they received the revelation. From where did the crowd know the Lord was a king? He did not wear the diadem of an earthly king, he was not robed in purple, he was not accompanied by a multitude of an army, there did not run before him horses and chariots and gold-inlaid shields, he did not ride in a purple-strewn royal chariot; but he sat on another's colt, a small one, bringing with him only twelve disciples. From where, then, did the crowd know him to be a king, if it had not received the revelation from above? For this reason they did not seek an earthly diadem on the Lord; for they knew him as ruling without beginning. They did not seek a purple robe; for they beheld him clothing himself with light as with a garment. They did not look for a multitude of an army, having been persuaded by the prophet who said: Ten thousands of ten thousands of angels ministered to him, and thousands of thousands of archangels stood beside him. They did not seek horses and chariots; for they recognized Christ as the charioteer and the evangelists following like horses, having been persuaded by the prophet who said—and this is Zechariah—that Behind him were horses white and red and dappled and ash-colored. Matthew is the white horse, as setting forth more clearly the things of the Lord's incarnation; Mark is the ash-colored horse, as having written the gospel more flowingly; Luke is the dappled horse, as setting forth more eloquently and variously the things concerning the Lord; John is the red horse, as having flashed forth the divinity of Christ like a flash of fire with his own words, saying, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God. Therefore, that faithful crowd of Jerusalem, having received the revelation from God, was not scandalized by the humble colt, but was strengthened by the master's presence. Therefore, as soon as they saw the Lord mounted on the colt, at once pierced by the prophetic proclamations, taking up the branches of the palm trees, the crowds said to one another: Why do we wait and not go out to meet the spiritual palm tree, holding the branches of the palm trees? Its fruit is full of sweetness and immortality; its leaves are remedies for the world; its trunk, that is, the wood of the cross, is the salvation of the whole world and a trophy of the victory over the devil. We have heard the church from the gentiles crying out in the Song of Songs: I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of its branches. Let us anticipate the church from the gentiles and greet him as a spiritual palm tree and as a mighty king. As the crowds were saying and doing these things and acclaiming the Lord, the chief priests and the Pharisees, being greatly vexed, rebuked the crowds, saying: What are you doing, what nonsense are you speaking, you most rash people? Do you approach the son of the carpenter as a god, holding palm branches? Do you call him Lord who has nowhere to lay his head? Do you utter royal acclamations to one sitting on the colt of a donkey? Are not his father and his mother with us? Cease, you most rash people; otherwise, you will be punished. For we exist for this reason, that we may mark the most rash among you as paying the penalty for their audacity. Hearing these things that the chief priests were saying, the crowds were not moved to sedition, since peace was present, but they answered them, with grace assisting: Do you blame us, Pharisees, and threaten punishment as if we are uttering blasphemy? Who is worthy of punishment, you who read the scriptures and do not understand, or we who hear and hold to them? Are we in error offering palm branches to the Lord? Is he not the palm tree of righteousness? Has not the prophet cried out concerning him: The righteous one shall flourish like a palm tree? Did he not make the blind to see again? Did he not grant an unimpeded course to the lame? Did he not make the paralytic carry the bed that had carried him? Did he not raise Lazarus, who was four days dead, from death? Is it not for this reason you wish Lazarus

ἐδέξαντο τὴν ἀποκάλυψιν. Πόθεν ἐγνώριζεν ὁ ὄχλος βασιλέα τὸν κύριον; Οὐκ ἐφόρει διάδημα βασιλέως κοσμικοῦ, οὐ περιεβέβλητο ἁλουργίδα, οὐκ ἐπεφέρετο πλῆθος στρατοῦ, οὐ προέτρεχον αὐτοῦ ἵπποι καὶ ἅρματα καὶ ἀσπίδες χρυσο κόλλητοι, οὐκ ἐπωχεῖτο ἅρματι πορφυροστρώτῳ βασιλικῷ· πώλῳ δὲ ἐκαθέζετο ἀλλοτρίῳ, μικρῷ, δώδεκα μαθητὰς μόνους ἐπαγόμενος. Πόθεν οὖν ὁ ὄχλος ἔγνω αὐτὸν βασιλέα τυγχάνειν, εἰ μὴ ἄνωθεν ἔλαβε τὴν ἀποκάλυψιν; ∆ιὸ καὶ οὐκ ἐζήτουν ἐπὶ τοῦ κυρίου διάδημα κοσμικόν· ἔγνωσαν γὰρ αὐτὸν ἀνάρχως βασιλεύοντα. Οὐκ ἐζήτουν ἁλουργίδα· ἐθεώρουν γὰρ αὐτὸν ἀναβαλλόμενον φῶς ὡς ἱμάτιον. Οὐ περιεβλέποντο πλῆθος στρατοῦ, πεισθέντες τῷ εἰρηκότι προφήτῃ· Μύριαι μυριάδες ἀγγέλων ἐλειτούργουν αὐτῷ, καὶ χίλιαι χιλιάδες ἀρχαγγέλων παρειστήκεισαν αὐτῷ. Οὐκ ἐπεζήτουν ἵππους καὶ ἅρματα· ἐγνώρισαν γὰρ Χριστὸν ἁρματηλατοῦντα καὶ τοὺς εὐαγγελιστὰς καθάπερ ἵππους παρακολουθοῦντας, πεισθέντες τῷ εἰρηκότι προφήτῃ Ζαχαρίας δὲ οὗτός ἐστιν, ὅτι Ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ ἵπποι λευκοὶ καὶ πυρροὶ καὶ ποικίλοι καὶ ψαροί. Λευκὸς ἵππος Ματθαῖος, ὡς τὰ τῆς ἐνανθρωπήσεως τοῦ κυρίου σαφέστερον ἐκθέμενος· ψαρὸς ἵππος Μάρκος, ὡς διανθέστερον τὸ εὐαγγέλιον γράψας· ποικίλος ἵππος Λουκᾶς, ὡς εὐγλωττότερον καὶ ποικίλα τὰ κατὰ τὸν κύριον ἐκθέμενος· πυρρὸς ἵππος Ἰωάννης, ὡς τὴν θεότητα τοῦ Χριστοῦ καθάπερ ἀστραπῇ πυρὸς τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ λόγοις ἐκλάμψας, ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος λέγων καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος. Θεόθεν τοίνυν ὁ Ἱεροσολυμιτικὸς ἐκεῖνος πιστὸς ὄχλος τὴν ἀποκάλυψιν δεξάμενος οὐκ ἐσκανδαλίσθη ὑπὸ τοῦ εὐτελοῦς πώλου, ἀλλ' ἐνεδυναμώθη ὑπὸ τῆς δεσποτικῆς παρουσίας. ∆ιὸ μόνον εἶδον τὸν κύριον ἐπιβεβηκότα τῷ πώλῳ, εὐθέως προφητικαῖς προρρήσεσι νυχθέντες, ἀναλαβόντες τὰ βαΐα τῶν φοινίκων ἔλεγον πρὸς ἀλλήλους οἱ ὄχλοι· Τί ἀναμένομεν καὶ οὐκ ἐξερχόμεθα εἰς ἀπάντησιν τοῦ νοητοῦ φοίνικος κρατοῦντες τὰ βαΐα τῶν φοινίκων; Ὁ καρπὸς αὐτοῦ γλυκασμοῦ καὶ ἀθανασίας πλήρης· τὰ φύλλα αὐτοῦ τῆς οἰκουμένης ἰάματα· τὸ στέλεχος αὐτοῦ, τουτέστι τὸ ξύλον τοῦ σταυροῦ, τοῦ κόσμου παντὸς σωτηρία καὶ τρόπαιον τῆς κατὰ τοῦ διαβόλου νίκης. Ἠκούσαμεν τῆς ἐξ ἐθνῶν ἐκκλησίας ἐν τοῖς Ἄισμασι τῶν ᾀσμάτων βοώσης· Ἀναβήσομαι ἐπὶ τὸν φοίνικα, κρατήσω τῶν κλάδων αὐτοῦ. Προλάβωμεν τὴν ἐξ ἐθνῶν ἐκκλησίαν καὶ ὡς φοίνικα νοητὸν καὶ ὡς βασιλέα κραταιὸν ἀσπασώμεθα. Ταῦτα τῶν ὄχλων λεγόντων καὶ διαπραττομένων καὶ τὸν κύριον εὐφημούντων, οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ οἱ φαρισαῖοι δριμυχθέντες σφόδρα, ἐπετίμουν τοῖς ὄχλοις λέγοντες· Τί ποιεῖτε, τί ματαιολογεῖτε, προπετέστατοι; Ὡς θεῷ τῷ υἱῷ τοῦ τέκτονος προσέρχεσθε τὰ βαΐα κρατοῦντες; Κύριον ὀνομάζετε τὸν μὴ ἔχοντα ποῦ τὴν κεφαλὴν κλῖναι; Βασιλικὰς φωνὰς βάλλετε τῷ ἐπὶ πώλῳ ὄνου καθεζομένῳ; Οὐχὶ ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἡ μήτηρ παρ' ἡμῖν εἰσιν; Παύσασθε, προπετέστατοι· εἰ δὲ μή, κολασθήσεσθε. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο γάρ ἐσμεν, ὅπως τοὺς ἐν ὑμῖν προπετεστάτους σημειωσώμεθα δίκας τῆς τόλμης ἀποτιννύντας. Ταῦτα ἀκούσαντες οἱ ὄχλοι τῶν ἀρχιερέων λεγόντων οὐ κινοῦνται μὲν πρὸς στάσιν τῆς εἰρήνης παρούσης, ἀποκρίνονται δὲ πρὸς αὐτοὺς τῆς χάριτος συνεργούσης· Μέμφεσθε ἡμῖν, φαρισαῖοι, καὶ κόλασιν ἀπειλεῖτε ὡς βλασφημίαν προϊεμένοις; Τίνες κολάσεως ἄξιοι, ὑμεῖς οἱ τὰς γραφὰς ἀναγινώσκοντες καὶ μὴ νοοῦντες, ἢ ἡμεῖς οἱ ἀκούοντες καὶ κρατοῦντες; Σφαλλόμεθα βαΐα τῶν φοινίκων τῷ κυρίῳ προσφέροντες; Οὐκ αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ τῆς δικαιοσύνης φοῖνιξ; Οὐ περὶ αὐτοῦ κέκραγεν ὁ προφήτης· ∆ίκαιος ὡς φοῖνιξ ἀνθήσει; Οὐκ αὐτὸς ἤνθησε τῶν τυφλῶν τὴν ἀνάβλεψιν; Οὐ χωλοῖς ἀκώλυτον τὸν δρόμον ἐχαρίσατο; Οὐ τὸν παράλυτον τὴν βαστάσασαν κλίνην βαστάσαι πεποίηκεν; Οὐ τὸν τεταρταῖον Λάζαρον ἐξήγειρεν ἐκ θανάτου; Οὐ διὰ τοῦτο βούλεσθε τὸν Λάζαρον