211 And when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, at the mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, Go into the village over against you, and immediately ye will find an ass tied, and a colt with it; loose [them] and lead [them] to me. 3 And if any one say anything to you, ye shall say, The Lord has need of them, and straightway he will send them. 4 But all this came to pass, that that might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, 5 Say to the daughter of Zion, Behold thy King cometh to thee, meek, and mounted upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. 6 But the disciples, having gone and done as Jesus had ordered them, 7 brought the ass and the colt and put their garments upon them, and he sat on them. 8 But a very great crowd strewed their own garments on the way, and others kept cutting down branches from the trees and strewing them on the way. 9 And the crowds who went before him and who followed cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed [be] he who comes in the name of [the] Lord; hosanna in the highest. 10 And as he entered into Jerusalem, the whole city was moved, saying, Who is this? 11 And the crowds said, This is Jesus the prophet who is from Nazareth of Galilee.
12 And Jesus entered into the temple [of God], and cast out all that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those that sold the doves. 13 And he says to them, It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer, but ye have made it a den of robbers. 14 And blind and lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. 15 And when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonders which he wrought, and the children crying in the temple and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David, they were indignant, 16 and said to him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus says to them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise? 17 And leaving them he went forth out of the city to Bethany, and there he passed the night.
18 But early in the morning, as he came back into the city, he hungered. 19 And seeing one fig-tree in the way, he came to it and found on it nothing but leaves only. And he says to it, Let there be never more fruit of thee for ever. And the fig-tree was immediately dried up. 20 And when the disciples saw [it], they wondered, saying, How immediately is the fig-tree dried up! 21 And Jesus answering said to them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and do not doubt, not only shall ye do what [is done] to the fig-tree, but even if ye should say to this mountain, Be thou taken away and be thou cast into the sea, it shall come to pass. 22 And all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall 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.