Matthew 21:3

ἐάν τις, etc. Of course it was to be expected that the act would be challenged. ἐρεῖτε, ye shall say, future with imperative force. ὅτι, recitative, introducing in direct form the words of the Master. ὸ Κύριος, the Lord or Master; not surely = Jehovah (Alford, G. T.), but rather to be taken in same sense as in Matthew 8:25, or in Matthew 21:30 of this chap. αὐτῶν χρείαν ἔχει, hath need of them; in what sense? Looking to the synop. narratives alone, one might naturally infer that the need was physical, due to the fatigue of a toilsome, tedious ascent. But according to the narrative in 4th Gospel the starting point of the day's journey was Bethany (Matthew 12:1; Matthew 12:12). The prophetic reference in Matthew 21:4 suggests a wholly different view, viz., that the animals were needed to enable Jesus to enter Jerusalem in a manner conformable to prophetic requirements, and worthy of the Messianic King. One is conscious of a certain reluctance to accept this as the exclusive sense of the χρεία. Lutteroth suggests that Jesus did not wish to mix among the crowd of pilgrims on foot lest His arrival should be concealed and the interest awakened by His presence lessened.