Church Fathers Commentary Luke 19

St. Ambrose of Milan: Consider Zacchaeus in the sycamore tree and the blind man by the wayside. For the one, our Lord waits to show mercy; for the other, He confers the great glory of abiding in his house. The chief among the publicans is fittingly introduced here. For who will despair of himself in the future, when a man who gained his living by fraud now attains to grace? He was also a rich man, so that we may know that not all rich men are covetous.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: But Zacchaeus did not delay, and so was considered worthy of the favor of God, which gives sight to the blind and calls those who are far off.

Titus of Bostra: The seed of salvation had begun to spring up in him, for he desired to see Jesus, whom he had never seen. If he had seen Him, he would have given up the publican’s wicked life long ago. No one who sees Jesus can remain any longer in wickedness. But two obstacles prevented him from seeing Jesus. The crowd—not so much of people, but of his sins—stood in his way, for he was small in stature.

St. Ambrose of Milan: What does the Evangelist mean by describing his stature, and not that of anyone else? Perhaps it is because he was young in his wickedness or still weak in the faith. For a man who could still climb a tree was not yet completely overcome by sin. He had not yet seen Christ.

Titus of Bostra: But Zacchaeus discovered a clever plan: running ahead, he climbed up into a sycamore tree and saw the One he had long wished for—that is, Jesus, passing by. Now, Zacchaeus desired nothing more than to see Him, but the Lord, who is able to do more than we ask, granted him far more than he expected. As the text continues, And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him. He saw the man’s soul striving earnestly for a holy life and converted him to godliness.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Uninvited, Jesus invites Himself to Zacchaeus’s house, as it says, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down... for He knew how richly He would reward his hospitality. And though He had not yet heard a verbal invitation, He had already seen the man’s willingness.

The Venerable Bede: See here how the camel, freed from its hump, passes through the eye of a needle. That is, the rich publican, by abandoning his love of riches and loathing his dishonest gains, receives the blessing of his Lord’s company. As it follows, And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Let the rich learn that guilt is not in wealth itself, but in those who do not know how to use it. For just as riches can be a hindrance to virtue for the unworthy, they can also be a means of advancing it for the good.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Observe the grace and kindness of the Savior. The innocent associates with the guilty; the fountain of justice associates with covetousness, which is the source of injustice. Having entered the publican’s house, He suffers no stain from the fog of greed but disperses it with the bright beam of His righteousness. But those who use biting words and reproaches try to discredit the things He did, for it follows, And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.

But He, though accused of being a wine-bibber and a friend of publicans, paid no attention to it, as long as He could accomplish His purpose. A physician sometimes cannot save his patients from their diseases without being stained by blood, and so it happened here: the publican was converted and began to live a better life. Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded any man, I restore him fourfold.

Behold, here is a marvel: he obeys without being taught. Just as the sun, pouring its rays into a house, enlightens it not by words but by deeds, so the Savior, by the rays of righteousness, put the darkness of sin to flight, for the light shines in darkness. Now, everything united is strong, but divided is weak; therefore, Zacchaeus divides his substance into two parts.

We must be careful to observe, however, that his wealth was not made up entirely of unjust gains but also came from his inheritance; otherwise, how could he restore fourfold what he had unjustly taken? He knew that the law ordered what was wrongly taken to be restored fourfold, so that if the law itself did not deter a man, the resulting financial loss might. Zacchaeus does not wait for the judgment of the law but makes himself his own judge.

Theophylact of Ohrid: If we examine this more closely, we see that nothing was left of his own property. For after giving half of his goods to the poor, he used the remainder to restore fourfold to those whom he had injured. He did not merely promise this; he did it. For he does not say, “I will give the half, and I will restore fourfold,” but rather, “I give, and I restore.” To such a man, Christ announces salvation, saying to him, This day is salvation come to this house, signifying that Zacchaeus himself had attained salvation, with “the house” meaning its inhabitant. And it follows, forasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For Christ would not have given the name “son of Abraham” to a lifeless building.

The Venerable Bede: Zacchaeus is called a son of Abraham not because he was a physical descendant, but because he imitates Abraham’s faith. For just as Abraham left his country and his father’s house, so Zacchaeus abandoned all his possessions by giving them to the poor. And Christ rightly says, “He also,” to declare that not only those who have lived justly, but also those who are raised up from a life of injustice, belong to the sons of promise.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Christ did not say that Zacchaeus “was” a son of Abraham, but that he “is” one now. For previously, when he was the chief among the publicans and bore no resemblance to the righteous Abraham, he was not his son. But because some murmured that He stayed with a sinner, He adds this to restrain them: For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Christ is saying, “Why do you accuse Me if I bring sinners to righteousness? Far from hating them, I came for their sakes. For I came to heal, not to judge. Therefore, I am the constant guest of the sick, and I endure their foulness so that I may supply remedies.” But someone may ask how Paul can bid us, If we have a brother that is a fornicator or covetous man, with such not even to take food, whereas Christ was the guest of publicans? They were not yet advanced enough to be considered brethren; besides, St. Paul bids us to avoid our brethren only when they persist in evil, but these men had been converted.

The Venerable Bede: Mystically, the name Zacchaeus, which means “justified,” signifies the Gentile believers. They were weighed down and humbled by their worldly occupations but have been sanctified by God. Zacchaeus desired to see our Savior entering Jericho, since he sought to share in the faith that Christ brought into the world.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: The crowd represents the chaos of an ignorant multitude, which cannot see the heights of wisdom. Therefore, while Zacchaeus was in the crowd, he did not see Christ. But having advanced beyond common ignorance, he was considered worthy to welcome the One he desired to see.

The Venerable Bede: Or, the crowd represents the general habit of vice. This is what rebuked the blind man for crying out, so that he would not seek the light, and it also hinders Zacchaeus from looking up, so that he cannot see Jesus. Just as the blind man overcame the crowd by crying out all the more, so the man who is weak in faith overcomes the opposing multitude by forsaking earthly things and climbing the tree of the Cross.

The sycamore is a tree resembling the mulberry in its leaves but is much taller, which is why the Latins call it “lofty.” It is also called the “foolish fig-tree.” In the same way, the Cross of our Lord sustains believers as a fig tree sustains its figs, and it is mocked by unbelievers as foolishness. Zacchaeus, who was small in stature, climbed this tree so that he might be raised up with Christ.

For everyone who is humble and conscious of his own weakness cries out, God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

St. Ambrose of Milan: The Evangelist rightly adds that our Lord was to pass that way—either where the sycamore tree was, or where the man who was about to believe was—so that He might preserve the mystery and sow the seeds of grace. For He came in such a way that He reached the Gentiles by passing through the Jews. He then sees Zacchaeus above, for the excellence of his faith was already shining forth amid the fruits of his good works and the height of the fruitful tree. But Zacchaeus stands out above the tree, as one who is above the law.

The Venerable Bede: As the Lord journeyed, He came to the place where Zacchaeus had climbed the sycamore. For having sent His preachers throughout the world (in whom He Himself spoke and journeyed), He comes to the Gentile people. These people were already raised up high through faith in His Passion, and when He looked up, He saw them, for He chose them by grace.

Now, our Lord once stayed in the house of a chief of the Pharisees, but when He performed works that only God could do, they railed at Him. Therefore, hating their deeds, He departed, saying, Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. But now He must stay at the house of the lowly Zacchaeus; that is, by the brightly shining grace of the new law, He must rest in the hearts of the humble nations.

The command for Zacchaeus to come down from the sycamore tree and prepare a place for Christ corresponds to what the Apostle says: Yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. And again elsewhere: For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God.

It is plain that the Jews always hated the salvation of the Gentiles. But salvation, which formerly filled the houses of the Jews, has this day shone upon the Gentiles, since this people also, by believing in God, is a son of Abraham.

Theophylact of Ohrid: It is easy to apply this as a moral lesson. Whoever surpasses many in wickedness is small in spiritual growth and cannot see Jesus because of the crowd. Disturbed by passion and worldly things, he does not behold Jesus walking—that is, working in us—and does not recognize His work. But he climbs to the top of a sycamore tree by rising above the sweetness of pleasure (which is symbolized by the fig), and by subduing it, he becomes more exalted. Then he sees and is seen by Christ.

St. Gregory the Great: Or, because the sycamore is called the “foolish fig” by its name, the small Zacchaeus climbs into the sycamore and sees the Lord. For those who humbly choose the foolish things of this world are the ones who contemplate the wisdom of God most intimately. What is more foolish in this world than not to seek what is lost, to give our possessions to robbers, or not to return injury for injury? However, through this wise foolishness, the wisdom of God is seen—not yet as it truly is, but through the light of contemplation.

Theophylact of Ohrid: The Lord said to him, Make haste, and come down. This means, “You have ascended by repentance to a place too high for you; come down in humility, lest your exaltation cause you to fall. I must abide in the house of a humble man.”

We have two kinds of goods in us: bodily and spiritual. The just man gives up all his bodily goods to the poor, but he does not forsake his spiritual goods. If he has extorted anything from anyone, he restores it fourfold. This signifies that if a man, through repentance, walks on the opposite path from his former perversity, he heals all his old offenses by the manifold practice of virtue.

In this way, he merits salvation and is called a son of Abraham, because he went out from his own kindred—that is, from his former wickedness.

Eusebius of Caesarea: Some people thought that our Savior’s kingdom would begin at His first coming, and they were expecting it to appear shortly when He was preparing to go up to Jerusalem, for they were astonished by the divine miracles He performed. He therefore informs them that He would not receive the kingdom from His Father until He had left humanity to go to His Father.

Theophylact of Ohrid: The Lord points out the vanity of their imaginations, for the senses cannot grasp the kingdom of God. He also plainly shows them that, as God, He knew their thoughts, and so He presented them with the following parable: A certain nobleman...

St. Cyril of Alexandria: This parable is intended to set before us the mysteries of Christ from the beginning to the end. For God was made man—He who was the Word from the beginning. And though He became a servant, yet He was noble because of His unspeakable birth from the Father.

St. Basil the Great: He is noble, not only in respect to His Godhead but also His humanity, being descended from the seed of David according to the flesh. He went into a far country, separated not so much by distance of place as by actual condition. For God Himself is near to every one of us when our good works bind us to Him. And He is far away whenever, by clinging to destruction, we remove ourselves from Him. To this earthly country, then, He came at a distance from God, that He might receive the kingdom of the Gentiles, according to the Psalm, Ask of me, and I will give you the heathen for your inheritance.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Or, the far country is the Gentile Church, extending to the uttermost parts of the earth. For He went so that the fullness of the Gentiles might come in; He will return so that all Israel may be saved.

Eusebius of Caesarea: Or, by His setting out into a far country, He denotes His own ascension from earth to heaven. But when He adds, to receive for himself a kingdom and to return, He points to His second coming, when He will arrive as a King in great glory. He first calls Himself a man because of His birth in the flesh, then noble, but not yet a King, because at His first appearance He exercised no kingly power. It is also fittingly said that He would obtain a kingdom for Himself, according to Daniel: Behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven... and a kingdom was given to him.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: For ascending to heaven, He sits on the right hand of the Majesty on high. But having ascended, He has dispensed different divine graces to those who believe in Him, just as the servants were entrusted with their lord’s goods, so that by gaining something they might bring him proof of their service. As it follows, And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds.

St. John Chrysostom: Holy Scripture is accustomed to using the number ten as a sign of perfection, for if anyone wishes to count beyond it, he must begin again from one, having reached a goal, as it were, in ten. And so in the giving of the talents, the one who reaches the goal of divine obedience is said to have received ten pounds.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Or, by the ten pounds He signifies the law, because of the ten commandments, and by the ten servants, He signifies those to whom grace was preached while they were under the law. For we must interpret the ten pounds given to them for trading in this way: they understood that the law, once its veil was removed, belongs to the Gospel.

The Venerable Bede: A pound, which in Greek is equal in weight to one hundred drachmas, and every word of Scripture, by suggesting to us the perfection of the heavenly life, shines, as it were, with the greatness of the number one hundred.

Eusebius of Caesarea: By those who receive the pounds, He means His disciples, giving a pound to each, since He entrusts to all an equal stewardship. He commanded them to put it to use, as it follows, “Occupy till I come.” Now there was no other business but to preach the doctrine of His kingdom to those who would hear it. But there is one and the same doctrine for all, one faith, one baptism. And therefore one pound is given to each.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: But these servants differ greatly from those who denied the kingdom of God, about whom it is added, But his citizens hated him. And this is the very reason Christ rebuked the Jews when He said, “But now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father.” But they rejected His kingdom, saying to Pilate, “We have no king but Caesar.”

Eusebius of Caesarea: By “citizens” He signifies the Jews, who were descended from the same lineage according to the flesh and with whom He shared in the customs of the law.

St. Augustine of Hippo: And they sent a message after Him, because after His resurrection they also persecuted His Apostles and refused the preaching of the Gospel.

Eusebius of Caesarea: After our Savior had instructed them in matters concerning His first coming, He proceeded to describe His second coming in majesty and great glory, saying, And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom.

St. John Chrysostom: Holy Scripture notes two kingdoms of God: one by creation, since by right of creation He is King over all people; the other by justification, since He reigns over the just, who are made subject to Him of their own will. And this is the kingdom which He is said here to have received.

St. Augustine of Hippo: He also returns after having received His kingdom, because He who appeared lowly to those to whom He said, “My kingdom is not of this world,” will come in all His glory.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: But when Christ returns, having taken His kingdom for Himself, the ministers of the word will receive their deserved praise and delight in heavenly rewards, because they multiplied their talent by acquiring more. As it is added, Then the first came, saying, “Lord, your pound has gained ten pounds.”

The Venerable Bede: The first servant is the order of teachers sent to the circumcision, who received one pound to put to use, inasmuch as it was ordered to preach one faith. But this one pound gained ten pounds because by its teaching it united to itself the people who were subject to the law. It follows, And he said to him, “Well done, you good servant: because you have been faithful in a very little...” The servant who does not corrupt the word of God is faithful in a very little. For all the gifts we receive now are but small in comparison to what we will have.

Greek Expositors: Because he receives the reward of his own good works, he is said to be set over ten cities. And some, thinking unworthily of these promises, imagine that they will be promoted to magistracies and chief positions in the earthly Jerusalem—which is built with precious stones—because they have lived honestly in Christ. This shows how little they have purged their souls of all craving for power and authority among men.

St. Ambrose of Milan: But the ten cities are the souls over whom he is rightly placed—he who has deposited his lord’s money and the holy words, which are tested like silver in the fire, into the minds of men. For as Jerusalem is said to be built as a city, so are peace-making souls. And as angels have rule, so do they who have acquired the life of angels.

It follows, And the second came, saying, “Lord, your pound has gained five pounds.”

The Venerable Bede: That servant represents the assembly of those sent to preach the Gospel to the uncircumcised. Their pound, which is the faith of the Gospel, gained five pounds because it converted the nations, who were previously enslaved to the five senses of the body, to the grace of the evangelical faith. And he said likewise to him, “Be you also over five cities”; that is, be exalted to shine through the faith and conduct of those souls whom you have enlightened.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Or perhaps differently: he who gained five pounds has all the moral virtues, for there are five senses of the body. He who gained ten has that much more—that is, the mysteries of the law as well as the moral virtues. The ten pounds may also here be taken to mean the ten words, that is, the teaching of the law; the five pounds, the ordering of discipline. But the scribe must be perfect in all things. And rightly, since He is speaking of the Jews, there are only two who bring their pounds multiplied—not indeed by a gainful interest on money, but by a profitable stewardship of the Gospel. For there is one kind of interest in money lent, and another in heavenly teaching.

St. John Chrysostom: For in earthly wealth, one person cannot become rich without another becoming poor. But in spiritual riches, one cannot become rich without also making another rich. For in earthly matters, sharing diminishes wealth; in spiritual matters, it increases it.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Or else, that one of those who well employed their money gained ten pounds and another five signifies that they acquired them for the flock of God, by whom the law was now understood through grace. This is either because of the ten commandments of the law, or because he through whom the law was given wrote five books. To this belong the ten and five cities over which He appoints them to preside.

For the manifold meanings or interpretations which spring up concerning some individual precept or book, when reduced and brought together into one, make, as it were, a city of living, eternal reasons. Hence a city is not a multitude of living creatures, but of reasonable beings bound together by the fellowship of one law.

The servants who bring an account of what they had received, and are praised for having gained more, represent those who have well employed what they received to increase their Lord’s riches through those who believe in Him. In contrast, those who are unwilling to do this are signified by that servant who kept his pound laid up in a napkin, of whom it follows, And the third came, saying, “Lord, behold, here is your pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin...”

For there are some who flatter themselves with this delusion, saying, “It is enough for each individual to answer for himself; what need is there for others to preach and minister, so that everyone should be compelled also to give an account of himself?” They argue this, seeing that in the Lord’s sight even those to whom the law was not given are without excuse, who were not asleep at the time of the preaching of the Gospel, for they might have known the Creator through the creature. And then it follows, “For I feared you, because you are an austere man...”

This is, as it were, to reap where he did not sow—that is, to hold those guilty of ungodliness to whom the word of the law or the Gospel was not preached. And so, avoiding this supposed peril of judgment, they rest from the ministry of the word with slothful toil. And this is what it means to tie up in a napkin what they had received.

Theophylact of Ohrid: For the face of the dead is covered with a napkin. It is fitting, then, that this idle servant is said to have wrapped his pound in a napkin, because by leaving it dead and unprofitable, he neither used nor increased it.

The Venerable Bede: Or, to tie up money in a napkin is to hide the gifts we have received under the indolence of a sluggish body. But what he thought to use as an excuse is turned to his own blame, as it follows, He says to him, “Out of your own mouth will I judge you, you wicked servant.”

He is called a wicked servant for being slothful in business and proud in questioning his Lord’s judgment. “You knew that I was an austere man, taking up what I did not lay down, and reaping what I did not sow. Why then did you not give my money into the bank?” It is as if he said, “If you knew me to be a hard man, and a seeker of what is not my own, why did the thought of this not strike you with terror? You should have been sure that I would demand back my own with strictness.”

But the money, or silver, is the preaching of the Gospel and the word of God, for the words of the Lord are pure words, like silver tried in the fire. And this word of the Lord ought to be given to the bank—that is, put into hearts fit and ready to receive it.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Or, the bank into which the money was to be given, we take to be the very profession of religion which is publicly put forth as a means necessary to salvation.

St. John Chrysostom: In the payment of earthly riches, the debtors are obliged only to strictness. Whatever they receive, that much they must return; nothing more is required of them. But with regard to the words of God, we are not only bound to keep them diligently, but we are commanded to increase them. Hence it follows, that at my coming I might have required the same with interest.

The Venerable Bede: For those who receive the riches of the word from a teacher by faith must pay it back with their works—that is, with interest—by being earnestly desirous to know more than what they have so far learned from the mouths of their preachers.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: It is the work of teachers to graft wholesome and profitable words into their hearers’ minds, but it is the work of divine power to win the hearers to obedience and make their understanding fruitful. Now this servant, so far from being commended or thought worthy of honor, was condemned as slothful, as it follows, And he said to them that stood by, “Take from him the pound, and give it to him that has ten pounds.”

St. Augustine of Hippo: This signifies that he who has a gift but does not use it will lose the gift of God, while he who has a gift and rightly uses it will have it increased.

The Venerable Bede: I suppose the mystical meaning is this: that at the coming in of the Gentiles, all Israel will be saved, and then the abundant grace of the Spirit will be poured out upon the teachers.

St. John Chrysostom: He says then to them that stood by, “Take from him the pound,” because it is not the part of a wise man to punish; rather, he needs someone else as the minister of the judge in executing punishment. For even God does not inflict punishment Himself, but does so through the ministry of His angels.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Nothing is said of the other servants, who like wasteful debtors lost all that they had received. The two servants who gained by trading signify that small number who were sent in two companies as dressers of the vineyard; the remainder signifies all the Jews. It follows, And they said to him, “Lord, he has ten pounds.” And lest this should seem unjust, it is added, “For to every one that has, it shall be given.”

Theophylact of Ohrid: For seeing that he gained ten pounds by multiplying his one pound tenfold, it is plain that by having more to multiply, he would be an occasion of greater gain to his Lord. But from the slothful and idle one, who does not stir himself to increase what he has received, even what he possesses will be taken away, so that there may be no gap in the Lord’s account when it is given to others and multiplied.

But this is not to be applied only to the words of God and teaching, but also to the moral virtues. For in respect of these also, God sends us His gracious gifts, endowing one man with fasting, another with prayer, another with mildness or humility. As long as we watch over ourselves strictly, we will multiply these gifts; but if we grow cold, we will extinguish them.

He adds of His adversaries, “But those my enemies who would not that I should reign over them, bring them hither, and slay them before me.”

St. Augustine of Hippo: By this He describes the ungodliness of the Jews who refused to be converted to Him.

Theophylact of Ohrid: He will deliver them to death, casting them into the outer fire. But even in this world, they were most miserably slain by the Roman army.

St. John Chrysostom: These things are a powerful argument against the Marcionites. For Christ also says, “Bring hither my enemies, and slay them before me.” They say that Christ is good, but the God of the Old Testament is evil. Yet it is plain that both the Father and the Son do the same things. For the Father sends His army to the vineyard, and the Son causes His enemies to be slain before Him.

This parable as it is related in Luke is different from that given in Matthew concerning the talents. For in Luke's parable, different sums were produced from the same principal amount, since from the profits of one pound received, one servant brought five and another ten pounds. But with Matthew it is very different. For he who received two talents added two more. He who received five gained that much again. Therefore, the rewards given are also different.

Titus of Bostra: Because the Lord had said, The kingdom of heaven is at hand, those who saw Him going up to Jerusalem thought that He was then going to begin the kingdom of God. When the parable was finished in which He corrected the error mentioned above, and showed plainly that He had not yet conquered the death that was plotting against Him, He went forth to His Passion, going up to Jerusalem.

The Venerable Bede: He was also proving that the parable had been spoken concerning the end of that city, which was about to both kill Him and perish itself by the scourge of the enemy. It follows, And it came to pass, when he was come near to Bethphage, etc. Bethphage was a small village belonging to the priests on the Mount of Olives. Bethany was also a little town or hamlet on the side of the same mountain, about fifteen stadia from Jerusalem.

St. John Chrysostom: At the beginning of His ministry, our Lord showed Himself indifferent to the Jews, but when He had given a sufficient sign of His power, He handled everything with the highest authority. Many miracles took place then. He foretold to them that they would find an unbroken colt. He also foretold that no one would stop them, but as soon as they heard His reason, they would be silent.

Titus of Bostra: Here it was evident that there would be a divine summons, for no one can resist God calling for what is His own. But when the disciples were ordered to fetch the colt, they did not refuse the task as if it were insignificant, but went to bring it.

St. Basil the Great: Likewise, we should undertake even the most humble tasks with the greatest zeal and affection, knowing that whatever is done with God before our eyes is not insignificant, but worthy of the kingdom of heaven.

Titus of Bostra: Those who had tied the colt are struck dumb because of the greatness of His power and are unable to resist the Savior's words; for "the Lord" is a name of majesty, and He was about to come as a King in the sight of all the people.

St. Augustine of Hippo: It does not matter that Matthew speaks of a donkey and its foal, while the others say nothing of the donkey. When both accounts can be understood, there is no contradiction, even if one reports one thing and another reports something else—much less when one reports one thing and another reports both.

Glossa Ordinaria: The disciples served Christ not only by bringing another's colt, but also with their own garments, some of which they placed on the colt, and others they spread on the road.

The Venerable Bede: According to the other Evangelists, not only the disciples but many others from the crowds also spread their garments on the road.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Mystically, our Lord came to the Mount of Olives that He might plant new olive trees on the heights of virtue. And perhaps the mountain itself is Christ, for who else could bear such fruit of olives, abounding with the fullness of the Spirit?

The Venerable Bede: The towns are rightly described as placed on the Mount of Olives—that is, on the Lord Himself, who rekindles the anointing of spiritual graces with the light of knowledge and piety.

Origen of Alexandria: Bethany is interpreted as "the house of obedience," but Bethphage as "the house of jawbones," being a place belonging to the priests, for the jawbones in the sacrifices were the right of the priests, as is commanded in the Law. Therefore, to that place of obedience, where the priests have possession, our Savior sends His disciples to untie the colt.

St. Ambrose of Milan: For they were in the village, and the colt was tied with its mother; nor could it be untied except by the Lord's command. The apostle's hand unties it. Such was the act, such the life, such the grace. Be like this, so that you may be able to free those who are bound.

Indeed, in the donkey, Matthew represented the mother of error, but in the colt, Luke has described the general character of the Gentile people. And rightly so, for it was one on which no one had ever sat, because no one before Christ called the Gentile nations into the Church.

This people was tied and bound by the chains of iniquity, subject to an unjust master and a servant of error. It could not claim authority for itself, having been made guilty not by nature but by sin.

When "the Lord" is spoken of, one master is acknowledged. O wretched bondage under a divided allegiance! For a person who does not have one master has many. Others bind people so that they may possess them; Christ unties them so that He may keep them, for He knew that gifts are more powerful than chains.

Origen of Alexandria: There were, then, many masters of this colt before the Savior had need of it. But as soon as He became its master, there was no other. For no one can serve God and mammon. When we are servants of wickedness, we are subject to many vices and passions. But the Lord has need of the colt because He wants us to be freed from the chains of our sins.

Now, I think this place is not called a small village without reason. For just as it is a village without any further distinction, so the entire heavenly country is held in low esteem when compared to the whole earth.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Nor is it without reason that two disciples are sent there: Peter to Cornelius, Paul to the rest. And therefore, He did not specify the persons, but determined the number. Still, if anyone should ask who the persons were, he may believe it refers to Philip, whom the Holy Spirit sent to Gaza when he baptized the eunuch of Queen Candace.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Or, the two who were sent imply that the Prophets and the Apostles make up the two steps for bringing in the Gentiles and for their submission to Christ. But they bring the colt from a village, so that we may know that this people was rustic and uneducated.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: The men who were sent did not use their own words when they were untying the colt, but spoke as Jesus had told them. This is so you may know that they implanted the faith among the Gentile nations not by their own words, but by the word of God, and not in their own name, but in Christ's. And by the command of God, the hostile powers that claimed the obedience of the Gentiles were silenced.

Origen of Alexandria: The disciples next place their garments on the colt and have the Savior sit on it, just as they take the word of God upon themselves and make it rest upon the souls of their hearers. They take off their own garments and spread them on the road, for the clothing of the Apostles is their good works. And truly, the colt, untied by the disciples and carrying Jesus, walks upon the garments of the Apostles when it imitates their teaching. Which of us is so blessed that Jesus should rest upon him?

St. Ambrose of Milan: For it did not please the Lord of the world to be carried on a colt's back, except that in a hidden mystery, by a more inward seating, the mystical Ruler might take His seat in the secret depths of human souls, guiding the steps of the mind and bridling the passions of the heart. His word is a rein; His word is a goad.

Origen of Alexandria: As long as our Lord was on the mountain, only His Apostles were with Him. But when He began to approach the descent, a multitude of people came to Him.

Theophylact of Ohrid: He uses the name “disciples” not only for the twelve or the seventy-two, but for all who followed Christ—whether because of the miracles or from a certain appeal in His teaching. To these may be added the children, as the other Evangelists relate. This is why it says, for all the mighty works which they had seen.

The Venerable Bede: They indeed saw many of our Lord’s miracles but marveled most at the resurrection of Lazarus. For as John says, For this cause the people also met him, for that they heard that he had done this miracle. It must be noted that this was not the first time our Lord came to Jerusalem; He had come often before, as John relates.

St. Ambrose of Milan: The multitude, therefore, acknowledging God, proclaims Him King, repeats the prophecy, and declares that the expected Son of David, according to the flesh, had come, saying, Blessed be the King that comes in the name of the Lord.

The Venerable Bede: This means “in the name of God the Father,” although it could be understood as “in His own name,” since He Himself is the Lord. But His own words are a better guide to the meaning, when He says, I am come in my Father’s name. For Christ is the Master of humility.

Christ is not called King as one who demands tribute, arms His forces with the sword, or visibly crushes His enemies. Rather, He is King because He rules people’s minds and brings them, believing, hoping, and loving, into the kingdom of heaven. He was willing to be King of Israel to show His compassion, not to increase His power.

Because Christ appeared in the flesh as the redemption and light of the whole world, it is fitting that both heaven and earth, each in their turn, sing His praises. When He is born into the world, the heavenly hosts sing; when He is about to return to heaven, humanity sends back its note of praise. As it follows, Peace in heaven.

Theophylact of Ohrid: This means the ancient warfare, in which we were at enmity with God, has ceased. And it means glory in the highest, inasmuch as angels are glorifying God for such a reconciliation. The very fact that God visibly walks in the land of His enemies shows that He has made peace with us.

But when the Pharisees heard the crowd call Him King and praise Him as God, they murmured, attributing the title of King to sedition and the praise of God to blasphemy. And some of the Pharisees said, Master, rebuke your disciples.

The Venerable Bede: Oh, the strange folly of the envious! They do not hesitate to call Him Master, because they knew He taught the truth, yet they consider His disciples worthy of rebuke, as though they themselves were better taught.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: But the Lord did not forbid those who glorified Him as God; rather, He forbade those who blamed them, thus bearing witness to Himself concerning the glory of the Godhead. Thus it follows, He answered and said to them, I tell you, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.

Theophylact of Ohrid: It is as if He said, “People do not praise Me this way without cause, but are compelled by the mighty works they have seen.”

The Venerable Bede: And so at the crucifixion of our Lord, when His kinsmen were silent from fear, the stones and rocks cried out. For after He gave up the ghost, the earth was moved, the rocks were rent, and the graves were opened.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Nor is it surprising that the stones, against their nature, should cry out the praises of the Lord, whom His murderers—harder than the rocks—proclaim aloud. This refers to the multitude who, in a little while, would crucify their God, denying Him in their hearts while confessing Him with their mouths. Or perhaps it is said because, when the Jews were struck silent after the Lord’s Passion, the “living stones,” as Peter calls them, were about to cry out.

Origen of Alexandria: When we also are silent (that is, when the love of many wax cold), the stones cry out, for God can from stones raise up children to Abraham.

St. Ambrose of Milan: We rightly read that the crowds praising God met Him at the descent of the mountain, to signify that the works of the heavenly mystery had come to them from heaven.

The Venerable Bede: Again, when our Lord descends from the Mount of Olives, the multitude also descends, because since the Author of mercy has suffered humiliation, it is necessary that all who need His mercy follow His footsteps.

Origen of Alexandria: Jesus confirms all the blessings He pronounced in His Gospel with His own example. For having declared, Blessed are the meek, He later affirmed this by saying, Learn of me, for I am meek. And because He had said, Blessed are they that weep, He Himself also wept over the city.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: For Christ had compassion on the Jews, as He wills that all people should be saved. This would not have been clear to us if it were not revealed by a specific mark of His humanity, for tears are the tokens of sorrow.

St. Gregory the Great: The merciful Redeemer wept over the fall of the faithless city—a fall that the city itself did not know was coming. As it is added, He said, If you had known, even you—we may understand this to mean—you would weep. You who now rejoice do so because you do not know what is near. He continues, at least in this your day. For when the city gave herself up to carnal pleasures, she possessed things that, in her time, constituted her peace.

But why she had present goods for her peace is explained by what follows: But now they are hidden from your eyes. For if the eyes of her heart had not been blind to the future evils hanging over her, she would not have been so joyful in her present prosperity. Therefore, He immediately added the punishment that was near at hand, saying, For the days shall come upon you.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: If you had known, even you. The Jews were not worthy to receive the divinely inspired Scriptures, which explain the mystery of Christ. For whenever Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts so that they do not see what has been accomplished in Christ, who, being the truth, dispels the shadow. And because they ignored the truth, they made themselves unworthy of the salvation that flows from Christ.

Eusebius of Caesarea: Here He declares that His coming was to bring peace to the whole world. For He came for this purpose: to preach peace to them that were near, and those that were afar off. But because they did not wish to receive the peace that was announced to them, it was hidden from them. Therefore, He most explicitly foretold the siege that was soon to come upon them, adding, For the days shall come upon you...

St. Gregory the Great: By these words, the Roman leaders are indicated. For the overthrow of Jerusalem described here is the one carried out by the Roman emperors Vespasian and Titus.

Eusebius of Caesarea: We can understand how these things were fulfilled from the account given to us by Josephus, who, although he was a Jew, related each event as it happened, in exact accordance with Christ’s prophecies.

St. Gregory the Great: What is added next, namely, They shall not leave in you one stone upon another, is now witnessed in the changed location of the city. The new city is built in the place where Christ was crucified outside the gate, while the former Jerusalem, as it is called, was torn up from its very foundations. The crime for which this punishment was inflicted is then added: Because you did not know the time of your visitation.

Theophylact of Ohrid: That is, the time of My coming. For I came to visit and to save you. If you had known this and believed in Me, you might have been reconciled to the Romans and exempted from all danger, as were those who believed in Christ.

Origen of Alexandria: I do not deny, therefore, that the former Jerusalem was destroyed because of the wickedness of its inhabitants, but I ask whether the weeping might also concern this, your spiritual Jerusalem. For if a person has sinned after receiving the mysteries of the truth, he will be wept over. Moreover, no Gentile is wept over, but only he who was of Jerusalem and has ceased to be so.

St. Gregory the Great: For our Redeemer does not cease to weep through His elect whenever He perceives anyone who has departed from a good life to follow evil ways. If such people knew of the damnation hanging over them, they would, along with the elect, shed tears over themselves. But the corrupt soul has its day on earth, rejoicing in passing time; for this soul, present things are its peace, since it takes delight in what is temporal. It shuns any foresight of the future that might disturb its present joy, and for this reason it is said, But now they are hidden from your eyes.

Origen of Alexandria: But our Jerusalem is also wept over, because after sin, enemies (that is, wicked spirits) surround it, cast a trench around it to besiege it, and do not leave one stone upon another. This is especially true when a person, after long self-control and years of chastity, is overcome. Enticed by the flatteries of the flesh, he loses his strength and modesty and commits fornication. Of him, the enemies will not leave one stone upon another, according to Ezekiel: His formed righteousness I will not remember.

St. Gregory the Great: Alternatively, the evil spirits lay siege to the soul as it departs from the body. Seized with the love of the flesh, they entice it with deceptive pleasures. They surround it with a trench, bringing all the wickedness it has committed before its mind's eye, and closely confine it within its own damnation. Caught at the very end of life, the soul sees the enemies by which it is surrounded but is unable to find any way of escape, because it can no longer do the good works it once despised.

They also enclose the soul on every side as its iniquities rise up before it—not only in deed but also in word and thought. Thus the soul, which previously expanded itself in wickedness, is now at the end confined in every way by judgment. Then, by the very nature of its guilt, the soul is laid flat on the ground, while its flesh, which it believed to be its life, is commanded to return to dust. Its children also fall in death when all the unlawful thoughts that proceed from it are scattered in the final punishment of life.

These thoughts may also be symbolized by the stones. For when the corrupt mind adds one corrupt thought to another, it places one stone upon another. But when the soul is led to its doom, the entire structure of its thoughts is torn apart.

Yet God never ceases to visit the wicked soul with His teaching, sometimes with affliction and sometimes with a miracle. He does this so that the soul may hear the truth it did not know and, though still despising it, might be pricked to the heart and return in sorrow, or be overcome with mercies and grow ashamed of the evil it has done. But because it does not know the time of its visitation, at the end of its life it is given over to its enemies to be joined with them in the bond of everlasting damnation.