ACC ~ Mark 11 v1 - 10

OVERVIEW:

Zechariah had prophesied that the messianic king would come from a tiny village (ORIGEN), meekly on a gentle donkey (JUSTIN MARTYR, EPHREM THE SYRIAN, BEDE) as a sign of humility, a condescension of mercy. By this lowly means the king of ages would become the king of our souls. “Hosanna” is a spontaneous expression of amazement at God’s saving work. By studying Scripture, the disciples gradually recognized its prophetic fulfillments (AUGUSTINE).

11:2a | Go into the Village

COMPARING THE VILLAGE TO THE HEAVENS

ORIGEN: Note that the place where the ass was found tied was a village, and a village without a name. For in comparison with the great world in heaven, the whole earth is a village. COMMENTARY ON JOHN 18. [1]

[1] TLG 2042.005, 10.30.189.1-4; ANF 9:397-98**. Viewed in relation to eternity, this little unnamed village, the earth, is being visited by the saving God.

11:2b | Find a Colt

WHY A COLT?

JUSTIN MARTYR: It was foretold expressly that he would sit upon the foal of an ass and enter Jerusalem. [1] FIRST APOLOGY 35. [2]

[1] Zech 9:9.

[2] TLG 0645.001, 35.10.1-3; ANF 1:175.

ZECHARIAH’S PROPHESY FULFILLED

BEDE: Say to the daughter of Zion, “Behold, your king will come to you, gentle, and sitting upon a donkey, and its foal, the offspring of a beast of burden.” [1] The daughter of Zion is the church of the faithful, a figure of the heavenly Jerusalem, which is the mother of us all, of which there then existed a sizeable group among the people of Israel. [2] They had a king who was gentle, for it was not God’s pleasure to give an earthly kingdom to the powerful, but a heavenly kingdom to the gentle. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPELS 2.3. [3]

[1] Zech 9:9; cf. Is 62:11; Mt 21:5.

[2] The gathered ekklēsia in Jerusalem of the first century. Cf. Jn 11:45.

[3] Cetedoc 1367, 2.3.89; HOG 2:26-27*.

11:2c | On Which No One Has Ever Sat

WHY UNSAT UPON?

ORIGEN: Here he seems to me to be hinting at the circumstance of those who afterwards would come to believe, but who as yet had never sat under the authority of the Word prior to Jesus’ coming. COMMENTARY ON JOHN 18. [1]

[1] TLG 2042.005, 10.32.207.2-4; cf. ANF 9:399.

BEASTS OF BURDEN IN THE MESSIANIC DRAMA

EPHREM THE SYRIAN: “Untie the donkey and bring it to me.” [1] He began with a manger and finished with a donkey, in Bethlehem with a manger, in Jerusalem with a donkey. COMMENTARY ON TATIAN’S DIATESSARON. [2]

[1] Mt 21:2; Mk 11:2.

[2] Leloir 1963:204; JSSS 2:269.

11:2d | Untie It

WHY UNTIE?

ORIGEN: Some interpret the tied-up ass as a reference to believers who come from the circumcision. They were being freed from many bonds by those who instructed them in the word. [1] COMMENTARY ON JOHN 18. [2]

[1] Cf. Acts 10:45.

[2] TLG 2042.005 10.29.180.1-4; ANF 9:397-98**.

11:4 | They Found a Colt Tied at the Door

PREFIGURING THE PASSION

JUSTIN MARTYR: The prophecy, “binding his foal to the vine, and washing his robe in the blood of the grape,” [1] contained symbols of the things that were to happen to Christ, and of what he was to do. For the foal of an ass stood bound to a vine at the entrance of a village, and he ordered his disciples to bring it to him then. When it was brought, he mounted and sat upon it, and rode into Jerusalem, where the stately temple of the Jews was which you [Romans] [2] have razed to the ground. After this he was crucified, in order that the rest of the prophecy be verified. For the words “washing his robe in the blood of the grape,” prefigured the passion he was to undergo, purifying with his blood those who believe in him. [3] FIRST APOLOGY 31. [4]

[1] Gen 49:10.

[2] The Romans destroyed the second temple in A.D. 70.

[3] Cf. Heb 9:14-28.

[4] TLG 0645.001, 32.5.1-7.4; GMI 266*; cf. FC 6:69; ANF 1:173.

GRADUAL DISCOVERY OF PROPHETIC CORRELATIONS

AUGUSTINE: “His disciples did not understand this at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that this had been written of him and had been done to him,” [1] that is, when he had manifested the power of his resurrection. … In short, mentally comparing with the contents of Scripture what was accomplished both prior to and in the course of our Lord’s passion, they found this also in Scripture, that it was in accordance with the utterance of the prophets that he sat on an ass’s colt. TRACTATE ON JOHN 51.6. [2]

[1] Jn 12:16.

[2] Cetedoc 0278, 51.6.1; NPNF 1 7:284*. The rememberers discovered some of these prophetic correlations only after the events had occurred.

11:7 | They Brought the Colt to Jesus and He Sat upon It

EMBODYING HUMILITY

AUGUSTINE: The master of humility is Christ who humbled himself and became obedient even to death, even the death of the cross. [1] Thus he does not lose his divinity when he teaches us humility. … What great thing was it to the king of the ages to become the king of humanity? For Christ was not the king of Israel so that he might exact a tax or equip an army with weaponry and visibly vanquish an enemy. He was the king of Israel in that he rules minds, in that he gives counsel for eternity, in that he leads into the kingdom of heaven for those who believe, hope, and love. It is a condescension, not an advancement for one who is the Son of God, equal to the Father, the Word through whom all things were made, to become king of Israel. It is an indication of pity, not an increase in power. TRACTATE ON JOHN 51.3-4. [2]

[1] Phil 2:8.

[2] Cetedoc 0278, 51.3.8; NPNF 1 7:284; FC 88:273.

11:8a | Many Spread Their Garments on the Road

SPREADING THE HEART BEFORE HIM

METHODIUS: Instead of our garments, let us spread our hearts before him. [1] ORATION ON THE PALMS 1. [2]

[1] Ps 62:8.

[2] PG 18:385; ANF 6:394.

11:8b | Others Spread Leafy Branches

THE TRIBUTE OF THEIR VOICES

JEROME: And others cut boughs … and strewed them in the way. They cut branches from the fruitbearing trees with which the Mount of Olives was planted, and spread them in the way; so as to make the crooked ways straight, and the rough ways smooth, that Christ the conqueror of sin might walk straightly and safely into the hearts of the faithful. … And when they had done all that was to be done by their hands, they offered also the tribute of their voices; and going before and following after they cry, not in a brief and wordless confession, but with all their might: “Hosanna to the son of David. Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord.” HOMILIES 94. [1]

[1] Cetedoc 0590, 3.122; Mt 21:9; cf. Mk 11:9; Lk 19:38; Jn 12:13. SSGF 2:174; CCL 77:184.

11:9 | Hosanna!

WHY HOSANNA?

JEROME: The boys in the Gospel raised aloft their branches as the Savior entered Jerusalem. They kept on crying: “Hosanna.” … They borrowed these versicles from Psalm 117. [1] Hosanna,moreover, is the Hebrew for “O Lord, grant salvation!” HOMILIES 94. [2]

[1] Ps 118:25-26 (117:25 LXX).

[2] Cetedoc 0604, 65; FC 57:253.

THE MEANING OF THE EXCLAMATION

AUGUSTINE: “Hosanna,” however, is a word of supplicating, as some say who know the Hebrew language, more declaring a feeling than signifying something. Just as in the Latin language there are words which we call interjections, as when in sorrow we say, Heu! Or when we are de-lighted, we say, Vah! Or when we are amazed, we say, “Oh, what a great thing!” For then oh signifies nothing except the feeling of one who is amazed. TRACTATE ON JOHN 51.2. [1]

[1] Cetedoc 0278, 51.2.9; NPNF 1 7:283; cf. FC 88:272.