12:13 took palm branches. People waved palm branches to celebrate victories, including for Judeans (1 Maccabees 13:51; 2 Maccabees 10:7). Hosanna! Lit. “Save!” Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! A quote from Ps 118:25 – 26; these lines belong to the Hallel (Ps 113 – 118), sung during Passover. Hopes for redemption ran high at Passover. the king of Israel! Suggests hope that Jesus may be the Messiah. The context immediately qualifies the character of his kingship (vv. 14 – 15).

12:12–19 The entry into Jerusalem

At this period Passover crowds could be immense. The desire of the crowd to greet Jesus was again in marked contrast to the official line. The use of palm branches originated at the Feast of Tabernacles, but it had become associated with other feasts by this time (13). The waving of them was a sign of honour for a victorious person. The chant of Hosanna comes from Ps. 118:25–26 which was one of the psalms chanted at the ascent towards Jerusalem. The title King of Israel shows clearly the Messianic significance of the chant. In vs 14–15 John cites Zc. 9:9 in support of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on a young donkey rather than on a war horse. Once again John mentions a case of lack of understanding on the part of the disciples. It was only after the resurrection, here referred to as the glorification of Jesus, that any of them understood.

There appear to be two different crowds mentioned in vs 17–18. One group had seen the miracle of Lazarus’s restoration, and the other group had only heard of it. The events caused despair on the part of the Pharisees because they would not so easily be able to carry out their plan. There is despairing exaggeration on their part in claiming the whole world has gone after him (see vs 42–43). For a parallel instance of exaggeration cf. 11:48.

9:9 donkey. Though the literature does not always do so, we must distinguish between a donkey (referred to in this passage) and a mule (a hybrid between a horse and a donkey). The mule (Hebrew pered) is preferred over the donkey as an official royal mount. The evidence for a donkey as a royal mount is meager. In Akkadian there is an occasional passing reference to a donkey for the king to ride. A Hittite narrative called The Queen of Qanesh and the Tale of Zalpa has the 30 royal sons driving a donkey, but it does not specify that they ride them. In Ugaritic literature the goddess Athiratu rides on a donkey in one text, thus indicating it as a regal, if not royal, mount. In Biblical texts elites occasionally ride on an ayir (translated “colt” in this verse) or on an aton (translated “foal of a “donkey” in this verse and Balaam’s mount in Nu 22:21 – 35). Consequently, evidence is lacking to suggest that the king in this verse is being provided with transparently royal trappings. The contrast offered by the specification of his mount is that it would be clear that this king is not coming in a military context (which would have featured a horse, mule or chariot), but he is coming in peace and humility.