Matthew 21:2
Thursday, 25 June 2026
saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. Matthew 21:2
“Saying to them, ‘You go into the village, the ‘opposite you,’ and immediately you will find ‘donkey, having been bound’, and ‘colt, with her’. Having loosened, you bring to Me.’” (CG)
The previous verse noted that Jesus and those with Him drew near to Jerusalem, coming to Bethphage by the Mount of Olives. At this point, it needs to be understood that Matthew is giving details categorically, not necessarily chronologically.
John’s gospel includes the death and the raising of Lazarus, coming before the triumphal entry. Therefore, there is time and there are events between leaving Jericho and the events that will take place that occurred while Jesus was in this area. Understanding that, when there, He sent two disciples. Matthew next records, “Saying to them, ‘You go into the village, the ‘opposite you,’.’”
The village is not identified. Some argue it is Bethphage, the city just mentioned in verse 1. Others, because of the term “opposite you,” think it refers to Bethany. John Gill, with lively defense, suggests it is Nob, a city of the priests mentioned first in 1 Samuel 21.
Regardless, because the name is not given, it has purposefully been left out to keep the narrative typology untarnished. Once in this city, Jesus continues, saying, “and immediately you will find ‘donkey, having been bound’.”
The onus, donkey, is introduced here. It is a primary word. Donkeys are found in both testaments. The Topical Lexicon says it is “a symbol of humble service, patient endurance, and covenant blessing.” This word is found five times in the New Testament in Matthew, Luke, and John. Although onomastic scholars don’t generally tie this word onus to our modern word onus, signifying a burden, it is a likely candidate for its etymological root.
This is a female donkey, a jenny. That makes her comparable to the Hebrew word athon, coming from ethan, permanence or enduring. As such, the idea of “patient endurance” noted above is written right into the Hebrew naming of this animal. Jesus continues with, “and ‘colt, with her’.”
Another new word, pólos, a foal or filly, especially a young donkey, is seen. This word is found twelve times, only in all four gospels. In Zechariah 9:9, it says of the coming Messiah that He would be “riding upon jack (khamor, a male donkey), and upon colt (ayir), ‘son, jenny’.”
The words are telling a story. The khamor, jack, is derived from khamar, to boil (but with the sense of redness as in a reddened boiling pot). The word ayir, colt, is from ur, to awaken. Thus, it is a colt that is just being broken. The athon, jenny signifies permanence.
This will be further explored when we come to verses 4 and 5, where the prophecy is explicitly cited. Of these two donkeys, it next says, “Having loosened, you bring to Me.”
Jesus is specifically directing what will be the fulfillment of this ancient prophecy. Matthew is the only one who notes two donkeys. The other gospels focus only on the one Jesus will ride on. This makes sense because Matthew’s writing is directed most specifically to the Jewish people, presenting Jesus as the King of the Jews and the fulfillment of their Scriptures.
The colt would follow its mother as she led it along in this procession.
Life application: An ancient analysis of these verses from Jerome looks to the mother donkey as representing the Jewish people who had, for many hundreds of years, borne the yoke of the Law of Moses. He points to the colt as representing the Gentiles, being as yet unbroken until the time Christ sat on it.
Considering the roots of the words presented above, does that fit with what is being said and what fits into the dispensational model? Think about this as the verses continue to be evaluated. God is not just telling us surface stories of what actually took place. Rather, He is giving us deeper information in His word.
What is said and anticipated in the Old Testament through typology is confirmed in the New. The physical reality of the past is teaching us spiritual truths concerning God, the coming of Christ, the effects of His work, etc.
Many scholars call this “mystical,” as if it were a fanciful notion of made-up stuff. Some dismiss typology altogether, as if it has no use in biblical interpretation. What is wrong with such evaluations? The answer is found explicitly right in the New Testament, in passages such as 1 Corinthians 10:1-6 and Galatians 4:21-31.
In those passages, Paul says that the stories of the Old Testament were examples of Christ being presented through typology. He even says it indirectly in verses such as in 1 Corinthians 5 –
“Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. 8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” 1 Corinthians 5:6-8
Paul makes a one-to-one comparison between the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread to Christ and our life in Christ. God is working through types and pictures in the Old Testament, conveying information about what lies ahead. Every word and every detail of these ancient passages is given to point us to spiritual truths.
Be sure to think about what you are reading in the Old Testament. It is all pointing to Jesus, what He has done, and how it applies to us. Typology is how God is doing this.
Lord God, thank You for how Your wisdom is on display in ancient passages of Your word that seem to make no sense... until we look for Jesus. Then they fall into place, making all the sense in the world. What a treat it is for us to search out our Lord in them! Amen.
