Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 21:18

"Now in the morning as he returned to the city, he hungered." — Matthew 21:18 (ASV)

In the morning—The word implies “daybreak,” probably about 5 a.m. This was the usual Jewish time for the first food of the day. If we may infer from Luke 21:37 and John 18:1 that the greater part of the night had been spent either in solitary prayer or in converse with the disciples, we have an explanation of the exhaustion that sought food wherever there might seem even a chance of finding it.