Matthew 21:6

And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them,

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
And	δὲ de	G1161	but · conjunction
disciples	μαθηταὶ mathētai	G3101	a learner · noun — nominative plural masculine
went	Πορευθέντες Poreuthentes	G4198	to traverse · verb — aorist passive deponent participle, nominative plural masculine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
did	ποιήσαντες poiēsantes	G4160	to make or do (in a very wide application · verb — aorist active participle, nominative plural masculine
as	καθὼς kathōs	G2531	just (or inasmuch) as · conjunction
Jesus	Ἰησοῦς, Iēsous	G2424	Jesus (i.e. Jehoshua) · noun — nominative singular masculine, a proper name
commanded	προστάσσω prostássō	G4367	to arrange towards
them	αὐτοῖς autois	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — dative plural masculine

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Genesis 6:22 Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.
Genesis 12:4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of…
Exodus 39:43 And Moses did look upon all the work, and, behold, they had done it as the LORD had commanded, even so had they done it: and Moses blessed t…
Exodus 40:16 Thus did Moses: according to all that the LORD commanded him, so did he.
1 Samuel 15:11 It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it…
John 15:14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

John Gill on Matthew 21:6

And the disciples went,.... The two disciples, as the Arabic version reads, to the village over against them; and, as Mark says, "found the colt tied to the door without, in a place where two ways met": the house was just at the entrance of the village, at the door of which, on the outside in the street, was the colt fastened, where were two ways of going into, and coming out of the town; so that it was a public place; the colt was easily seen, nor could it well be taken away without being observed, as it was by the owners of it: and did as Jesus commanded them; they loosed the colt; and whereas whilst they were loosing it, the owners of it asked them, what they meant by so doing? they retu…

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John Calvin on Matthew 21:1-9

Matthew 21:1-9 Matthew 21:1-9 Mark 11:1-10 Luke 19:29-38 1. And when they approached Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, to the mountain of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, [698] 2. Saying to them, Go into the village which is opposite to you, and immediately you will find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them to me. 3. And if any man shall say anything to you, say, The Lord hath need of them; and immediately he will send them. [699] 4. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5. Say to the daughter of Zion, Lo, thy King cometh to thee, meek, and sitting on an ass, and on a colt, the foal of one that is und…

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Tyndale Open Study Notes on Matthew 21:4-5

The Old Testament fulfillment here emphasizes the Messiah’s non-violent, humble, and saving work (see 11:28-30; Isa 62:11; Zech 9:9-10).

Henry, Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, Clarke, Gill, Calvin and Keil & Delitzsch are in the public domain; Tyndale Open Study Notes © Tyndale House Publishers, CC BY-SA 4.0 — all from the Free Use Bible API (bible.helloao.org). Rashi: the Rosenbaum & Silbermann Pentateuch (public domain) and the Judaica Press and Metsudah Tanakh (CC BY), via Sefaria. Spurgeon's Treasury of David: public domain (lyteword's markdown edition, CC0).

The Church Fathers

But it seems that the Lord could not in so short a distance have sate upon both animals; seeing then that the history has either an impossibility or a meanness, we are sent to higher things, that is, to the figurative sense. The Apostles clothes which are laid upon the beasts may be understood either as the teaching of virtues, or discernment of Scriptures, or verities of ecclesiastical dogmas, with which, unless the soul be furnished and instructed, it deserves not to have the Lord take His seat there.
— Jerome ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

(Verse 6, 7) However, the disciples went and did as Jesus had ordered them. They brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. This colt and donkey, on which the apostles spread their cloaks so that Jesus might sit more comfortably, were naked before the coming of the Savior, and they shivered without cover, with many claiming dominion over them. But after they received the apostolic garments, they became more beautiful and had the Lord as their rider. The apostolic garment, or the teaching of virtues, or the exposition of Scriptures, can be understood, or the variations of ecclesiastical doctrines: unless the soul is instructed and adorned by these, it does not deserve to have the Lord as its dwelling.
— Jerome, Commentary on Matthew

All of these circumstances surrounding his appearance point to the shape of the future. By means of parabolic signs and by the conditions of present things, the form of the future is here suggested. The Lord is taking possession of the nations! His brightness is approaching! He is occupying the minds of the nations—just as the rider of a beast. He is proclaimed by the entire army of his retinue of patriarchs, prophets and apostles. The patriarchs are spreading their garments, which signify their glory, under the Lord. By their generations, names and struggles, the Lord was prophesied. Going to him with all the ornaments of their own worthiness and scattering themselves under his seat, they will show that all their glory had been laid beneath him in preparation for his coming. The prophets are spreading their own garments under the route of the one who is coming. They predicted this path long ago. They knew that the nations would uphold God. Many had died and offered themselves to stoning. They, in a certain sense, stripped their very bodies and offered their garments upon this path. The apostles are scattering the branches from the cut trees after casting their garments. This is not simply an act of human piety. It might at first seem that the branches might impede the one who is proceeding and might make the journey of the one who is hastening more difficult and entangled. Yet even in this the reasoning of the prophets is preserved and the form of the future announced. These branches are the fruitless nations, or the fruits of the oftentimes faithless nations. These branches are scattered under the route of the Lord by the apostles. They are preparing for the entry of the Savior.