our Lord might have easily done, if He had bees minded to take to Himself a temporal dominion.
32. — [Found as he had said.] It is interesting to note here how many various minute oircumstanoes were mentioned by our Lord when He sent His disciples for the colt, and how accurate His description proved.
37. — [Multitude of the diseiples.] We must necessarily suppose thatmany of the disciples here mentioned were not really disciples in heart. They followed our Lord probably in much ignorance, and under very mistaken expectations.
38. — [Peace in heaven.] We can only conjecture what the multitude meant by this expression. It is possible that they intended to declare their belief that Messiah's reign of universal " peace '* and His advent in ** glory," was on the point of beginning. In the mouths of many it was probabljr a scriptural phrase used at any period of great religious rejoicmg, without any distinct ap- plication to Messiah's times.
39. — [Rebuke thy disciples.] This expression seems to show clearly that the Pharisees considered the multitude to be treating Jesus as the Messiah, and considered Jesus to be claiming the Messiah- ship by His not checking the language His attendants used. His riding on the colt would doubtless bring to their recollection the famous prophecy of Zechariah, which all Jews applied to the Messiah, and would add to their displeasure.
40. — [The stones would cry out.] This expression must evidently be regarded as a proverbial and figurative one. If men did not rejoice at Christ's advent, even inanimate nature would cry shame.
In leaving this passage, it is fair to remark, that the view I have set forth in the Exposition, of our Lord's design in making His public entry into Jerusalem, is not that which is commonly given by commentators. It seems generally thought that our Lord's principal object was to manifest His kingly power, and His dominion, when He thought fit to exercise it, over the wills of men.
I cannot help thinking that this theory falls short of the true meaning of the event. I have a firm conviction that our Lord did what He did in anticipation of His approaching death on the cross. Before dying for our sins, He called public attention to Himself, and filled Jerusalem with the report of His arrival. The consequence was, that when He was crucified a few days after, the attention of the whole multitude assembled at Jerusalem for the passover, was directed to Him. He was offered up as a sacrifice with the greatest possible publicity, and with the eyes of tiie whole nation upon Him. One of the greatest helps to this publicity, beyond doubt, was His remarkable entry into Jerusa-