The importance of this incident in Jesus' ministry is evident from the fact that all four Gospel evangelists recorded it. Matthew and Mark placed this event before Mary's anointing of Jesus in Simon's house (vv. 1-8). However, John's order is probably the chronological one in view of his time references and the fact that Matthew and Mark frequently altered the chronological sequence for thematic purposes.
The scene now shifts from a quite dinner with a few close friends in the small town of Bethany. We see next a noisy public parade through the streets of Jerusalem. This was the only public demonstration that Jesus allowed during His earthly ministry.
12:12 The next day would have been Sunday (cf. v. 1). The great multitude that had come to Jerusalem for the Passover undoubtedly included many pilgrims from Galilee, where Jesus had His greatest following. The crowd evidently surrounded Jesus since Matthew and Mark wrote that there were many people in front of Jesus and many behind Him (Matt. 11:9; Mark 11:9).
12:13 The waving of date palm fronds (i.e., branches) had become a common practice at national celebrations in Israel (Lev. 23:40). Palm fronds had become a national symbol (cf. 1 Macc. 13:51; 2 Macc. 10:7). They appear on the coins that the Jewish nationalists produced during the war with the Romans in 66-70 A.D.410Used on this occasion they probably signalled popular belief that Israel's Messiah had appeared (cf. Rev. 7:9).
"Hosanna"is the transliteration of a Hebrew phrase meaning "give salvation now."The Jews commonly used this word in their praise at the feasts of Tabernacles, Dedication, and Passover. It was part of the Hallel (Ps. 113-118) that the temple choir sang at these feasts (Ps. 118:25).411"Blessed is He . . ."is the very next statement in Psalm 118 (Ps. 118:26). The Jews of Jesus' day regarded the phrase "He who comes in the name of the Lord"as referring to Messiah (cf. 11:27). Originally it referred to pilgrims who went to Jerusalem for the feasts and perhaps in the first instance to the Davidic king whose coronation the psalmist wrote the psalm to honor. "Even the King of Israel"is not in Psalm 118. It was the people's identification of Jesus as the Messiah (cf. Luke 19:38; John 1:49; 18:37; 19:19).
"I imagine that some of the Roman soldiers must have smiled at the Triumphal Entry,' because it was nothing like their own Roman triumph' celebrations in the city of Rome.
"Whenever a Roman general was victorious on foreign soil, killing at least 5,000 of the enemy, and gaining new territory, he was given a Roman triumph' when he returned to the city. It was the Roman equivalent of the American ticker-tape parade,' only with much more splendor. The victor would be permitted to display the trophies he had won and the enemy leaders he had captured. The parade ended at the arena where some of the captives entertained the people by fighting wild beasts. Compared to a Roman triumph,' our Lord's entry into Jerusalem was nothing."412
12:14-15 The Synoptic writers gave more detail about Jesus securing the young donkey. John simply reported that He entered Jerusalem riding on it and thereby fulfilled Zechariah's prophecy about how Messiah would present Himself to the nation (Zech. 9:9). "Fear not"comes from Isaiah 40:9, which addresses those to whom good news about Zion comes. "Daughter of Zion"is a common Old Testament description of the people of Jerusalem as the oppressed people of God (cf. Isa. 1:8; Jer. 4:31; Lam. 2:4; Mic. 4:8; Zeph. 3:14; Zech. 2:10; et al.). The context of Zechariah 9:9 is worthy of examination since it describes more about Messiah's reign. Even though Messiah had appeared, His reign would not begin then. He would not "give salvation now"because of Israel's rejection of her King.
12:16 Jesus' disciples did not realize all the implications of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem at this time. After Jesus' resurrection and ascension they did (cf. 2:17, 22). Obviously they and the crowd realized that Jesus was the Messiah, as they conceived of the Messiah. However they did not understand the nature of His messiahship, the necessity of His death, or the plan for His kingdom then. For example, they did not understand the significance of His riding a donkey's colt rather than a war-horse. John's statement here helps the reader understand the difference between the disciples' understanding and comments before the Cross and their conduct and teaching after that event.
"The Passion and the Resurrection were keys in unlocking the mystery of Jesus' person."413
12:17-18 John noted another witness to Jesus' person, namely the crowd that had observed Jesus' healing of Lazarus and had accompanied Jesus from Bethany to Jerusalem. The multitude that had come out of Jerusalem to welcome Jesus joined the other people physically and as witnesses to Jesus' true identity. The raising of Lazarus was a miracle that very many people regarded as a sign that Jesus was the Messiah.
12:19 Yet many other people did not believe. The Pharisees looked on in unbelief frustrated by Jesus' popularity and unable to do anything to stop Him at the moment. Hyperbolically they said the whole world had gone after Jesus. This is another ironic comment that John recorded for His readers' instruction. Really relatively few people had truly believed on Jesus (vv. 37-43), but the whole world would go after Jesus as the Savior of the world to a greater degree than the Pharisees believed then (cf. 3:16-17). Their unconscious prophecy (cf. Caiaphas' unconscious prophecy in 11:50) received a partial fulfillment almost immediately in the request of some Greeks to see Jesus (vv. 20-22). The Pharisees later found it just as impossible to curtail the spread of Christianity as they did to restrict Jesus personally.
