211 When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage , at the Mount of Olives , then Jesus sent two disciples , 2 saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me. 3 "If anyone says anything to you, you shall say , 'The Lord has need of them,' and immediately he will send them." 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet : 5 " SAY TO THE DAUGHTER OF ZION , 'BEHOLD YOUR KING IS COMING TO YOU, GENTLE , AND MOUNTED ON A DONKEY , EVEN ON A COLT , THE FOAL OF A BEAST OF BURDEN .' " 6 The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, 7 and brought the donkey and the colt , and laid their coats on them; and He sat on the coats . 8 Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road , and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road . 9 The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed , were shouting , "Hosanna to the Son of David ; BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE Lord ; Hosanna in the highest !" 10 When He had entered Jerusalem , all the city was stirred , saying , "Who is this ?" 11 And the crowds were saying , "This is the prophet Jesus , from Nazareth in Galilee ."
12 And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple , and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves . 13 And He said to them, "It is written , ' MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER '; but you are making it a ROBBERS' DEN ." 14 And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple , and He healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done , and the children who were shouting in the temple , "Hosanna to the Son of David ," they became indignant 16 and said to Him, "Do You hear what these children are saying ?" And Jesus said to them, "Yes ; have you never read , ' OUT OF THE MOUTH OF INFANTS AND NURSING BABIES YOU HAVE PREPARED PRAISE FOR YOURSELF'?" 17 And He left them and went out of the city to Bethany , and spent the night there .
18 Now in the morning , when He was returning to the city , He became hungry . 19 Seeing a lone fig tree by the road , He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only ; and He said to it, "No longer shall there ever e be any fruit from you." And at once the fig tree withered . 20 Seeing this, the disciples were amazed and asked , "How did the fig tree wither all at once ?" 21 And Jesus answered and said to them, "Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt , you will not only do what was done to the fig tree , but even if you say to this mountain , 'Be taken up and cast into the sea ,' it will happen . 22 "And all things you ask in prayer , believing , you will receive ."
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Matthew 21:1-22
Commentary on Matthew 21:1-11
(Read Matthew 21:1-11)
This coming of Christ was described by the prophet Zechariah, Zechariah 9:9. When Christ would appear in his glory, it is in his meekness, not in his majesty, in mercy to work salvation. As meekness and outward poverty were fully seen in Zion's King, and marked his triumphal entrance to Jerusalem, how wrong covetousness, ambition, and the pride of life must be in Zion's citizens! They brought the ass, but Jesus did not use it without the owner's consent. The trappings were such as came to hand. We must not think the clothes on our backs too dear to part with for the service of Christ. The chief priests and the elders afterwards joined with the multitude that abused him upon the cross; but none of them joined the multitude that did him honour. Those that take Christ for their King, must lay their all under his feet. Hosanna signifies, Save now, we beseech thee! Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord! But of how little value is the applause of the people! The changing multitude join the cry of the day, whether it be Hosanna, or Crucify him. Multitudes often seem to approve the gospel, but few become consistent disciples. When Jesus was come into Jerusalem all the city was moved; some perhaps were moved with joy, who waited for the Consolation of Israel; others, of the Pharisees, were moved with envy. So various are the motions in the minds of men upon the approach of Christ's kingdom.
Commentary on Matthew 21:12-17
(Read Matthew 21:12-17)
Christ found some of the courts of the temple turned into a market for cattle and things used in the sacrifices, and partly occupied by the money-changers. Our Lord drove them from the place, as he had done at his entering upon his ministry, John 2:13-17. His works testified of him more than the hosannas; and his healing in the temple was the fulfilling the promise, that the glory of the latter house should be greater than the glory of the former. If Christ came now into many parts of his visible church, how many secret evils he would discover and cleanse! And how many things daily practised under the cloak of religion, would he show to be more suitable to a den of thieves than to a house of prayer!
Commentary on Matthew 21:18-22
(Read Matthew 21:18-22)
This cursing of the barren fig-tree represents the state of hypocrites in general, and so teaches us that Christ looks for the power of religion in those who profess it, and the savour of it from those that have the show of it. His just expectations from flourishing professors are often disappointed; he comes to many, seeking fruit, and finds leaves only. A false profession commonly withers in this world, and it is the effect of Christ's curse. The fig-tree that had no fruit, soon lost its leaves. This represents the state of the nation and people of the Jews in particular. Our Lord Jesus found among them nothing but leaves. And after they rejected Christ, blindness and hardness grew upon them, till they were undone, and their place and nation rooted up. The Lord was righteous in it. Let us greatly fear the doom denounced on the barren fig-tree.