Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me.
Christ did not need the ass to ease His travel from Bethany to Jerusalem, the distance being short. He rode to be seen by the people and to show that He willingly received their royal honor. As for the allegorical nonsense about the ass representing the Jews and the colt the Gentiles, I set it aside as ridiculous invention.
AI summary
Matthew alone mentions both the ass and the colt because both were brought and both were ridden, as the prophecy in Zechariah requires. The ancient allegorical reading has merit: the ass signifies the Jews, burdened by the Law's ceremonies, and the colt the wild, untamed Gentiles, both brought under Christ's rule.
AI summary
In Judea, asses were common for travel, horses rare and reserved for war. Kings rode asses in peace as a mark of dignity and rank. So the King of Zion enters His capital not in poverty or shame, but in the manner proper to a sovereign.
AI summary