Tell the daughter of Zion, Behold, your King comes unto you, meek, and sitting upon a donkey, and a colt the foal of a donkey.
All Commentaries on Matthew 21:5 Go To Matthew 21
John Chrysostom
AD 407
But let us look also at the prophecy, that by words, that by acts. What then is the prophecy? Behold, your King comes to you, meek, and riding on an ass, and a young colt; Zechariah 9:9 not driving chariots, like the rest of the kings, not demanding tributes, not thrusting men off, and leading about guards, but displaying His great meekness even hereby.
Ask then the Jew, what King came to Jerusalem borne on an ass? Nay, he could not mention, but this alone.
But He did these things, as I said, signifying beforehand the things to come. For here the church is signified by the colt, and the new people, which was once unclean, but which, after Jesus sat on them, became clean. And see the image preserved throughout. I mean that the disciples loose the asses. For by the apostles, both they and we were called; by the apostles were we brought near. But because our acceptance provoked them also to emulation, therefore the ass appears following the colt. For after Christ has sat on the Gentiles, then shall they also come moving us to emulation. And Paul declaring this, said, That blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in; and so all Israel shall be saved. Romans 11:25-26 For that it was a prophecy is evident from what is said. For neither would the prophet have cared to express with such great exactness the age of the ass, unless this had been so.
But not these things only are signified by what is said, but also that the apostles should bring them with ease. For as here, no man gainsaid them so as to keep the asses, so neither with regard to the Gentiles was any one able to prevent them, of those who were before masters of them.
But He does not sit on the bare colt, but on the apostles' garments. For after they had taken the colt, they then gave up all, even as Paul also said, I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls. 2 Corinthians 12:15
But mark how tractable the colt, how being unbroken, and having never known the rein, he was not restive, but went on orderly; which thing itself was a prophecy of the future, signifying the submissiveness of the Gentiles, and their sudden conversion to good order. For all things did that word work, which said, Loose him, and bring him to me: so that the unmanageable became orderly, and the unclean thenceforth clean.
