XXI.
(1) And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem. — Here again we have, as far as we can, to fill up a gap in St. Matthew’s Gospel. We have to think of the journey up the narrow valley that leads from Jericho to Jerusalem. Our Lord, as before, was followed by the disciples, and they in their turn were followed by the crowds of pilgrims who were drawn to the Holy City either by the coming Passover or by wonder and curiosity to see what part the Prophet of Nazareth would take. Throughout the multitude, including the disciples, there was a feverish expectation that He would at last announce Himself as the Christ, and claim His kingdom (Luke 19:11). They reach Bethany “six days before the Passover,” probably, i.e., on the Friday afternoon (John 12:1). They remain there for the Sabbath, probably in the house of Lazarus or Simon the leper (Matthew 26:6; John 12:2; and in that of the latter we have the history of the anointing, which St. Matthew relates, out of its chronological order, in Matthew 26:6-13). The point of time with which the narrative, which now becomes more continuous, opens, may be fixed at the dawn of the first day of the week, the daybreak of Palm Sunday.
Bethphage. — The village is named in Luke 19:29, and in many MSS. of Mark 11:1, in conjunction with Bethany, and before it, and from this it would seem probable that it lay on the road from Jericho, and was therefore to the east of Bethany. The traditional site, however, followed in most maps, makes it to the west of Bethany, and nearer the summit of the hill. The name signified “the house of unripe figs,” as Bethany did “the house of dates,” and Gethsemane “the oil-press,” the three obviously indicating local features giving distinctness to the three sites. All three were on the Mount of Olives. Bethany is identified with the modern El-’Azariyeh, or Lazarieh (the name attaching to its connection with the history of Lazarus), which lies about a mile below the summit on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, in a woody hollow planted with olives, almonds, pomegranates, and figs. The palms implied in the name of Bethany and in the history of the entry into Jerusalem (John 12:13) have disappeared.
Two disciples. — The messengers are not named in any of the Gospels. The fact that Peter and John were sent on a like errand in Luke 22:8 makes it, perhaps, probable that they were employed in this instance.