Marcos 11:2 Comentário

We are now come to the Passion-Week, the week in which Christ died, and the great occurrences of that week. I. Christ's riding in triumph into Jerusalem (Mar 11:1-11). II. His cursing the barren fig-tree (Mar 11:12-14). III. His driving those out of the temple that turned it into an exchange (Mar 11:15-19). IV. His discourse with his disciples concerning the power of faith and the efficacy of prayer, on occasion of the withering of the fig-tree he cursed (Mar 11:20-26). V. His reply to those who questioned his authority (Mar 11:27-33).

And when they came nigh to Jerusalem,.... The Syriac and Ethiopic versions read, "when he came nigh"; that is, Jesus; though not without his disciples, nor the multitude: unto Bethphage and Bethany; two places so called, near Jerusalem: Bethphage began where Bethany ended, and reached to the city itself. The Vulgate Latin only makes mention of Bethany; See Gill on Mat 21:1. At the Mount of Olives; near which, the above places were: he sendeth forth two of his disciples; perhaps Peter and John.

And saith unto them, go your way into the village,.... Either of Bethany or of Nob. The Ethiopic version renders it "the city", and so reads a copy of Stephens's: some have thought the city of Jerusalem is intended, but without any reason; See Gill on Mat 21:9; over against you. The Syriac and Persic versions read, "over against us": the sense is the same; for Christ and his disciples were together: this suits with either of the above mentioned places: and as soon as ye be entered into it; are come to the town's end, and to one of the first houses in it, ye shall find a colt tied: Matthew says, "an ass tied, and a colt with her", Mat 21:2; both no doubt true: whereon never man sat; which had never been backed and broke, and which makes it the more wonderful, that Christ should choose to ride upon it, and that that should quietly carry him: loose him, and bring him; that is, away to me.

And we will cite the prophetic utterances of another prophet, Zephaniah, to the effect that He was foretold expressly as to sit upon the foal of an ass and to enter Jerusalem. The words are these: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass."

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.

“Untie the donkey and bring it to me.” He began with a manger and finished with a donkey, in Bethlehem with a manger, in Jerusalem with a donkey.

(Cat. in Marc. Oxon.) Not indeed that He was compelled by necessity to ride on a colt from the mount of Olives to Jerusalem, for He had gone over Judæa and all Galilee on foot, but this action of His is typical. It goes on: And many spread their garments in the way: that is, under the feet of the colt; and others cut down branches off the trees, and strawed them in the way. This, however, was rather done to honour Him, and as a Sacrament, than of necessity. It goes on: And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. 2For the multitude, until it was corrupted, knew what was its duty, for which reason each honoured Jesus according to his own strength. Wherefore they praised Him, and took up the hymns of the Levites, saying, Hosanna, which according to some is the same as save me, but according to others means a hymn. I however suppose the former to be more probable, for there is in the 117th Psalm, (Ps. 118:25) Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord, which in the Hebrew is Hosanna. (Cat. in Marc. Oxon.) Thus then they give glory to God, saying, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. They also bless the kingdom of Christ, saying, Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, which cometh. (Cat. in Marc. Oxon.) Wherefore also the prophets so often call Christ by the name of David, on account of the descent according to the flesh of Christ from David. (Cat. in Marc. Oxon.) And further, 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.

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.” 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. 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.

And immediately upon entering it, you will find a colt tied, upon which no man has yet sat. Untie it and bring it. And if anyone says to you: What are you doing? say: Because the Lord needs it, and immediately he will send it here. Entering the world, the holy preachers found the people of the nations ensnared by the bonds of perfidy. For each was bound by the cords of their sins; not only of the nations, but also of the Jews. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom. III). Therefore, in Matthew, the donkey together with the colt is found tied. The donkey, indeed, which was yoked and tamed, represents the Synagogue that bore the yoke of the law, while the colt of the donkey, untamed and free, signifies the people of the nations. Upon which no man has yet sat, because no rational teacher had yet applied the restraining bridle of correction, by which he might compel the tongue to refrain from evil or to go on the narrow path of life, or provided the garments of salvation by which they would be spiritually warmed, through beneficial advice for the people of the nations. A man would sit upon it if any rational person corrected its foolishness by suppressing it. Therefore, not unreasonably can the two disciples assigned to present the animals to the Lord be understood as the two orders of preachers, one directed to the Gentiles, the other to the circumcision.

(in Marc. 3, 41) But in what way He sent His disciples and for what purpose is shown in these words, And saith unto them, Go your way into the village over against you.

(ubi sup.) But He sent His disciples to a hold, which was over against them, that is, He appointed doctors to penetrate into the ignorant parts of the whole world, into, as it were, the walls of the hold placed against them.

(ubi sup.) For the colt of the ass, wanton and unshackled, denotes the people of the nations, on whom no man had yet sat, because no wise doctor had, by teaching them the things of salvation, put upon them the bridle of correction, to oblige them to restrain their tongues from evil, or to compel them into the narrow path of life.

Now consider how many things the Lord foretold to His disciples, that they should find a colt; wherefore it goes on, And as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat, loose him, and bring him; and that they should be impeded in taking it, wherefore there follows, And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye, The Lord hath need of him; and that on saying this, they should be allowed to take him; wherefore there follows, And straightway he will send him hither; and as the Lord had said, so it was fulfilled. Thus it goes on: And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without, in a place where two ways meet; and they loose him.

Jesus often came to Jerusalem at other times as well, but never with such glory as now. Before, on account of the envy of the Jews, He concealed Himself, but now, since the time of suffering determined by Him Himself had come, He goes openly, so that they, if they wished, might understand His glory and through the fulfillment of the prophecies upon Him might come to know the truth. And if they did not wish to understand, then so that this circumstance might serve toward their greater condemnation, as those who did not believe even after such glorious miracles. For see how many signs there are here! The Lord told the disciples that they would find a young donkey; He said that they would be hindered, and then, when the disciples would say that the Lord requires it, they would be permitted to take it. For it is no small thing that the apostles were allowed to lead away the colt; this could not have been, had the power of God not been acting upon its owners, moving them to release the colt; they were poor, working people. And one must know that the Lord did not do this without purpose, for before He had not required a colt, but on foot He traversed Galilee and Judea many times, but through this He was showing that He would gain mastery over the gentile nations, who were unsubmissive and untaught, like young donkeys: they were bound by their sins "in the street," that is, in this life, "at the gate," that is, outside the Church. But the disciples loosed them through baptism and faith, and they bore the Lord upon their shoulders, and the apostles placed upon them their garments, that is, all the true rules of virtue. Before, the gentiles, being naked, were unseemly and committed lawless deeds, but from the time they were brought to Christ by the apostles, they learned to walk with propriety, and therefore Christ was borne by them. And who were the owners of the colt who hindered the apostles from taking it? Without doubt, the demons. However, the apostles were stronger than they.

Christ rides triumphantly into Jerusalem, Mar 11:1-11. The barren fig tree cursed, Mar 11:12-14. He cleanses the temple, Mar 11:15-17. The scribes and chief priests are enraged, Mar 11:18. Reflections on the withered fig tree, Mar 11:19-23. Directions concerning prayer and forgiveness, Mar 11:24-26. The chief priests, etc., question him by what authority he did his works, Mar 11:27, Mar 11:28. He answers, and confounds them, Mar 11:29-33.

Whereon never man sat - No animal was allowed to be employed in sacred uses, even among the heathen, that had previously been used for any domestic or agricultural purpose; and those which had never been yoked were considered as sacred. See several proofs of this in the note on Num 19:2 (note), and add this from Ovid: - Bos tibi, Phoebus ait, solis occurret in arvis, Nullum passa jugum curvique immunis aratri Met. lib. iii. v. 10 The Delphic oracles this answer give: - Behold among the fields a lonely cow, Unworn with yokes, unbroken to the plough.

ENTANGLING QUESTIONS ABOUT TRIBUTE THE RESURRECTION, AND THE GREAT COMMANDMENT, WITH THE REPLIES--CHRIST BAFFLES THE PHARISEES BY A QUESTION ABOUT DAVID, AND DENOUNCES THE SCRIBES. ( = Mat. 22:15-46; Luke 20:20-47). (Mark 12:13-40) And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees--"their disciples," says Matthew (Mat 22:16); probably young and zealous scholars in that hardening school. and of the Herodians--(See on Mat 12:14). In Luk 20:20 these willing tools are called "spies, which should feign themselves just [righteous] men, that they might take hold of His words, that so they might deliver Him unto the power and authority of the governor." Their plan, then, was to entrap Him into some expression which might be construed into disaffection to the Roman government; the Pharisees themselves being notoriously discontented with the Roman yoke. Tribute to CÃ&brvbrsar (Mar 12:14-17).