Matthew 21:4

Matthew 21:4. Now this hath come to pass . Of this Divine purpose the disciples had no idea at the time (John 12:16). Lange: ‘The occasion and need of the moment was the obvious motive. But to the Spirit of God these historical occasions were arranged coincidences with the prophetical word. Christ was in need of the foal of the ass, inasmuch as He could not make His entrance on foot in the midst of a festal procession. He must not be lost in the crowd; it was necessary that He should take a prominent position, and appear preeminent. But if He became conspicuous, it must be in the most humble and peaceable fashion: hence the choice of the ass. The dignity of the procession required the ass's colt, and this made the history all the more symbolical. But it could not be concealed from the Spirit of Christ ‘that here again the plain historical necessity coincided with the symbolically significant fulfilment of a prophetical word.' Matthew was present, but only when afterwards inspired did he know what it meant.