Luke 19:30: How Many Mounts?

When we read the story about Palm Sunday in Luke (or in Mk 11:2), it is clear that the disciples are to find one animal, a donkey colt, and then bring it to Jesus to ride on. However, when we turn to Matthew we read, "Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me" (Mt 21:2). This sounds like more than one animal. How many animals were there, and why does Matthew have two while Luke has one?

First, it is clear that we have understood Matthew correctly. Not only does the text say "bring them" in Matthew 21:2, but it also says "the Lord needs them" in Matthew 21:3. And Matthew 21:7 reads, "They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them." So Matthew clearly has two animals with Jesus sitting on both.

Second, it is clear that in Luke's and Mark's stories the text consistently reads it rather than them. Both of the stories indicate throughout that only one animal is involved.

Third, it is clear why Matthew includes the donkey as well as the colt. Only Matthew has the quotation from Zechariah 9:9:

This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

"Say to the Daughter of Zion,

`See, your king comes to you,

gentle and riding on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a donkey.' "

(Mt 21:4-5)

Both the donkey and the colt are mentioned in the Zechariah text, so Matthew includes the two animals to make the fulfillment of prophecy clear.

When we ask what actually happened, we are asking a question which would not concern the Gospel writers as much as it does us. They are sure they have conveyed the right interpretation of the event, which is more their interest than the bare facts. We tend to be interested in history, so we come up with the following.

On the one hand, all three Gospel writers agree that Jesus rode on the colt, for they either name the colt (Matthew) or indicate that the animal had not yet been ridden (Mark and Luke), which could be the case with a colt but would hardly be the case with a mature donkey. On the other hand, it is clear that Matthew is allowing the prophetic passage to influence his story. The text in Matthew says that Jesus sat on "them" (that is, the two animals). It is unlikely that Matthew wants us to take him literally, for how would one man sit on two animals? If he tried he would not look like a king, even a humble king, but like a clown. Matthew is underlining the fulfillment of prophecy by how he tells the story, allowing his reader's good sense to fill in the exact form of the details.

Thus two answers to our question are possible. One answer would be that Matthew mentions the donkey, although she was not there, because clearly the colt was the foal of a donkey and by including the donkey the reference to the prophecy is brought out. Another answer would be that given that the colt was young enough to have not been ridden, the donkey was in all likelihood there with it, perhaps still nursing it on occasion. If Mark and Luke know this, they are not interested in the fact. What they are interested in is the fact that Jesus actually wanted to ride the colt (perhaps showing the submission of an unbroken animal to the true Master). If the donkey was trailing along, it is no concern of theirs. Matthew because of his interest in prophecy does mention the donkey, even if it makes the story read more awkwardly.

Whichever explanation one accepts, it is important not to miss the point that the three authors are making. Jesus, who owns no mount, has to borrow an animal to make his final self-presentation to Jerusalem. That the untried mount submits to him (Mark and Luke) and that prophecy is fulfilled (Matthew) are part of the picture that each author paints. Yet the focus is on the cries of "Hosanna" and the acclamation of Jesus as the one "coming in the name of the Lord," phrases which the authors clearly interpret as a royal acclamation. We must be careful not to miss the king in the details of his entourage.