The Meaning of Matthew 21:10 Explained

Matthew 21:10

KJV: And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?

YLT: And he having entered into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, 'Who is this?'

Darby: And as he entered into Jerusalem, the whole city was moved, saying, Who is this?

ASV: And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, Who is this?

What is the context of Matthew 21:10?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And  when he  was come  into  Jerusalem,  all  the city  was moved,  saying,  Who  is  this? 

What does Matthew 21:10 Mean?

Context Summary

Matthew 21:8-17 - The Lord Of The Temple
It was only a crowd of poor people who escorted Jesus on Palm Sunday to the Holy City; but they sent their hosannas upward to the highest, and their shouts of acclamation and praise are ever ringing down the ages. Let us take them up and pass them on. Hosanna means Save now, Psalms 118:25, which formed part of the Great Hallel, or Passover Psalms. Thus, one day, His Church, and probably the literal Israel of the future, will hail Him with transports of joy. See Zechariah 2:10. Where Jesus comes, He cleanses. At His word the heart that was filled with the din of worldly care becomes the home of prayer, and children-the emblems of humility, simplicity, and faith-gather. While the needy and the childlike are attracted by our Lord's gentleness, wrongdoers are driven out before the "terror of the Lord." [source]

Chapter Summary: Matthew 21

1  Jesus rides into Jerusalem upon a donkey
12  drives the buyers and sellers out of the temple;
17  curses the fig tree;
23  puts to silence the priests and elders,
28  and rebukes them by the parable of the two sons,
33  and the husbandmen who slew such as were sent to them

Greek Commentary for Matthew 21:10

Was stirred [εσειστη]
Shaken as by an earthquake. “Even Jerusalem frozen with religious formalism and socially undemonstrative, was stirred with popular enthusiasm as by a mighty wind or by an earthquake” (Bruce). [source]
Was moved [ἐσείσθη]
Moved is hardly strong enough. It is shaken as by an earthquake. Rev., stirred. As Morison happily observes, “a profounder ground-swell of feeling.” [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Matthew 21:10

Mark 11:11 When he had looked round about upon all things [περιβλεπσαμενος παντα]
Another Markan detail in this aorist middle participle. Mark does not give what Luke 19:39-46 has nor what Matthew 21:10-17 does. But it is all implied in this swift glance at the temple before he went out to Bethany with the Twelve, it being now eventide Genitive absolute, the hour being already late. What a day it had been! What did the apostles think now? [source]
Hebrews 12:26 Then shook [εσαλευσεν τοτε]
Old verb as in Matthew 11:7. He hath promised Perfect middle indicative of επαγγελλω — epaggellō and it still holds. He quotes Haggai 2:6. Will I make to tremble Old and strong verb (here future active) σειω — seiō to agitate, to cause to tremble as in Matthew 21:10. The author applies this “yet once more” (ετι απαχ — eti hapax) and the reference to heaven (τον ουρανον — ton ouranon) to the second and final “shaking” at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ for judgment (Hebrews 9:28). [source]

What do the individual words in Matthew 21:10 mean?

And having entered of Him into Jerusalem was stirred all the city saying Who is this
Καὶ εἰσελθόντος αὐτοῦ εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα ἐσείσθη πᾶσα πόλις λέγουσα Τίς ἐστιν οὗτος

εἰσελθόντος  having  entered 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Active, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: εἰσέρχομαι  
Sense: to go out or come in: to enter.
αὐτοῦ  of  Him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
εἰς  into 
Parse: Preposition
Root: εἰς  
Sense: into, unto, to, towards, for, among.
Ἱεροσόλυμα  Jerusalem 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Neuter Plural
Root: Ἱεροσόλυμα  
Sense: denotes either the city itself or the inhabitants.
ἐσείσθη  was  stirred 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Passive, 3rd Person Singular
Root: σείω  
Sense: to shake, agitate, cause to tremble.
πόλις  city 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: πόλις  
Sense: a city.
λέγουσα  saying 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: λέγω 
Sense: to say, to speak.
οὗτος  this 
Parse: Demonstrative Pronoun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: οὗτος  
Sense: this.