_And when they came nigh to Jerusalem_ See on Matthew 21:1; _unto Bethphage and Bethany_ The limits of Bethany reached to the mount of Olives: and joined to those of Bethphage, which was part of the suburbs of Jerusalem, and reached from the mount of Olives to the walls of the city. Our Lord was now... [ Continue Reading ]
_And they went their way, and found the colt_, &c. Found all the particulars contained in Christ's prediction exactly true. See on Matthew 21:6. _Blessed be the kingdom of our father David_ May the kingdom of the Messiah, promised to our father David, be speedily established, and may it long flouris... [ Continue Reading ]
_And Jesus went into the temple_ Having entered the city by the eastern gate, he alighted from the colt, and went directly to the temple, but did not drive the buyers and sellers out this first day; for Mark here tells us expressly, that by the time he got thither, and had _looked round about on all... [ Continue Reading ]
_On the morrow, when he was come from Bethany_ Where he had lodged, and was returning into the city; _he was hungry_, &c. See note on Matthew 21:18. _And seeing a fig-tree, having leaves_ The fig-tree, it must be observed, puts forth its fruit first, and its leaves afterward, so that it was natural... [ Continue Reading ]
_And they come to Jerusalem_ Jesus, having doomed the fig-tree to destruction, continued his journey to the city, where, when he arrived, he went straightway to the temple, and drove the buyers and sellers out of it, &c., and would not suffer any vessel to be carried through the sacred edifice. See... [ Continue Reading ]
_The scribes, &c., sought how they might destroy him_ They had heard the rebuke which he had given them for allowing the temple to be profaned, and they had heard likewise the application which he had made of a passage in the eighth Psalm to the case of the children in the temple, wishing him all ma... [ Continue Reading ]
_And in the morning, they passed by_, &c. Next morning, as they were returning to Jerusalem, it astonished the disciples not a little when they looked on the fig-tree that had been pronounced barren the night before, and found it _dried up from the roots_, that is, quite withered down to the ground... [ Continue Reading ]
_Jesus answering, saith, Have faith in God_ The original expression, εχετε πιστιν θεου, is literally, _Have a faith of God;_ that is, say some, _Have a strong faith._ And it is a known Hebraism, to subjoin the words, _of God_, to a substantive, to denote _great, mighty, excellent;_ and to an adjecti... [ Continue Reading ]
_When ye stand praying_ Standing was their usual posture when they prayed. _Forgive, if ye have aught against any_ If you expect your prayers should prevail with God, you must take care to offer them in _love_ as well as in _faith;_ and, as you have offended the Majesty of heaven by many provocation... [ Continue Reading ]
_There come to him the chief priests_, &c. It seems that Christ's sermons made a great impression on those who heard him, for the number of his followers and admirers increased so as to alarm the rulers, who feared that the people, on his account, would endeavour to shake off the Roman yoke. They co... [ Continue Reading ]