John 12:14

Jesus being thus hailed as king by the people, εὑρὼν ὀνάριον … ὄνου, i.e., He accepted the homage and declared Himself king by adopting the prediction of Zechariah 9:9 (John 12:15), “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion (χαῖρε σφόδρα instead of μὴ φοβοῦ), proclaim it aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold the king is coming to thee, just and saving, He is meek and riding on a beast of burden and a young foal”. The significance of the “ass” is shown in what follows: “He shall destroy the chariots out of Ephraim and the horse out of Jerusalem, and the war-bow shall be utterly destroyed: and there shall be abundance and peace”. By riding into Jerusalem as king but on an ass, not on a war horse, He continued to claim to be Messiah but ruling by spiritual force for spiritual, ends.