The Pulpit Commentary — Matthew — Volume 2 — Section 310

tively by the Bi.de of the young Church, Tbe people appear to have behaved on this which bas booome the true bearer of the ocoe.sion as if at the Feast of Te.bernaoles, Divinity of Christ" (Lange). No king had roused by enthusia.sm to unpremeditated ever thus come to Jerusalem; suoh a oir- e.otion. Of the three routes which lay be- oumEtanoe was predictt'd. of Messiah alone fore him, Jesus is supposed to have ta.ken the ond Christ o.lone fulfilled it to the letter: southern and most t'reqnented, between the showing of what natnre his kingdom was. Mount of Olives and the Hill of Offence. Ver. 6.--A.sJesuscomma.nded them. They Ver. 9.-The multitudes that went before, simply obeyed the order, not yet l-nowing and that followed. Those expressions point what it portended, or how it carried out the to two separate bodies, "hioh combined in will of God declared by his prophets. escorting J osus e.t e. certain portion of the Ver. 7.-Brought the ass. The unbroken route. We learn from St. John (xii 18) that foal wonld be more easily subdued and much people, greatly excited by the news of guided when its mother was with it; suoh the raising of Laza.rue, when they heard that e.n addition to the ridden animal would he was in the neighbourhood, hurried forth usually be employed to carry the rider's from Jerusalem to meet and do him honour. luggage. They put on them (~..-(i,,.., 1111-rwv) These, when they met the other proceseion their clothes Cl1L<in11). The two disciples, with Jesus riding in the midst, turned back stripping off their heavy outer garments, a.gain and preceded him intD the city. St. abbe.a, or burnouses, put them as trappings Luke identifies the spot as " at the descent on tbe two bea.sts, not knowing on which of the Mount of Olives." "As they ap- their Me.ster meant to ride. They set him proached the shoulder of the hill," says thereon (ndv,., 11/n·wv). Thus the received Dr. Gei.kie (' The Life of Obrist,' ii. 897), text, and the Vulga.te, Et eum desuper sedere "where the road bends downwards to the fecerunt. But most modem editors, with north, the sparse vegetation of the eastem great me.nu.scriptural authority, ree.d, "he slope changed, e.s in e. moment, to the rioh sat thereon." Some have ta.ken the pro- green of go.rden and trees, and Jerusalem in noun aJ,,r,;., to refer to the bee.ate, and Alford its glory rose before them. It is hard for supports the opinion by the common say- us to imagine now the splendour of the view. ing, " The postilion rode on. the horses," The city of God, seated on her hills, shone at when, in fa.et, he rode only one of the pair. the moment in the morning sun. Straight But the e.ne.logy is erroneous. The postilion before stretched the vast white walls and really guides and controls both; but no one buildings of the temple, its courts glittering contends that Christ kept the mother-ass in with gol<l, rising one a.hove the other; the hand while mounted on the colt. The pro- steep sides of the hill of David orowned with noun is more suitably referred to the go.r- lofty wa.lls; the mighty castles towering a.hove mente, which formed e. saddle for the them ; the sumptuous palace of Herod in Saviour, or housings and ome.menta.l ap- its green parks; and the picturesque outlines pend.ages ( comp. 2 Kings ix. 13). He ea.me of the streets." Rose.nne. to the Son of De.Yid I invested with e. certain dignity and pomp, "Hosanna I " is compounded of two words yet in sucb humble guise~e.s to discounte- meaning "se.ve" and "now," or, "I pray," nance all idea of temporal sovereignty. and is written in full Hoshia,-,na, translated Ver. 8.-A very great multitude ; .I Ii~ by the Septuagint, '%wuov ~~- The expres- ,,,,._,,,,.,,.a, ~XAD<: Revised Version., the mo/lt sions uttered by the people are mostly de- parl of t/1£ multifod.e. This interpretation rived from Ps. cxviii., which formed part of he.a cla.ssice.l authority (see Alford), but the the great Hallel (Ps. cxiii.--exviii.) sung e.t words may well mee.n," the very great mul- the Feast ofTabemacles. "Hosanna I" was titude;" Vulge.te, plurima autem turba. originally e. formula of prayer and supplica- This crowd was composed of pilgrims who tion, but later became e. term of joy and were coming to the festival e.t Jerusalem, congratnlation. So here the cry signifies e.nd "the whole multitude of the disciples" "Blessings on [or,' Jehovah bless'] the Sou (Luke xix. 37). Spread their garments of David I" i.e. the Messiah, acknowledging (iµ.ci.na) in the way. Fired with enthusiasm, Jesus to be he, the promised Prinoe of tLey stripped off their e.bbas, as the two dis- David's line. Thus we say, "God save the ciple11 had done, and with them me.de e. king I " This, which Ewe.Id calls the :first carpet over which the Saviour should ride. Christian hymn, gave to Palm Sunday, in Such honoUJ:8 were often paid to great men, some parts of the Church, the name of the and indeed, e.s we well know, a.re offered now "day of Hosannas," and was incorporated on sia.te occe.aions. Branches from the trees. into the liturgical service both in East and St. JoLn (xii 13) particularizes palm trees West. Blessed . . . of the Lord I (Ps. cxviii. e.e haviug been used on this oooe.sion ; but 26). The formula is ta.ken in two ways, the there was abundance of olive and other trees, words, "in the Ne.me of the Lord," being from whi.cb branches and leaves could be connected either with " blessed" or with lllli w: plucked to adorn the Saviours road. "cometh." Ja the former case the ory OIi. XXI. 1-46.) THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO BT. MATI'UEW. 815