Charles Ellicott Commentary John 12:12

"On the morrow a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem," — John 12:12 (ASV)

In the section that follows (John 12:12–19), we again encounter material common to St. John and the earlier Gospels. The Entry into Jerusalem is described by each of the evangelists, and the external events are told more briefly by St. John than by any one of the others (Compare Notes on Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1–11; Luke 19:29–44).

On the next day.—See Note on John 12:1. St. John alone gives us this definite note of time, connecting the Entry with the previous stay at Bethany. The Synoptic narrative is more general, describing the approach from Jericho, and naming Bethphage (Matthew and Luke) and Bethany (Mark and Luke) as stages in the journey, but not connecting the Supper at Bethany with the Entry.

When they heard that Jesus was coming.—They probably heard from those of the Jews (John 12:9) who had gone to Bethany. Note that these multitudes are not called Jews, though, of course, in the ordinary sense they were. They were not “Jews” in the sense in which St. John uses the word, and he describes them as much people that were come to the feast .