Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 21:3

"And if any one say aught unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them." — Matthew 21:3 (ASV)

The Lord has need of them — Simple as the words are, they allow for three very different interpretations.

1. "The Lord" may be used in the highest sense as equivalent to Jehovah, as if the donkey and the colt were claimed for His service.
2. It may refer to Christ in the special sense in which He was spoken of as "the Lord" by His disciples.
3. It may point to Him, but only in language that all people would acknowledge, without any special claim beyond that of being the Master whom the disciples owned as their Lord in a lesser sense.

Of these, the third interpretation is nearly excluded by the facts of the case. The words involve a claim to more than common authority, and the claim is recognized at once.

In support of the second interpretation, we have numerous instances where the disciples and the evangelists not only address their Master as "Lord" but also speak of Him as "the Lord" (Matthew 28:6; Mark 16:19; Luke 10:1; Luke 17:6; Luke 18:6; John 11:2; John 13:13; John 20:2; John 20:13; John 20:18; John 20:20; John 20:25; John 21:7; John 21:12). In support of the first, we have our Lord's use of the word as a synonym for God (Mark 5:19; Mark 13:20).

Overall, the second interpretation seems most consistent with the customary language of the disciples. Assuming the owners of the colt were, in some sense, disciples themselves, they would have recognized the full meaning of the words addressed to them and obeyed without hesitation.