Lk. 19:34. They answered: He is needed by the Lord.
Lk. 19:35. And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their garments on the colt, they set Jesus on it.
The Lord sits upon the colt for two purposes at one and the same time: first, to fulfill the prophecy which says, "Behold, your King comes," sitting upon a beast of burden (Zech. 9:9); and second, to figuratively let us know that He would subdue to Himself a new, unclean, and untamed people of the Gentiles. Judging by the distance of the journey, the Lord doubtless had no need of a beast of burden. For having traversed all of Galilee and Judea on foot, how would He have need of a colt for the passage from Bethany to Jerusalem, where the distance, as everyone knows, is insignificant? And so He does this, as I said, with a mystical meaning. The colt was tied up and had many masters, but by those who were sent, that is, the apostles, it is untied. This has the following meaning: Bethany, by interpretation, means "house of obedience," and Bethphage means "house of jaws," a place befitting priests. For the jaws were given to the priests, as prescribed in the Law (Deut. 18:3). By jaws is signified the word of teaching, which the jaws of the soul grind and refine. And so, where there is a house of the teaching word and of obedience to this word, there the disciples of the Lord are sent and loose people bound by the nets of sin and many worldly cares, and from servants of many masters and gods make them worshippers of one Lord Jesus and one God the Father. But where there is neither a house of obedience nor is the teaching word received, nothing of the sort happens, and the colt is not untied. Those sent were two. By this is signified that two orders serve to bring the Gentiles to Christ and to obedience to Him: the prophets and the apostles. They bring the colt from a certain "village," so that we may know that the Gentile people were in great simplicity and ignorance. For they had never submitted to either the teaching of Moses or the prophets, but were an untrained colt. And if, as another evangelist said (Matt. 21:15), children also cried out, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they too can signify that same new people who, believing in Jesus who appeared in the flesh from the seed of David, sent up glory to God, as it is written: "The generation to come shall praise the Lord" (Ps. 102:19).
Lk. 19:36. And as He rode, they spread their garments on the road.
The spreading of garments seems to signify that those worthy to praise Jesus, having put off the old man, lay him down and subject him to Jesus, so that by treading upon him He might sanctify him, and so that the flesh would not rise up against the spirit, so that they themselves might also say: "Submit to the Lord and hope in Him" (Ps. 36:7).
Lk. 19:37. And when He drew near, at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen,
Lk. 19:38. saying: Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!
Saying that "the whole multitude of disciples" praised God, Luke calls disciples all the followers of Jesus in general, not only the twelve and not the seventy, but all the people who, either being in need of miracles or at times being carried along by His teaching, followed Jesus. Among them naturally there were also children, as the other Evangelists relate (Matt. 21:15). Moved by God, the children confess Jesus as King, coming "in the name of the Lord," that is, as God, and say: "peace in heaven." Otherwise put: the former enmity that we had with God has ceased. For there was no King-God on earth. But now, when God comes upon the earth, there is truly peace in heaven, and therefore "glory in the highest," since the Angels also glorify that unity and reconciliation which the King and God riding on the donkey has granted us. For the very fact that the true God appears on earth and walks in our land, the land of His enemies, shows that reconciliation has been concluded between Him and us.
Lk. 19:39. And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said to Him: Teacher! rebuke Your disciples.
Lk. 19:40. But He answered and said to them: I tell you that if these should hold their peace, the stones would cry out.
The Pharisees grumbled that the people called Jesus King and praised Him as God; for (in their opinion) the solemn ascription to Him of the name of King was a sign of sedition and blasphemy against the Lord. But Jesus said: "if they keep silent,... the stones will cry out." Or: the people say this not out of flattery toward Me, but they utter this doxology because they are convinced and compelled by all those signs and mighty works which they have seen.
Lk. 19:41. And when He drew near to the city, looking upon it, He wept over it.
The Lord, as the Lover of mankind, weeps over the city, for He did not desire the destruction of its inhabitants for their audacious act against Him. Thus, by His weeping He reveals a compassionate heart. And that He pitied them and thirsted for their conversion not only before the crucifixion but also after the crucifixion is evident from the fact that He delivered them to the Romans only after so many years, for thirty-five years had passed. Without doubt, He delayed the punishment for no other reason than His intense desire for their conversion.
Lk. 19:42. and said: If only you had known, even in this your day, the things that serve your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes,
Lk. 19:43. For the days shall come upon you, when your enemies shall surround you with a rampart, and encircle you, and hem you in on every side,
Lk. 19:44. and shall destroy you, and strike down your children within you, and they shall not leave in you one stone upon another; because you did not know the time of your visitation.
So, He weeps over the insensibility of Jerusalem and says: "if you, even you, had known in this your day the things that make for your peace." That is, if only you had known even now what is to your benefit and leads to peace and tranquility, namely: that you must believe in Me and turn away from your evil design against Me! But now it is hidden from your eyes that unbearable calamities will come upon you for your rejection of Me, and that you will suffer such and such things because you did not recognize "the time of your visitation," that is, My appearing, when I came to visit you and save you. So, you should have known what makes for your well-being, that is, to believe in Me, and you would have been safe from the Romans and free from all harm. For all who believed in Christ remained free from captivity, so that if all had believed, no one would have fallen into captivity at all.
Lk. 19:45. And having entered the temple, He began to cast out those selling in it and buying,
Lk. 19:46. saying to them: It is written: My house is a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers.
Lk. 19:47. And He taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the elders of the people sought to destroy Him,
Lk. 19:48. And they could not find what they might do, for all the people hung upon Him, listening.