Charles Ellicott Commentary John 12:14

"And Jesus, having found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written," — John 12:14 (ASV)

And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon.—St. John simply mentions this to introduce the prophecy. The others all give the incidents in detail. “Having found,” does not imply that the colt was found without the search which the other Evangelists record. (Compare the same word in John 9:35.) It has been noted, as illustrating the fact, that the word “found” includes the sending the disciples to look for the colt, that it is the same Greek word which Archimedes used when he found the object of his search, and cried, Eureka! Eureka!