Church Fathers Commentary Mark 11:1-10

"And when they draw nigh unto Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sendeth two of his disciples, and saith unto them, Go your way into the village that is over against you: and straightway as ye enter into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon no man ever yet sat; loose him, and bring him. And if any one say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye, The Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him back hither. And they went away, and found a colt tied at the door without in the open street; and they loose him. And certain of them that stood there said unto them, What do ye, loosing the colt? And they said unto them even as Jesus had said: and they let them go. And they bring the colt unto Jesus, and cast on him their garments; and he sat upon him. And many spread their garments upon the way; and others branches, which they had cut from the fields. And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, Hosanna; Blessed [is] he that cometh in the name of the Lord: Blessed [is] the kingdom that cometh, [the kingdom] of our father David: Hosanna in the highest." — Mark 11:1-10 (ASV)

St. John Chrysostom: Now that the Lord had given sufficient proof of His virtue and the cross was near, even at the door, He acted more openly in those things that were about to incite them against Him. Therefore, although He had gone up to Jerusalem so often, He had never done so in such a conspicuous manner as now.

Theophylact of Ohrid: This was so that, if they were willing, they might recognize His glory and know from the prophecies fulfilled concerning Him that He is very God. And if they were unwilling, they might receive a greater judgment for not having believed in so many wonderful miracles.

Describing this illustrious entrance, the Evangelist therefore says, And when they came near to Jerusalem, and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, he sends forth two of His disciples.

The Venerable Bede: Bethany is a small village or town on the side of the Mount of Olives, where Lazarus was raised from the dead. But the way He sent His disciples and for what purpose is shown in these words: And says to them, Go your way into the village opposite you.¹

Theophylact of Ohrid: Now consider how many things the Lord foretold to His disciples. He told them they would find a colt, for the text continues, And as soon as you have entered it, you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat; untie him and bring him.

He foretold that they would be prevented from taking it, for it follows, And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of him.’

He also foretold that upon saying this, they would be allowed to take the colt, for it continues, And immediately he will send him here. Just as the Lord had said, so it was fulfilled. Thus, the text goes on: And they went their way and found the colt tied by the door outside, in a place where two ways meet; and they untied him.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Matthew says there was an ass and a colt, but the other evangelists do not mention the ass. When both may be the case, there is no disagreement, even if one evangelist mentions one thing and a second mentions another. How much less, then, should a question be raised when one mentions one animal, and another mentions that same one and an additional one?²

It goes on: And some of those who stood there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” And they said to them just as Jesus had commanded, and they allowed them to take it—that is, the colt.

Theophylact of Ohrid: But they would not have allowed this if the divine power had not been upon them to compel them—especially since they were country people and farmers, yet they allowed the disciples to take away the colt.

It goes on: And they brought the colt to Jesus and cast their garments on him; and He sat on him.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: It is not that He was compelled by necessity to ride on a colt from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem, for He had traveled throughout Judea and all of Galilee on foot. Rather, this action of His is symbolic.³

It goes on: And many spread their garments on the road—that is, under the feet of the colt—and others cut down branches from the trees and scattered them on the road.

Pseudo-Jerome: This, however, was done more to honor Him and as a Sacrament than out of necessity.

It goes on: And those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”

Theophylact of Ohrid: For the multitude, until it was corrupted, knew its duty, and for this reason each person honored Jesus according to his own ability. Therefore, they praised Him and took up the hymns of the Levites, saying, “Hosanna.” According to some, this means “save me,” but according to others, it means a hymn. I, however, suppose the first to be more probable, for in Psalm 117 it says, Save now, I beseech you, O Lord, which in Hebrew is “Hosanna” (Psalm 117:25).

The Venerable Bede: But “Hosanna” is a Hebrew word composed of two parts, one imperfect and the other complete. For “save” or “preserve” is “hosy” in their language, while “anna” is a supplicatory interjection, just as “heu” in Latin is an exclamation of grief.

Pseudo-Jerome: They cry out “Hosanna,” that is, “save us,” so that people might be saved by Him who was blessed, who was a conqueror, and who came in the name of the Lord—that is, of His Father. For the Father is so called because of the Son, and the Son is so called because of the Father.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: And so they give glory to God, saying, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. They also bless the kingdom of Christ, saying, Blessed be the coming kingdom of our father David.⁴

Theophylact of Ohrid: They called the kingdom of Christ the kingdom of David, both because Christ was descended from the seed of David and because “David” means “a man of a strong hand.” For whose hand is stronger than the Lord’s, by which so many and such great miracles were performed?

Pseudo-Chrysostom: For this reason, the prophets also so often call Christ by the name of David, on account of Christ’s descent from David according to the flesh.⁵

The Venerable Bede: We read in the Gospel of John that He fled to a mountain so that they would not make Him their king. Now, however, as He comes to Jerusalem to suffer, He does not shun those who call Him king. He does this to teach them openly that He was King over an empire not temporal and earthly, but everlasting in the heavens, and that the path to this kingdom was through contempt of death.

Observe, also, the agreement of the multitude with the words of Gabriel: The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David (Luke 1:32). This means that He Himself, by word and deed, would call to a heavenly kingdom the nation to which David once provided a temporal government.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Furthermore, they give glory to God when they add, Hosanna in the highest, that is, “Praise and glory be to the God of all, who is in the highest.”⁶

Pseudo-Jerome: Or, “Hosanna” means save “in the highest” as well as in the lowest, so that the just may be built upon the ruin of the angels, and that those on the earth and those under the earth should be saved. In a mystical sense, the Lord also approaches Jerusalem, which is “the vision of peace,” where happiness remains fixed and unmoving, being, as the Apostle says, the mother of all believers (Galatians 4:26).

The Venerable Bede: Bethany means “house of obedience,” because by teaching many before His Passion, He made for Himself a house of obedience. It is said to be placed on the Mount of Olives because He cherishes His Church with the anointing of spiritual gifts and with the light of piety and knowledge.

But He sent His disciples to a strongholdⁱ that was opposite them. This means He appointed teachers to penetrate the ignorant parts of the world—into, as it were, the walls of the stronghold set against them.

Pseudo-Jerome: The disciples of Christ are called two by two and sent two by two, since love implies more than one person, as it is written, Woe to him that is alone (Ecclesiastes 4:10). Two people lead the Israelites out of Egypt; two bring down the cluster of grapes from the Holy Land.

This is so that those in authority might always join together activity and knowledge, uphold the two commandments from the Two Tablets, be washed from two fountains, carry the ark of the Lord on two poles, know the Lord between the two Cherubim, [p 223] and sing to Him with both mind and spirit.

Theophylact of Ohrid: The colt, however, was not necessary for Him; He sent for it to show that He would transfer Himself to the Gentiles.

The Venerable Bede: For the colt of the ass, undisciplined and unshackled, symbolizes the Gentile peoples, on whom no one had yet sat. This is because no wise teacher had, by teaching them the things of salvation, put upon them the bridle of correction to compel them to restrain their tongues from evil or to guide them into the narrow path of life.

Pseudo-Jerome: But they found the colt tied by the door outside, because the Gentile people were bound by the chain of their sins before the door of faith—that is, outside the Church.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Or else, they found it bound before the door because whoever is not in Christ is outside, on the road; but he who is in Christ is not outside. The evangelist added “on the road,” or “in a place where two ways meet,” where there is no certain possession for anyone—no stall, no food, no stable.

Miserable is the service of one whose rights are unfixed, for he who does not have the one Master has many. Strangers bind him so that they may possess him; Christ sets him free in order to keep him, for He knows that gifts are stronger ties than bonds.⁷

The Venerable Bede: Or else, the colt fittingly stood in a place where two ways meet because the Gentile people did not keep to any certain road of life and faith, but in their error followed many doubtful paths of various sects.

Pseudo-Jerome: Or, “in a place where two roads meet” refers to the freedom of the will, hesitating between life and death.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Or else, “in a place where two roads meet” refers to this life, but the colt was set free by the disciples through faith and baptism.

Pseudo-Jerome: But some said, “What are you doing?” as if to say, “Who can remit sins?”

Theophylact of Ohrid: Or else, those who tried to prevent them are the demons, who were weaker than the Apostles.

The Venerable Bede: Or else, this refers to the master of error, who resisted the teachers when they came to save the Gentiles. But after the power of the Lord’s faith appeared to believers, the faithful people were freed from the objections of their adversaries and were brought to the Lord, whom they bore in their hearts.

By the garments of the Apostles, which they put on the colt, we may understand the teaching of virtues, the interpretation of the Scriptures, or the various doctrines of the Church. With these, they clothe the hearts of men—once naked and cold—and make them fit to become the seat of Christ.

Pseudo-Jerome: Or else, they put their garments on it, meaning they bring to them the first robe of immortality by the Sacrament of Baptism. And Jesus sat on it, that is, He began to reign in them, so that sin should not reign in their unruly flesh, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Again, many spread their garments on the road, under the feet of the foal of the ass. What are the feet but those who carry the burden and are the least esteemed, whom the Apostle has set to judge (1 Corinthians 6:4)? And these too, though they are not the back on which the Lord sat, are nevertheless instructed by John along with the soldiers.

The Venerable Bede: Or else, many strew their garments on the road because the holy martyrs cast off the garment of their own flesh and prepare a way for the simpler servants of God with their own blood. Many also strew their garments on the road because they tame their bodies with abstinence, so that they may prepare a way for God to the mountain or give good examples to those who follow them.

And those who cut down branches from the trees are those who, in teaching the truth, gather the sayings of the Fathers from their writings and, by their humble preaching, scatter them in God’s path as He comes into the soul of the hearer.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Let us also strew the path of our life with branches we cut from the trees—that is, let us imitate the saints. For they are the holy trees from which anyone who imitates their virtues cuts down branches.

Pseudo-Jerome: For the righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, confined in their roots but spreading out wide with flowers and fruits. For they are a pleasing aroma to Christ and strew the way of God’s commandments with their good reputation. Those who went before are the prophets, and those who followed are the Apostles.

The Venerable Bede: And because all the elect—whether those who were so in Judea or those who are so now in the Church—believed and now believe in the Mediator between God and man, both those who go before and those who follow cried out, “Hosanna.”

Theophylact of Ohrid: But both our past and future deeds must be done for the glory of God. For some people make a good beginning in their past life, but their later life does not correspond with their former, nor does it end for the glory of God.

1. in Marc., 3, 41
2. de Con. Evan, ii, 66
3. Cat. in Marc. Oxon.
4. Cat. in Marc. Oxon.
5. Cat. in Marc. Oxon.
6. Cat. in Marc. Oxon.
7. in Luc. 9, 6