John 12:14Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Rather, He does this to show that He would subject to Himself the new and unclean people from the Gentiles. He would raise them to the dignity of righteousness, into the Jerusalem above, of which the earthly Jerusalem was an image.

Into that Jerusalem enters the people made clean with Christ, who is hymned by the sinless angels, of whom the children served as an image.

He calls the donkey a "colt" because the people from the Gentiles had not been trained in the faith that leads to piety.

So within this perverse and blinded people, I say, there was the daughter of Zion, to whom it was said: "Fear not, daughter of Zion. Behold, your King comes, sitting on a young donkey."

This daughter of Zion, to whom these words were spoken in the form of prophecy, was among those sheep who heard the Shepherd's voice.

She was among that multitude which with such reverence glorified the Lord as He came and accompanied Him in a great crowd.

To her it was said: "Fear not. Recognize Him whom you glorify. Do not be afraid when He suffers, for that blood will be shed by which your sin will be washed away and your life restored."

By the young donkey on which no one had sat, as it is written in the other Evangelists, we understand the Gentile nations, which had not received the Law of God.

By the donkey, since both animals were brought to the Lord, we understand His people who came from the people of Israel. They had already been tamed and had recognized the Lord's manger.

After making this omission, Matthew says, "And when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples," and so on (Mt 21:1ff.).

Mark says, "And when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples" (Mk 11:1). Luke speaks in a similar way (Lk 19:29).

Thus it is clear that Jesus Christ, after leaving the house of Lazarus and while still in Bethany, sent the disciples, and they brought the donkey and the young donkey.

The other Evangelists simply recount the journey of Jesus Christ to Jerusalem. Therefore they do not interrupt the narrative of the Lord's entrance into Jerusalem by mentioning what happened at Lazarus' house.

But John writes at greater length about what they had passed over. He writes more briefly about how the young donkey was brought and how the entrance itself into Jerusalem then took place, because all this had already been recorded by others.

It should also be noted that those who carried palm branches in their hands went out to meet Jesus Christ. Those who broke branches from the trees and spread them on the road, of whom Matthew and Mark spoke, did this after meeting the first group.

"As it is written." See the interpretation on Jn 12:15.

The disciples went and found at the gate a donkey and a young donkey tied. When they began to untie the colt, its owners asked why they were doing this.

They answered as Jesus had taught them. They brought to Him the donkey and the colt, covered them with their garments, and seated Jesus upon the young donkey.

Jesus did not enter the capital of the Jewish kingdom in a royal chariot drawn by horses. He entered on a young donkey, covered not with costly trappings, but with the worn garments of His poor Apostles.

In this, as the Evangelists Matthew and John explain, the prophecy was fulfilled which said: "Tell the daughter of Zion: behold, your King comes to you, meek, sitting on a donkey and on a young donkey, the foal of one under the yoke."

In the book of the Prophet Isaiah it is said: "Go through, go through the gates; prepare the way for the people. Level, level the road; remove the stones; raise a banner for the nations.

Behold, the Lord proclaims to the end of the earth: say to the daughter of Zion, your Savior comes. His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him" (Is 62:10-11).

And the Prophet Zechariah said: "Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion; exult, daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, your King comes to you, righteous and saving, meek, sitting on a donkey and on a young donkey, the foal of one under the yoke" (Zech 9:9).

Before great feasts, crowds of pilgrims gathered from everywhere and customarily entered the holy city solemnly, with every expression of joy.

Christ also wished to make such an entrance. As a prophet acknowledged by the people and a renowned teacher, He necessarily had to occupy a prominent position.

He used this circumstance to reveal His glory for the last time. Until now He had usually entered Jerusalem on foot.

Now He wished to enter it as His forefather David had more than once entered in former times, namely, sitting on a donkey.

This peaceful and useful animal was highly valued in the East. For the Jews, not a few historical memories were connected with it, making it in their eyes even nobler and more beloved than the proud horses obtained from Egypt.

The donkey's significance was raised still higher in their eyes by the solemn declaration of the prophet that the Messiah-King would enter Jerusalem precisely on a donkey (Zech 9:9).

Therefore this very entrance of the Savior into the holy city could serve as the best and most visible proclamation of His messiahship.

Early in the morning of the ninth of Nisan, the Savior left His peaceful and hospitable shelter in Bethany. As usual, He set out on foot with His disciples toward Jerusalem.

Descending into a small valley entirely covered with fig trees and olive trees, they approached the village of Bethphage. Like Bethany, it was so near Jerusalem that by rabbinic law it was regarded almost as part of it.

Secret disciples and followers of Christ lived in many places at that time. Probably to one of them, living in Bethphage, He sent two disciples to take a donkey for His solemn entrance into Jerusalem.

The disciples carried out the command exactly and brought the donkey with the young colt.

The daughter of Zion and the daughter of Jerusalem mean the inhabitants of Jerusalem (Is 1:8; Is 16:12; Is 32:9) or the Church of Jerusalem.

Among the Jews it was customary to call cities and their populations daughters or virgins (Amos 5:2; Jer 46:24; Ps 44:13; Ps 136:8).

Jerusalem with its inhabitants was also called the daughter of Zion because, under David and Solomon, it was situated on Mount Zion, the highest of the neighboring hills.

The inhabitants of Jerusalem were to meet with triumph a righteous king, under the special protection of God, and at the same time meek.

What sort of King is this? The union of qualities scarcely united, righteousness and meekness, points to an unprecedented king.

The prophets indicated righteousness and righteous judgments in the Messiah as His distinguishing marks (Jer 33:15-16).

The king's inseparable sign is a solemn entrance into the capital on a young donkey. Jerusalem must look attentively for this feature of its king.

Jewish tradition recognized in this prophecy a prophecy of the Messiah (R. Eheser c. 32; R. Saadius Gaon ad Dan 7:13; Talmud in tract. Sanhedrir. c. 11).

The Evangelist observes: "His disciples did not understand this at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that this had been written of Him and had been done to Him."

This observation is a memorial to the truthfulness of the sacred narrator. He speaks the truth even when it is not flattering to the disciples of Jesus, including himself.

It might seem impossible not to recall Zechariah's prophecy when the Lord carefully gave the command to take the donkey and the colt from a certain owner.

It might seem still more impossible when the people solemnly met Jesus, especially since the meaning of the prophecy had been preserved by tradition.

But without higher illumination the Apostles did not understand many things in the words and deeds of Jesus. Only after His Resurrection did the Lord give them the ability to understand the prophecies (Lk 21:27, 45; Acts 1:3).

They recognize Him, though not for long, as their king. When the Pharisees told Him to forbid these joyful cries, He answered: I tell you, if these keep silent, the stones will cry out (Lk 19:39-40).

Combining the accounts of this great event from all four evangelists, Mt 21 and following, Mk 11 and following, Lk 19:29 and following, and Jn 12 and following, we see three things.

First, this event was foretold in the books of the Old Testament in expressions that leave not the least doubt about the exact application of these prophecies to the event.

Second, after His entrance into Jerusalem, the Lord returned to Bethany in the evening (Mt 21:17).

Third, on the next day after this He was again in Jerusalem, as Mk 11 and following should be compared. There He performed the second expulsion from the temple of those selling and changing money.

Compare Jn 2 and following, and see above, verses 13-16 of the second chapter and their study.

In Jerusalem, as we see from the accounts of all the evangelists, there was great agitation of minds.

Bereft Jerusalem was troubled when the Magi announced to it the birth of the King of the Jews. Jerusalem was troubled also when it beheld its King coming in glory to the royal city.

Fear takes hold of the rulers and Pharisees (Mk 11:18). Thus, when the Lord again, a second time, drives the sellers from the temple, He no longer meets the indignant questions of the Pharisees, as He did the first time.

We recall that Jn 2:13-16 and following indicate the first expulsion at the beginning of the Lord's preaching. The Synoptic Gospels indicate the second expulsion of the sellers before the Lord's Passion.

They all keep silent and fear. They only plot to kill the Lord. They understand that, if He Himself wished, He would immediately become an earthly King.

Even Pilate knew (Jn 19:15) that the people undoubtedly recognized Him as such. Speaking in human terms, the Lord could have established an earthly kingdom at that moment.

He could have done this if it had been pleasing to Him and if He had been only a man. No one doubted this.

According to Eastern custom, the people took tree branches in their hands and went out precisely to meet their King.

It is not useless to note that Βαία τῶν φοίνικων means precisely palm branches, as the Russian translation renders it. That is, branches of palms of every kind, not exclusively branches of the date palm.

For φοῖνιξ means a palm tree in general. Yet there is no doubt that Phoenicia, which is thought to have received its Greek name from the palm, and Palestine always abounded specifically in date palms, Phoenix Dactylifera.

Xenophon indicates this in the Cyropaedia, as do Pliny in the Natural History and Strabo.

The cry that became common to the crowd is a cry taken from Psalm 117, a psalm preeminently Messianic and recognized as Messianic in the Old Testament Church.

The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner. This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes.

This is the day which the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. O Lord, save now. In Hebrew, hosha-na, Hosanna. O Lord, hasten now. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.

To the cry taken from the Messianic Psalm, the people add the cry: King of Israel. Thus, on the one hand, in their shouts they recognize the Lord as the Messiah sent from God.

On the other hand, they express the desire or demand that the One whom they recognize as Messiah should be their King.

The people, of course, thought that the earthly kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ was beginning. Indeed, the kingdom of God had come upon them (Mt 12:28; Lk 10:9-11; Lk 11 and elsewhere).

But it was a kingdom over souls, not the exaltation of earthly dust. It was the majesty of incorruption and immortality.

We know that in the first three Gospels the bringing to the Lord of the colt of an ass, on which He sat, is described in more detail than in John the Evangelist.

John the Evangelist does not repeat this account, but speaks of it briefly: He found a young ass.

Yet with reverence we read how all these events of the Lord's earthly life were clearly depicted in the writings of the prophets. They were covered, however, by the translucent veil of expectation.

God had commanded the prophets to foretell these events as a witness to unbelievers and believers.

The prophecy of Zech 9 is cited in the Gospel itself, with a small change in the first words. In Zech 9, instead of Do not fear, it says Rejoice greatly.

It adds: proclaim, daughter of Zion, daughter of Jerusalem. To it we must also add the prophecy of Isa 52:11: Say to the daughter of Zion, Behold, your Savior comes.

He has His reward with Him, and His work before His face. They shall be called the holy people, redeemed by the Lord.

Thus the Man about whom the Old Testament books prophesied solemnly enters Jerusalem. Isaiah called Him Savior, and Zechariah called Him King of the daughter of Zion.

He is surrounded by crowds of rejoicing people, who unconsciously fulfill the great prophecies about the King and Savior. Yet they have on their lips and in their hearts the Messianic cry of Psalm 117.

In the Old Testament prophecies, the name Zion always means the city of Jerusalem and the Old Testament Church. Compare, for example, Isa 33:20.

Look upon Zion, the city of our solemn assemblies. Your eyes will see Jerusalem. Or compare Zeph 3:18: Rejoice, daughter of Zion. Triumph, Israel. Be glad, daughter of Jerusalem. See also what follows.

But daughter of Zion, or daughter of Jerusalem, has a more mysterious meaning. In this name the New Testament Church is undoubtedly revealed.

The Lord was building her on unshakable foundations, on which the Old Testament Church had stood until then, though it was coming to the end of its existence.

Heaps of rubble had to be removed from this foundation. On it the majestic building of the Church of Christ was already rising. In her was the future life of mankind.

The Jewish Church that preceded her, or better, the Israelite Church, fulfilled one of its purposes. It was the keeper of the promises and prophecies.

Yet it could give nothing to the future of the human soul. Having lost the Spirit of God, it was therefore dying in its sins.

For the society that composed it, at least in its leaders, sought the death of Him who brought light and life to the earth.

Only the daughter of Zion, renewed and sanctified by the Spirit of God, received the scattered children of the ancient Church. She recognized as King and Savior the One whom the ancient Old Testament Church rejected.