Mat 21:1-11 | PNT | STEP | Christ Entering Jerusalem SUMMARY OF MATTHEW 21: The Lord Leaves Bethany to Enter Jerusalem. The Charge to the Two Disciples. The Fulfillment of Prophecy. The Great Multitude Who Prepare the Way. Hosanna to the Son of David. Jesus Enters the Temple. The Money-Changers Cast Out. The Barren Fig Tree. The Controversy with the Rulers. John's Baptism. The Parable of the Two Sons. The Parable of the Vineyard and the Husbandmen. The Stone That the Builders Rejected. When they drew nigh unto Jerusalem . Jesus passed through Jericho, where be bestowed sight on Bartimaeus and salvation on Zaccheus, came up the mountain pass from Jericho to Jerusalem, stopping over the Sabbath in the congenial home of Martha, Mary and Lazarus, in Bethany, and so on Sunday morning made his entry into Jerusalem. Compare . As they drew nigh to Jerusalem they ascended the Mount of Olives. There were three paths over the Mount of Olives: (1) on the north, in the hollow between the two crests of the hill; (2) over the summit; and (3) on the south, between the Mount of Olives and the Hill of Offence--still the most frequented and the best. Along this Jesus advanced. To Bethphage . Bethphage and Bethany were suburban villages near to one another, and lying on the direct line of road that led to Jerusalem from the east. Mount of Olives . A hill just east of Jerusalem, so called from the olive trees upon it. It was about a mile from the city. It was their open ground--for pleasure, for worship; the "Park" of Jerusalem; the thoroughfare of any going or coming in the direction of the great Jordan valley.

Matthew 21:1-11

Christ Entering Jerusalem SUMMARY OF MATTHEW 21: The Lord Leaves Bethany to Enter Jerusalem. The Charge to the Two Disciples. The Fulfillment of Prophecy. The Great Multitude Who Prepare the Way. Hosanna to the Son of David. Jesus Enters the Temple. The Money-Changers Cast Out. The Barren Fig Tree. The Controversy with the Rulers. John's Baptism. The Parable of the Two Sons. The Parable of the Vineyard and the Husbandmen. The Stone That the Builders Rejected.

When they drew nigh unto Jerusalem. Jesus passed through Jericho, where be bestowed sight on Bartimaeus and salvation on Zaccheus, came up the mountain pass from Jericho to Jerusalem, stopping over the Sabbath in the congenial home of Martha, Mary and Lazarus, in Bethany, and so on Sunday morning made his entry into Jerusalem. Compare Mr 11:1-11 Lu 19:29-44 Joh 12:12-19. As they drew nigh to Jerusalem they ascended the Mount of Olives. There were three paths over the Mount of Olives: (1) on the north, in the hollow between the two crests of the hill; (2) over the summit; and (3) on the south, between the Mount of Olives and the Hill of Offence--still the most frequented and the best. Along this Jesus advanced.

To Bethphage. Bethphage and Bethany were suburban villages near to one another, and lying on the direct line of road that led to Jerusalem from the east.

Mount of Olives. A hill just east of Jerusalem, so called from the olive trees upon it. It was about a mile from the city. It was their open ground--for pleasure, for worship; the "Park" of Jerusalem; the thoroughfare of any going or coming in the direction of the great Jordan valley. Into the village over against you. Bethphage is in view, over against them, perhaps separated from them by a valley.

Ye shall find an ass tied. In the East the ass is in high esteem. Every Jew expected, from the words of one of the prophets (Zec 9:9), that the Messiah would enter Jerusalem riding on an ass. The Lord hath need of them. It is probable that the owner was a disciple. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet. See Isa 62:11 Zec 9:9. The prophet here describes him as riding upon one of the humblest of animals, and in the fulfillment we find, (1) that the animal was borrowed; (2) that he rode without a saddle on borrowed garments; (3) that it was a colt on which no man had ever before rode. Only animals hitherto unused were regarded fit for sacred uses. See Nu 19:2 De 21:3 1Sa 6:7. This is the only instance reported in which the Lord ever rode on any animal. They set [him] thereon. Hitherto he had entered the holy city on foot; this day he would enter as David and the judges of Israel were wont--riding on an ass. And a very great multitude spread their garments. Vast multitudes were gathered at Jerusalem at the Passover. The Law required the assembling of the Jewish nation. Josephus says that several millions were wont to gather. Among these were thousands of Galileans who had heard of Jesus, seen his miracles, and believed in him as their Messiah King. When the people of Bethlehem, during the war between Turkey and Egypt in 1836, sought the protection of the British consul, they "spread their garments in the way" of his horses, in order to do him honor.

Cut down branches from the trees. John says that these were the branches of palm trees (Joh 12:13); rather, the wide, spreading, branch-like leaves of the palm tree, well fitted to form a soft, level carpet. The only branches of the palm tree are its leafy crown. Hosanna. A Greek modification of the Hebrew words rendered, "Save now, I beseech thee", in Ps 118:25, the next verse of which formed part of their song, "Blessed", etc. It is used as an expression of praise, like "hallelujah".

He that cometh in the name of the Lord. The words are taken in part from Ps 118:25,26, a hymn which belonged to the great hallelujah chanted at the end of the Paschal Supper and the Feast of Tabernacles. The people were accustomed to apply it to the Messiah. All the city was moved. The procession burst into full view of Jerusalem as it appeared on the Mount of Olives, 200 feet higher than the temple mount. There, as the city appeared in all its splendor, according to Luke, he stopped and wept over its coming sorrows (Lu 19:41-44). As the procession descended, it was in plain view of all Jerusalem, and its magnitude, shouts and songs excited the wonder of the whole city. Jesus the prophet of Nazareth. The inquiry arose everywhere, "Who is this"? to which the Galileans who composed so large a part of the procession, responded: "It is Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth, of Galilee". Of this they were sure; of his real character none but his own disciples knew, and they imperfectly. The Galileans regarded him the prophet named by Moses in De 18:18.