Matthew 21:17

“And he left them, etc.] The high priests and Scribes, confounded and put to silence, and as unworthy of his company and conversation; and went out of the city; of Jerusalem, partly to prevent being apprehended by his enemies before his time, and partly to remove all suspicion of seizing the city and government, and setting himself up as a temporal prince; to Bethany; which was about fifteen furlongs from Jerusalem, or almost two miles, (<431118>John 11:18). Hither he went to converse with his dear friends, Lazarus, and Martha, and Mary, who were all of this place, and where he could lodge and rest quietly. The name of the town is variously interpreted: according to some ancient writers…”

“This paragraph contains the account of the barren fig-tree, and of the cleansing of the temple. See also Mark 11:12-19; Luke 19:45-48. Matthew 21:12 And Jesus went into the temple of God ... - From Mark 11:11-15, it is probable that this cleansing of the temple did not take place on the day that he entered Jerusalem in triumph, but on the day following. He came and looked round upon all things, Mark says, and went out to Bethany with the twelve. On the day following, returning from Bethany, he saw the fig-tree. Entering into the temple, he purified it “on that day;” or perhaps he “finished” the work of purifying it on that day, which he commenced the day before. Matthew has mentioned the…”

“Mar 11:11-12. Matthew 21:20”

“he left: Mat 16:4; Jer 6:8; Hos 9:12; Mar 3:7; Luk 8:37, Luk 8:38 Bethany: Bethany was a village to the east of the mount of Olives, on the road to Jericho; fifteen stadia ( Joh 11:18) or nearly two miles, as Jerome states, from Jerusalem. This village is now small and poor, and the cultivation of the soil around it is much neglected; but it is a pleasant, romantic spot, shaded by the mount of Olives, and abounding in vines and long grass. It consists of from thirty to forty dwellings inhabited by about 600; Mohammedans, for whose use there is a neat little mosque standing on an eminence. Here they shew the ruins of a sort of castle as the house of Lazarus, and a grotto as his tomb; and the…”