And the words, "Binding his foal to the vine and his ass's colt to its tendril," were a foreshadowing both of the works done by Him at His first coming, and likewise of the nations who were to believe in Him. For these, like an unsaddled colt that bore no yoke upon its neck, remained so until this Christ came and, sending forth through His disciples, made them His disciples; and taking up the yoke of His word, they set their neck under it, to endure all things for the sake of the good things expected and announced by Him.
And when our Lord Jesus Christ was about to enter into Jerusalem, He commanded His disciples to bring to Him a certain ass that was actually tied up together with her colt at a certain entrance of a village called Bethphage; and having mounted it, He entered into Jerusalem. And since this had been plainly prophesied to be done by the Christ, its being done by Him and being recognized made manifest that He was the Christ. And though all these things came to pass and are proven from the Scriptures, you are still hard-hearted.
And it was prophesied through Zechariah, one of the twelve, that this would come to pass, in these words: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout aloud, proclaim, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, your King shall come to you, righteous and saving, gentle and lowly, mounted on a beast of burden and a colt, the foal of an ass."
And the fact that the prophetic Spirit named, along with the patriarch Jacob, also an ass as a beast of burden together with her colt as in His possession—but also that He Himself, as I said before, commanded His disciples to bring both animals—was a foreannouncement that both those of your synagogue and those of the nations would believe in Him. For just as the unsaddled colt was a symbol of those from the nations, so also the broken ass under the saddle was a symbol of those of your people; for you have the Law imposed upon you through the prophets.
But also through the prophet Zechariah it was prophesied that this very Christ would be smitten and His disciples scattered—which indeed came to pass. For after He was crucified, the disciples who were with Him were scattered, until He rose from the dead and convinced them that it had thus been prophesied beforehand concerning Him, that He should suffer; and being thus convinced, and having gone out into all the world, they taught these things.
Hence we too are firm in faith and discipleship to Him, since we have our persuasion both from the prophets and from those throughout the world who are seen to have become worshippers of God in the name of that Crucified One. And these are the words spoken by Zechariah: "O sword, awake against my shepherd and against the man of my people, says the Lord of hosts; strike the shepherd, and his sheep shall be scattered."