There is also described the manner of praising: on account of which he says: And they cried out: Hosanna: as the Gloss says, "this word is that of one beseeching, indicating an affection rather than something definite, like interjections," and it means as much as save, I beseech. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel: in which they confess in him royal dignity, not from man, but from God: therefore they say: the King of Israel in the name of the Lord, according to that passage in the first chapter of Luke: "He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father, and he shall reign in the house of Jacob forever." There is also described the manner of proceeding: because he did not proceed on foot, but sat upon an ass: on account of which he says:
19. (Vers. 14.). And Jesus found a young ass and sat upon it. Although he was the true King and permitted royal honor to be offered to him, nevertheless he came not with a multitude of horses, but upon an ass. In which is signified, as Augustine says, that "he was not a king for exacting tribute, not for arming an army with iron, but the King of Israel, who rules minds, who takes counsel, who leads believers, hopers, and lovers into the kingdom of heaven."
20. As it is written. Here is touched upon the second point, namely the approval of that deed through Scripture, and this he does by showing that it had been foretold in Scripture: because this gives strength to true faith. Therefore he says that he sat upon an ass in royal honor: lest you think this was done by chance, therefore he says: As it is written, in the ninth chapter of Zechariah:
21. (Vers. 15.). Fear not, daughter of Sion, that is, the Church: he says less and means more, that is, rejoice: in the ninth chapter of Zechariah: "Rejoice greatly, daughter of Sion; shout for joy, daughter of Jerusalem." And the reason for rejoicing is given: Behold, your king comes to you; behold, royal dignity: sitting upon the foal of an ass; behold, meekness and humility. And at the coming of such a one there is cause for gladness, because it is said in the sixteenth chapter of Proverbs: "In the cheerfulness of the king's countenance is life, and his clemency is like the latter rain." And although this honor had been foretold, nevertheless it was not foreknown by the disciples of Christ, so that you may know that this was not done by human invention, but by divine dispensation. Therefore he adds:
22. (Vers. 16.). These things his disciples did not understand at first, namely when they conferred this honor; but when Jesus was glorified, after the resurrection and ascension, then they remembered, that is, they perceived, that these things were written of him: and these things they had done to him. After his glorification they understood, not before: because then for the first time, as is said in the last chapter of Luke, "he opened their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures."
23. (Verse 17.). Therefore the crowd bore witness etc. Here the third point is touched upon, namely the reason for the honor shown: and this was the very wondrous raising of Lazarus, which was well known to the crowds: on account of which he says: Therefore the crowd that was with him bore witness to him, when he called Lazarus from the tomb
and raised him from the dead, saying: "Lazarus, come forth." This crowd bore witness to his omnipotence, namely the crowd of the simple and also the crowd of the wise: of the wise, Acts 10: "To him all the Prophets bear witness"; of the simple, the Psalm: "Out of the mouth of infants and sucklings you have perfected praise." On account of which sign and testimony this honor was bestowed upon him; therefore he says:
24. (Verse 18.). For this reason the crowd came to meet him, because they heard that he had done this sign. The simple crowd, seeing the signs, was moved to faith and devotion; on account of which it is said in Matthew 9: "The crowds seeing this feared and glorified God, who had given such power to men"; but the scribes were saying that he was blaspheming.
25. (Verse 19.). The Pharisees therefore said among themselves. Here the fourth point is touched upon, namely the obstinacy of the Pharisees from envy: therefore they were saying among themselves: See, we are gaining nothing, namely as long as he lives; 2 Timothy 3: "They resist the truth, men corrupt in mind, reprobate concerning the faith, but they shall advance no further." And after: Behold, the whole world has gone after him. In which it is noted that they were stirred by the dart of envy; whence it is said in Matthew 21 that the scribes and Pharisees, seeing this, "were indignant," because from envy they grieved, from pride they despised, from wrath itself they raged; and therefore they were obstinate in malice: "by the envy of the devil death entered into the world" etc., Wisdom 2; Ecclesiasticus 14: "The evil eye shall be sorrowful over his own table."
QUESTIONS.
26. Question I. But it is asked here: because it seems that the Lord in his works was contrary to himself:
1. Because above in chapter 11 it is said that the Lord hid himself from the face of the Jews who were persecuting him: but here he so openly presents himself.
2. Likewise, the Lord above in chapter 6 fled to the mountain, when they wanted to make him king: here he accepts the honor bestowed upon him as king and approves it.
I respond: It must be said that the Lord, as Augustine says, does not do contrary things, but according to fittingness does diverse things, just as he first issued the old and afterwards the new testament.
1. On account of which it must be said that the time of the passion had not yet arrived before, but now it was at hand: therefore previously he was hiding himself, because he was awaiting the time: now, when the opportunity and the time are present, he manifests himself.
2. Similarly to the second point: because before the passion he wished to be unknown, but near and after the passion he was to be glorified: therefore he accepted the royal honor then and not before.
Another reason is that these did not make him king, but recognized him as sent by God; whereas those wished to make him king.
The third reason is that since the Lord was about to suffer almost immediately after these things, he willed to be honored, so that from this honor the succeeding ignominy of the passion might be intensified.
27. Question II. Likewise, a question is raised about the apparent contradiction:
1. Because it is said in Matthew twenty-one that he first sent into the village for the donkey, and then that the crowd came to meet him.
2. Likewise, in the same place it is said that he sat upon the she-donkey and the colt, but here it is said that upon a young donkey.
3. Likewise, this is not written in Zechariah: Fear not, daughter of Sion, but rather: Rejoice and shout for joy, daughter, etc.
I respond: To this last point, it must be said that because the Evangelists spoke through the Holy Spirit, who composed all of Scripture and is its author, they did not insist upon the similarity of words but upon the integrity of meaning; and the very same thing that the prophet said through the word rejoicing, the Evangelist says through the word not fearing.
1. 2. As for the objection concerning the contradiction and the reversal of order: it must be said that the Lord sat upon the she-donkey and also upon her colt. And some say this happened in this way: he first mounted the colt, and because it was bucking, he afterward sat upon the she-donkey. But this amounts to nothing, because I do not believe that the colt would ever buck while the Lord was sitting upon it; rather, it should be understood that the Lord, for the sake of the figure, first sat upon the she-donkey, that is, upon the old synagogue, and afterward upon the colt, that is, the untamed gentile world.
And he first sat upon the she-donkey before the crowds came to meet him; therefore Matthew narrates this first. But afterward, when the crowds came to meet him, then he sat upon the young donkey. And therefore John says after the arrival of the crowds: Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, not troubling to tell the whole, because another had already told it.