You shall find the colt of an ass tied, on which no man ever hath sitten

St Luke Chapter XIX : Verses 28-34

Contents

• Luke xix. Verses 28-34.  Douay-Rheims (Challoner) text & Latin text (Vulgate)
• Douay-Rheims 1582 text
• Annotations based on the Great Commentary

Luke xix. Verses 28-34.

  The foal at Bethphage. J-J Tissot. Brooklyn Museum.hh

28 And having said these things, he went before, going up to Jerusalem.

Et his dictis, præcedebat ascendens Jerosolymam.

29 And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethania, unto the mount called Olivet, he sent two of his disciples,

Et factum est, cum appropinquasset ad Bethphage et Bethaniam, ad montem qui vocatur Oliveti, misit duos discipulos suos,

30 Saying: Go into the town which is over against you, at your entering into which you shall find the colt of an ass tied, on which no man ever hath sitten: loose him, and bring him hither.

dicens : Ite in castellum quod contra est : in quod introeuntes, invenietis pullum asinæ alligatum, cui nemo umquam hominum sedit : solvite illum, et adducite.

31 And if any man shall ask you: Why do you loose him? you shall say thus unto him: Because the Lord hath need of his service.

Et si quis vos interrogaverit : Quare solvitis? sic dicetis ei : Quia Dominus operam ejus desiderat.

32 And they that were sent, went their way, and found the colt standing, as he had said unto them.

Abierunt autem qui missi erant : et invenerunt, sicut dixit illis, stantem pullum.

33 And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said to them: Why loose you the colt?

Solventibus autem illis pullum, dixerunt domini ejus ad illos : Quid solvitis pullum?

34 But they said: Because the Lord hath need of him.

At illi dixerunt : Quia Dominus eum necessarium habet.

Douay-Rheims : 1582 text

28. And hauing ſaid theſe things, he went before aſcending to Hieruſalem.

29. And it came to paſſe when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bathania vnto the mount called Oliuet, he ſent two of his Diſciples,

30. ſaying: Goe into the towne which is ouer againſt, into the which as you enter, you ſhal find the colt of an aſſe tied, on which no man euer hath sitten: looſe him, and bring him.

31. And if any man aſke you: Why looſe you him? You ſhal ſay thus to him: Becauſe our Lord needeth his ſeruice.
32. And they that were sent, went their waies, and found as he said to them, the colt standing.
33. And when they loosſed the colt, the owners thereof ſaid to them: Why looſe you the colt?

34. But they ſaid: Becauſe our Lord hath need of him.

 

Annotations

    29. And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethania. Mark has (xi. 1), “And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, He sendeth forth two of His disciples.”  But Mark and Luke are speaking generally, because Bethphage, Jerusalem, and Bethany are all nigh to each other. For coming to particulars it is clear from S. John (xii. 1, 12) that on the preceding Sabbath Christ supped, and passed the night at Bethany, and on the following day, or Palm Sunday, He came nearer to Jerusalem, that is to say, to Bethphage, and from thence sent His disciples to fetch the ass with her colt. For Bethphage was nearer to Jerusalem. Whence from Bethany through Bethphage, the Mount of Olives and the valley of Jehoshaphat was the road to Jerusalem. The valley of Jehoshaphat is close to Jerusalem. The brook Kedron flows through it. After this valley you come to the mount of Olives, then to the village of Bethphage, and then to Bethany.

    Bethphage, in Hebrew, means the house of the mouth, or, at the mouth of the valley. Beth is a house, phe, the mouth, ge, a valley. For this village of Bethphage was seated at the foot of Mount Olivet, in a sort of cleft, or as it were mouth of the hill. Again this village was situated, as we may say, at the mouth, or entrance of the valley of Jehoshaphat. And this entrance is extremely narrow, as you come from Bethphage into the valley, and so on through the golden gate to the Temple. Whence it is very probable, as Jansen and Adrichomius say, that Bethphage was a village of the priests, in which lambs, goats, and oxen were kept ready for the temple sacrifices. Thus from Bethphage the priests were wont to fetch the paschal lambs, and other victims to the temple. From this cause too, when Christ willed to be brought in triumph from Bethphage through the golden gate unto Jerusalem He would show that He was the Lamb which taketh away the sins of the world, prefigured by the paschal lambs.

    Again, He wished in His triumphal entry to pass through the valley of Jehoshaphat, in order to intimate, that in that same valley He will, in the day of Judgment, pass His tremendous judgment upon all men. Now therefore He rides through the valley in triumph to Jerusalem, as her Lord and King, and, thus, as it were, takes possession of His kingdom, which He will bring to a glorious consummation in the Day of Judgment. It is as if He said, “Acknowledge Me, O ye Jews, to be your Messiah, believe and obey Me, that in the day of Judgment, which I will accomplish in this valley, I may award you Heaven. But if ye persist in your unbelief, I shall adjudge you to hell. Wherefore also, I come from Bethany, where a few days since I raised up Lazarus from the dead, which ye have all seen and wondered at, that by it, and My other miracles ye may know that I am your Messiah, the Saviour of the world.”

    he sent two of his disciples. S. Hilary, Bede, and the Gloss think that these two were Peter and Philip; but Origen and Theophylact think they were Peter and Paul—that is, typically, in such sort that the two who were sent represented Peter and Paul; the one, who was about to be the Apostle of the Jews, the other, who was to become the Apostle of the Gentiles. For Paul was not as yet converted to Christ. With greater probability, Jansen thinks these two were Peter and John: for soon after this Christ sent them to prepare the paschal lamb. But no thing is certain.

    30. Saying: Go into the town which is over against you.  Greek, εἰς κώμην κατέναντι ὑμῶν, i.e., into the village which is opposite to you. From whence it is plain that it is not Jerusalem which is meant, as Lyra thinks, but either Bethphage, as Jansen supposes, or some village opposite to Bethphage, as Adrichomius thinks. For Christ had already come to Bethphage, as I have said in verse 1; unless you prefer to understand when He came to Bethphage, when He was coming to or approaching Bethany.

    at your entering into which you shall find the colt of an ass tied. Christ here beheld things absent, the ass and her colt, as though they were present. He surely made them known to His Apostles by the gift of prophecy, which His Divinity bestowed upon His humanity. Thus He here gave a proof of His Divinity.

    Hear how blessed Peter Damian tropologically applies all the circumstances of this journey to the conversion of a sinner. (Hom. in Dom. Palm.) 

“Bethphage is interpreted to mean, the house of the mouth; and it is the understanding of the priests, by which confession is meant. Thither the Lord cometh, because He kindles the heart to make confession. The castle (as the Latin has instead of village), which is opposite to the Lord and His disciples, is a mind obstinately bent upon its own will. The two disciples who are sent to it are Hope and Fear. The ass and her colt tied are Humility and Simplicity. For the mind of such a person sometimes knows what humility and simplicity are, and how he ought to live humbly and simply. But he, as it were, binds them, and sets them aside, when he is not willing to live accordingly. This man fear terrifies, when he draws back from evil, threatening him with torments. Hope comforts him if he repents, by the promise of rewards. By these two the mind is pricked. The ass and the colt are loosed, when meeting the Lord in the way to Bethphage, he confesses that he hath sinned, and promises that he will live humbly and simply for the time to come. And thus he who aforetime was a castle of the devil becomes Sion, the city of our strength. The Saviour is placed in it for a wall and a bulwark. The wall is humility, the bulwark is patience. Therefore, dearly beloved, let us go forth to meet the Lord at Bethphage, pricked with fear of punishment, and strengthened by the hope of heavenly life, confessing our sins with humility and simplicity, treading down the garments of our carnality, that the Lord may deign to sit upon us, and to bring us with Himself into the Heavenly Jerusalem.”

    31. And if any man shall ask you: Why do you loose him?  The Lord: for I am indeed Messiah, the Lord and God of all things. Christ did not wish that the ass and her colt should be taken away against the owner’s will. For as His Providence worketh mightily, so also sweetly. By the power of His Divinity He influenced their minds, so that they should assent to the Apostles loosing the ass, yea that they should co-operate with them.

    Christ, Who for three years had always gone on foot, and thus had traversed the whole of Judea, wished to show that He was the King of Judea, the Messiah, the Son of David. Therefore does He enter Jerusalem, which was the metropolis of Judea in regal pomp. But He is not carried on a horse with splendid trappings, or in a gilded chariot, with an acompanying multitude of noble knights, with trumpets sounding, resplendent in purple robes, as the kings of the earth are wont to do. But He is carried on an ass, to show that His kingdom is of another sort, spiritual and heavenly, and therefore meek and lowly, despising pomp. Nevertheless asses in Judea are better and stronger than our asses, more like mules. The sons of princes were accustomed to ride on asses. (See Judg. xii. 14.) “Christ,” says Auctor Imperfecti, “sits upon the ass of tranquillity and peace, which is most patient to bear labours and burdens. You see not round about Him glittering swords, or the other ornaments of dreadful arms. But what do you see? leafy boughs, the tokens of affection. He came in meekness that he might not be dreaded because of His power, but that he might be loved for His gentleness.”

    32. And they that were sent, went their way, and found the colt standing, as he had said unto them. The prompt obedience of the disciples should be remarked, which deserved the prompt compliance of the owner of the ass, so that he suffered his ass to be taken away together with her foal, as Christ had predicted. He doubted not that they would be brought back to him.    dd

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The Vladimirskaya Icon. >12th century.

SUB tuum præsidium confugimus, Sancta Dei Genitrix. Nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus, sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper, Virgo gloriosa et benedicta. Amen.

 

 

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.