The disciples are unnamed in all three Synoptic Gospels.

“Go into the village ahead of you; there, as you enter, you will find a colt tied on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here.

31 “If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of it.’ ”

32 So those who were sent went away and found it just as He had told them.

33 As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?”

34 They said, “The Lord has need of it.”

35 They brought it to Jesus, and they threw their coats on the colt and put Jesus on it.

This can be interpreted as an example of Jesus’ prescience

They might have thought that Jesus, the Lord (Luke 19:34), knew that a colt would be there because of his supernatural knowledge.

Jesus prepared the disciples for the future encounter with the owners.

“Lord” (kyrios) would be interpreted by Luke’s readers as the Lord Jesus, not the owners (literally lords [kyrioi]) of the colt (19:33).

To say “the Lord needs it” requires either a prearrangement or that the owners were believers who would do whatever Jesus asked.

Some think we should understand ‘the Lord’ to be God, i.e. the animal is needed in God’s service.

Sunday—Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem

Monday—Cleansing the temple

Tuesday—Controversies with the Jewish leaders

Wednesday—Apparently a day of rest

Thursday—Preparation for Passover

The colt has never been ridden before, and is reserved and ready for Jesus.

We think of the donkey as a lowly animal, but to the Jew it was a beast fit for a king (1 Kings 1:33, 44).

In the ancient world when a king rode a horse, it symbolized war. When he rode a donkey, it symbolized peace.

From the following verse this appears to be less an example of Jesus’ foreknowledge than a prearrangement on his part (cf. Matt 26:18).

Peter and John would have no trouble locating the man with the water pitcher, because men rarely carried pitchers of water.

Carrying water was normally a female responsibility, not something that a man did.

Like the unbroken colt and the unused tomb, this room is furnished and ready. Again, Luke shows us that nothing is taking Jesus by surprise.

Christ could have described the house to them; probably it was a house they knew, and he might have said no more than, Go to such a one’s house, or to a house in such a street, with such a sign, etc. But he directed them thus, to teach them to depend upon the conduct of Providence, and to follow that, step by step.

Whereas the owner supplied the place and furniture for the celebration of the Passover, the two disciples were to prepare what was needed for the eating of Passover.

This involved overseeing the sacrifice of the lambs in the temple, seeing that the lamb was roasted, preparing the place, and preparing all the side dishes and wine.

Peter and John would purchase an approved lamb and take it to the temple to be slain. Then they would take the lamb and the other elements of the supper to the house where they planned to meet, and there the lamb would be roasted. The table would be furnished with wine, unleavened bread, and the paste of bitter herbs that reminded the Jews of their long and bitter bondage in Egypt

Jesus told the two leading disciples to get the Passover meal ready. By doing so, he created the Twelve into a family for this family observation

Their family celebration would be quite unique—a Passover celebration with God’s Passover Lamb for the world

The family was prepared for Passover, but were they prepared for this Passover?

The Passover meal has a menu of roast lamb, unleavened bread, bitter herbs and wine. Each food dish is a reminder of the exodus from Egypt.

The roast lamb commemorates the lamb which was slain for each household and its blood painted on the outside door.

The unleavened bread recalls the bread that was made and eaten in haste, with no time for the dough to rise.

The bitter herbs are a relish to eat with the bread, and a symbol of the bitterness of Israel’s slavery in Egypt.