All three Gospels begin Jesus’ ride into Jerusalem at the same spot. “When they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples,” Matthew writes (Matthew 21:1). Mark and Luke place the village beside Bethany (Mark 11:1; Luke 19:29). From there the two disciples fetch the colt, and the procession begins. Bethphage is only the starting point, but it is the quiet doorstep of the last week before the cross. Matthew 21:1-11 tells the scene.
3 verses
And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples,
And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sendeth forth two of his disciples,
And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples,
Matthew George Easton, 1897
House of the unripe fig, a village on the Mount of Olives, on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho (Matt. 21:1; Mark 11:1; Luke 19:29), and very close to Bethany. It was the limit of a Sabbath-day’s journey from Jerusalem, i.e., 2,000 cubits. It has been identified with the modern Kefr-et-Tur.
William Smith, 1884
(g hard) (house of figs) the name of a place on the Mount of Olives on the road between Jericho and Jerusalem. It was apparently close to Bethany. (Matthew 21:1; Mark 11:1; Luke 19:29)