John 12:14
in John 12Finding a young donkey, Jesus sat on it, as it is written:
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jesus, having found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written,
KJV
And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written,
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This verse in John 12
Commentary
17 notes on this verseFor when a great multitude were escorting Him like a body-guard and shouting His praises, with the most perfect self-restraint He seated Himself upon an ass, teaching us not to be lifted up by praises, and omitting no necessary thing. Matthew therefore related at greater length the circumstances concerning the ass; but John comes at once to the point of the affair that was most suited to the occasion, as it is his custom to do.
This site's exposition
the great crowd that had come to the feast
on John 12:12-15
The crowd carried palm branches out of the city and shouted Hosanna, the Hebrew cry save now. Blessed is He who comes is Psalm 118:26, sung by pilgrims going to the feast, and Jesus answered it by sitting on a young donkey. Zechariah 9:9 had already given the picture.
This site's exposition
Finding a young donkey, Jesus sat
John tells only that Jesus found a young donkey. Chrysostom holds that the sending of disciples in the other Gospels also took place. Henry reads the donkey as a King coming without pomp, and Cyril as a lesson against being lifted up by praise.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
(Tr. li. 5) John relates the matter briefly, the other Evangelists are more full. The ass, we read in them, was the foal of an ass on which no man had sat: i. e. the Gentile world, who had not received our Lord. The other ass, which was brought, (not the foal, for there were two,) is the believing Jew. (Tr. li) This act of our Lord's is pointed to in the Prophets, though the malignant rulers of the Jews did not see in it any fulfilment of prophecy: As it is written, Fear not, daughter of Sion, behold thy King cometh sitting on an ass's colt. Yea, in that nation though reprobate, though blind, there remained still the daughter of Sion; even Jerusalem. To her it is said, Fear not, acknowledge Him whom thou praisest, and tremble not when He suffers. That blood it is which shall wipe away thy sins, and redeem thy life.
"And Jesus, when He had found a young ass, sat thereon." Here the account is briefly given: for how it all happened may be found at full length in the other evangelists. But there is appended to the circumstance itself a testimony from the prophets, to make it evident that He in whom was fulfilled all they read in Scripture, was entirely misunderstood by the evil-minded rulers of the Jews.
For state reasons, the various orders of the [Roman] citizens … are crowned with laurel crowns.… There are also provincial crowns of gold, needing now the larger heads of images instead of those of men. But your orders, and your magistracies and your very place of meeting, that is, the church, are Christ's. You belong to him, for you have been enrolled in the books of life. There the blood of the Lord serves for your purple robe, and your broad stripe is his own cross. There the axe is already laid to the trunk of the tree. There the branch is from the root of Jesse. Never mind the state horses with their crown. Your Lord, when, according to the Scripture, he would enter Jerusalem in triumph, had not even a donkey of his own. These [put their trust] in chariots, and these in horses. But we will seek our help in the name of the Lord our God.
But how say the others, that He sent disciples, and said, "Loose the ass and the colt," while John saith nothing of the kind, but that "having found a young ass, He sat upon it"? Because it is likely that both circumstances took place, and that He after the ass was loosed, while the disciples were bringing it, found the colt, and sat upon it.
"Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion"? Because all their kings had for the most part been an unjust and covetous kind of men, and had given them over to their enemies, and had perverted the people, and made them subject to their foes; "Be of good courage," It saith, "this is not such an one, but meek and gentle"; as is shown by the ass, for He entered not with an army in His train, but having an ass alone.
9 more voices on this verse
The Church Fathers1 voice
And this He did, figuring one prophecy and fulfilling another; and the same act was the beginning of the one and the end of the other. For the, "Rejoice, for thy King cometh unto thee meek," belonged to Him as fulfilling a prophecy, but the sitting upon an ass was the act of one prefiguring a future event, that He was about to have the impure race of the Gentiles subject to Him.
The Medieval Church4 voices
The Jews, when they called Him King of Israel, dreamed of an earthly king. They expected a king to arise, of more than human greatness, who would deliver them from the government of the Romans. But how did our Lord come? The next words tell us; And Jesus when He had found a young ass, sat thereon.
And Jesus found a young ass and sat upon it. Although he was the true King and permitted royal honor to be offered to him, nevertheless he came not with a multitude of horses, but upon an ass. In which is signified, as Augustine says, …
When the Evangelist says, and Jesus found a young ass and sat upon it, he describes our Lord's coming: first, he tells how he came; secondly, he mentions a prophecy (v 15); and thirdly, he describes the state of mind of the disciples in regard …
The other Evangelists say that the Lord told the disciples: "Untie it and bring it to Me" (Matt. 21:1–2; Mark 11:2; Luke 19:30). But here John mentions none of this, and simply says: "Jesus found a young donkey." However, there is no disagreement among the …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And Jesus, when he had found a young ass,.... Which he sent his disciples for, to a neighbouring village, and they brought to him: sat thereon, as it is written; in Zec 9:9 though some part of the words seems to be taken out of Isa 62:11; See Gill on Mat 21:5; and so Nonnus paraphrases it here, "that it might be fulfilled which Esaias said".
His kingdom was not of this world, and therefore came not with outward pomp. He was now humbling himself, but in his exalted state John sees him in a vision on a white horse, with a bow and a crown. The fulfilling of the scripture in this: As it is written, Fear not, daughter of Sion,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1869)
A careful reader of the Gospels can hardly fail to observe that our Lord Jesus Christ's conduct, at this stage of His earthly ministry, is very peculiar. It is unlike anything else recorded of Him in the New Testament. Hitherto we have seen Him withdrawing as much as possible from public notice, retiring into the wilderness, and checking those who would have brought Him forward and made Him a king. As a rule He did not court popular attention. He did not "cry or strive, or cause His voice to be heard in the streets." (Matt. 12:19.)
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1869)
proposed
A careful reader of the Gospels can hardly fail to observe that our Lord Jesus Christ's conduct, at this stage of His earthly ministry, is very peculiar. It is unlike anything else recorded of Him in the New Testament. Hitherto we have seen Him withdrawing as much as possible from public notice, retiring into the wilderness, and checking those who would have brought Him forward and made Him a king. As a rule He did not court popular attention. He did not "cry or strive, or cause His voice to be heard in the streets." (Matt. 12:19.) Here, on the contrary, we see Him making a public entry into Jerusalem, attended by an immense crowd of people, and causing even the Pharisees to say, "Behold, the world has gone after Him." The explanation of this apparent inconsistency is not hard to find out. The time had come at last when Christ was to die for the sins of the world. The time had come when the true passover Lamb was to be slain, when the true blood of atonement was to be shed, when Messiah was to be "cut off" according to prophecy, (Dan. 9:26,) when the way into the holiest was to be opened by the true High Priest to all mankind. Knowing all this, our Lord purposely drew attention to Himself. Knowing this, He placed Himself prominently under the notice of the whole Jewish nation. It was only fit and right that this thing should not be "done in a corner." (Acts 26:26.) If ever there was a transaction in our Lord's earthly ministry which was public , it was the Sacrifice which He offered up on the cross of Calvary. He died at the time of year when all the tribes were assembled at Jerusalem for the passover feast. Nor was this all. He died in a week when, by His remarkable public entry into Jerusalem, He had caused the eyes of all Israel to be specially fixed upon Himself. We learn, for one thing, in these verses, how entirely VOLUNTARY the sufferings of Christ were.
The words behind it
11 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Εὑρὼν | heuron | Having found | G2147 → | 175 times |
| δὲ | de | then | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| ὁ | ho | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| Ἰησοῦς | iesous | Jesus | G2424 → | 908 times |
| ὀνάριον | onarion | a young donkey | G3678 → | |
| ἐκάθισεν | ekathisen | He sat | G2523 → | |
| ἐπ᾽ | ep᾽ | upon | G1909 → | 883 times |
| αὐτό, | auto | it, | G846 → | 5565 times |
| καθώς | kathos | even as | G2531 → | 182 times |
| ἐστιν | estin | it is | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| γεγραμμένον· | gegrammenon | written: | G1125 → | 189 times |
ΕὑρὼνHaving found
heuronG2147 →175 times
δὲthen
deG1161 →2765 times
ὁ<the>
hoG3588 →19766 times
ἸησοῦςJesus
iesousG2424 →908 times
ὀνάριονa young donkey
onarionG3678 →
ἐκάθισενHe sat
ekathisenG2523 →
ἐπ᾽upon
ep᾽G1909 →883 times
αὐτό,it,
autoG846 →5565 times
καθώςeven as
kathosG2531 →182 times
ἐστινit is
estinG1510 →2333 times
γεγραμμένον·written:
gegrammenonG1125 →189 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Zechariah 9:9Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of…
it leads to
- Matthew 21:4–7
This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
- Zephaniah 3:14–15
Sing for joy, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem!
- John 12:13–16
They took palm branches and went out to meet Him, shouting: “Hosanna!” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the King of Israel!”
- Zechariah 2:10
“Shout for joy and be glad, O Daughter of Zion, for I am coming to dwell among you,” declares the LORD.
- Jeremiah 23:5–6
Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land.
- Matthew 21:4–7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies22
About John
This page draws on 15 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Augustine of Hippo, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Augustine of Hippo, Tractates on John 51; Bonaventure, Commentary on John, Chapter 12; Cyril of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 8; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of John; John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of John 66; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Lightfoot, Horae Hebraicae et Talmudicae on John; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Tertullian, THE CHAPLET 13.1-2; Theophylact of Ohrid, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on John and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on John.