Jn. 12:11. Because on account of him many of the Jews were coming and believing in Jesus.
The Pharisees, however, are so inhuman that they want to kill not only Jesus but also Lazarus, because he served as an occasion of salvation for many through the miracle performed upon him, leading simple people to faith. Thus even the beneficence of Jesus became a crime in their eyes. They were especially vexed by the fact that, with the approach of the feast, everyone was going to Bethany, learning of the miracle, and seeing the risen man with their own eyes.
Jn. 12:12. On the next day, a great multitude that had come to the feast, having heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,
The Lord, having withdrawn into the wilderness for a short time in order to calm the fury of the bloodthirsty, again openly enters Judea and shows Himself before all. The time to suffer had finally come, and He ought not to hide, but to give Himself up for the salvation of the world.
See then what the sequence of the Passion was. The Lord raised Lazarus, having reserved this miracle, the most important of all the rest, for the end; as a result of this, many flocked to Him and believed. Because many believed, the envy of His enemies increased. After this followed the plots against Him and the Cross.
Jn. 12:13. Palm branches were taken,
The palms perhaps signified that He, having raised Lazarus, became the conqueror of death, for the palm was given to victors in combat. Perhaps they also expressed that the One being glorified is a heavenly Being who came from above. For the palm alone among other trees reaches, so to speak, heaven itself, puts forth leaves at its height, has white kernels in its leaves, yet in its trunk and middle, up to the top, is rough and difficult to climb, since it has thorns on its branches. So too, whoever strives toward the knowledge of the Son and Word of God will find it not easy but difficult, ascending through the labors of virtue; but upon reaching the height of knowledge, he will be illumined by the bright light of the knowledge of God and the revelation of ineffable mysteries, as if by the whitest kernels of the palm.
Jn. 12:13. went out to meet Him and cried out: Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord,
The people, having heard that Jesus was coming, met Him with glory, undoubtedly on account of the miracle over Lazarus, rendering Him honor greater than what would befit a mere man. For they no longer received Him as a prophet, because to which of the prophets had their fathers rendered such honor?
Therefore they also exclaimed: "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!" From this exclamation we understand, first, that He is God; for "hosanna" means "save." This is how the Seventy translators rendered the word in Greek in Psalm 117 (Ps. 117:25). For in the Hebrew language it reads "hosanna," but in Greek it is "O Lord, save!" To save is proper to God alone, and to Him it was said: "Save us, O Lord our God!"
From all the passages of Scripture, anyone can learn that salvation is ascribed by Scripture to God alone. Thus, those who exclaimed to Christ with the words of David show by this, first, that He is God; and then, that He is God in the proper sense. For they say "He who comes," and not "He who is led." The latter is something servile, while to come is an act of sovereignty.
With the words "in the name of the Lord" they express the very same thing, that He is true God. For they do not say that He comes in the name of a servant, but in the name of the "Lord." Furthermore, they also indicate that He is not an adversary of God, but came in the name of the Father, as the Lord Himself says: "I have come in My Father's name, and another will come in his own name" (John 5:43).
Jn. 12:13. the King of Israel!
They also call Him King of Israel, perhaps dreaming of a sensible kingdom; for they expected that some king of a nature higher than human would arise and deliver them from the dominion of the Romans.
Jn. 12:14. Jesus, having found a young donkey, sat on it, as it is written:
The other Evangelists say that the Lord told the disciples: "Untie it and bring it to Me" (Matt. 21:1–2; Mark 11:2; Luke 19:30). But here John mentions none of this, and simply says: "Jesus found a young donkey." However, there is no disagreement among the Evangelists. The others spoke more at length, while John said it more briefly: "Jesus, having found a young donkey." When the disciples untied it and brought it, Jesus found it and sat upon it.
Jn. 12:15. Fear not, daughter of Zion! Behold, your King comes, sitting on a young donkey.
In this circumstance He was also fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah, who said: "Fear not, daughter of Zion! Behold, your King comes to you, sitting on a young donkey" (Zech. 9:9). Since the kings of Jerusalem were, for the most part, unjust and greedy, the prophet says: "Fear not, daughter of Zion! The King of whom I foretell to you is not such, but is meek and humble-minded, and not at all proud." This is evident also from the fact that He came sitting on a donkey. For He entered not accompanied by an army, but rode on a single donkey.
The Lord's sitting upon the donkey was also a figure of things to come. This animal, unclean according to the law, was a figure of the unclean nation of the gentiles, upon which Jesus, the Word of God, sits, subjecting to Himself this disobedient and rough new people, like a donkey, whom He also leads up to the true Jerusalem after they have become tame and obedient to Him. For did not the Lord take up to heaven with Himself those gentiles who became His people and submitted to the preaching of the Gospel?
Jn. 12:16. His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him, and that they had done these things to Him.
I ask you, marvel at the evangelist, how he is not ashamed, but openly speaks of the former ignorance of the apostles. "His disciples," he says, "did not understand these things at first, but understood when Jesus was glorified." By glory he means the ascension, which followed the suffering and death. Then, without doubt, after the descent of the Holy Spirit, they came to know that these things had been written about Him. That these things were written, they perhaps knew, but that what was written referred to Jesus, this was hidden from them, and not without benefit. Otherwise they would have been scandalized by His crucifixion, when He whom Scripture calls King suffers so.
Jn. 12:17. The crowd that had been with Him before bore witness that He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead.
The people, having seen the miracle over Lazarus, bore witness and proclaimed the power of Jesus.
Jn. 12:18. Therefore the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this miracle.
Therefore those who had heard of the performance of this miracle also met Him with glory, that is, they believed; for if they had not believed, they would not have changed so quickly.