14:0). At that point Jesus then apparently visited the home of Martha and Mary in Bethany and raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11:0). But the concentration of the Synoptic evangelists was rather on the momentous entry into Jerusalem and they wanted no distraction from it. They were more used to such miracles than we are and at this stage they wanted all attention to be on the entry of the King. It was from Bethany that they would proceed to enter Jerusalem via Bethphage.

Matthew 21:1-2 ‘Then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “You go into the village that is just by you, and immediately you will find an ass tied, and a colt with her. Loose them, and bring them to me.” ’

Jesus intended to make a grand entry, and for that purpose He sent two of His disciples to the nearby village (probably Bethphage) where they would, on first entering the village, find an ass and her colt tethered. They were then to loose them and bring them to Jesus.

It is very possible that the mother ass was tethered there, along with her youngish colt, available for hire by travellers, a regular practise in villages on the outskirts of Jerusalem. The site at the edge of the city would be seen as suitable for the hire of such animals and the colt would also have been reared with that in view, even though it was still young enough never to have been ridden. Most would not want to try to ride an untried colt. But in the event, if the disciples did intend to bring the colt, it would be expected that the mother ass would accompany the colt, if only to keep it from becoming too nervous. Such asses, accompanied by their colts, were a regular sight around Jerusalem.

Jesus’ intention was in fact to use the untried, unridden colt, for this use of something previously unridden had a religious significance. It indicated either sacred use or use by royalty. (See Numbers 19:2; Deuteronomy 21:3; 1 Samuel 6:7; 2 Samuel 6:3). We can also compare here Genesis 49:10-11 where an ass’s colt, which was tied up, was connected with the coming King who would win the obedience of the people, and there it was followed by the ancient equivalent of the Messianic banquet, the feast of good things. Thus to ride into Jerusalem on an untried asses colt would have deep religious significance.

Much has been made of the fact that Matthew mentions two animals, but we have already had cause to notice that Matthew regularly takes notice of companions where the other evangelists do not. This was probably firstly because he was an eyewitness who vividly remembered the detail and noticed such things, and secondly possibly because he himself had been somewhat ostracised when he was younger and was therefore sensitive about the importance of companionship.

But, as we have seen, in this case the fact that there were two asses makes sense, for Jesus’ intention was to ride in on an ass which had never been ridden (Mark 11:2; Matthew makes the same thing clear by the quotation below which refers to the asses colt) and was therefore still with its mother. Riding into Jerusalem in this way would be a symbol of His unique holiness. We can compare how the Ark was similarly carried into Jerusalem on ‘a new cart’ (2 Samuel 6:3; 2 Samuel 6:17). But the fact that the ass had never been ridden indicated that it was youngish colt, and it was typical of Jesus’ humanity that He would not separate the colt from its mother unnecessarily. Thus He had arranged for the mother ass to come as well. It was quite normal for an ass and its colt to go around together. (Had she been left tethered she would have made desperate attempts to follow her colt). This detail confirms that all this was by prior arrangement so that Jesus knew the full circumstances. The suggestion that Matthew’s Hebrew and knowledge of Hebrew poetry was so bad that he mistook the meaning of Zechariah’s prophecy is simply to underestimate Matthew and can be dismissed for what it is, totally unnecessary. It is in fact clear that Matthew was a competent Hebraist.