John 12:18

12:12-19 Christ's riding in triumph to Jerusalem is recorded by all the evangelists. Many excellent things, both in the word and providence of God, disciples do not understand at their first acquaintance with the things of God. The right understanding of spiritual nature of Christ's kingdom, prevents our misapplying the Scriptures which speak of it.

For this cause the people also met him,.... This was a principal reason, among others, which induced them to set out in the manner they did, with palm tree branches in their hands, and accost him as the king of Israel, when they met him, and hosanna'd him into the city: for that they heard that he had done this miracle; the witnesses were so many, and the proofs they gave so strong, that they firmly believed it: and this being a most amazing miracle, and which exceeded even any of the same kind; Jairus's daughter was but just dead, and the widow of Nain's son was not buried, when they were raised, but Lazarus had been dead and buried four days; it made a very strong impression upon the minds of the people, and engaged their attention to him, and belief in him.

16. when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, &c.—The Spirit, descending on them from the glorified Saviour at Pentecost, opened their eyes suddenly to the true sense of the Old Testament, brought vividly to their recollection this and other Messianic predictions, and to their unspeakable astonishment showed them that they, and all the actors in these scenes, had been unconsciously fulfilling those predictions.

John 12:18 . Ὄχλος , the people ) The people who were hearers, being taught [informed] by the people that were spectators. Matthew [ John 21:9 ] and Mark call the former, those that went before ; the latter, those that followed . One may infer from thence, that some of the spectators, entering the city, published the miracle, and so, accompanied by several more, came to meet the Lord; whilst others of them, constituting the larger number, tarried outside the rate, and afterwards followed the Lord when making His entry.

(18) For this cause the people — i.e. (see last verse), the multitude of John 12:12 . For that they heard . . . this miracle.—The emphatic form of the sentence points out that the raising of Lazarus was the miracle which carried the entire conviction of the multitude. They had heard of and in some eases seen the miracles, but this stood by itself, as witness which could not be gainsaid.

Verse 18. - For this cause also the ( ὁ ὄχλος ) multitude - which here seems to be the aggregate of the ( ὄχλος πολύς ) crowds made up of the Judaean and Galilaean pilgrims and "the Jews" who had believed on him - met him (see especially vers. 12, 13) - went forth, and cut down the branches of the palm trees, and came in high jubilance to meet him - because they heard that he had wrought this sign . The resurrection of Lazarus is the motive of the triumphal procession. The synoptists, who have omitted the whole episode of Bethany, are naturally silent concerning the impression produced by it on the Passover pilgrims and the Jerusalem crowd. John, more intimately acquainted with the currents of thought in the capital than the rest, drew here from his experience and memory, and has preserved historical features which they had ignored. John 12:18

1. The first involves comparing a statement in one context with the other places where it appears in Scripture. For example: 'Make the heart of this people dull, And their ears heavy, And shut their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And return and be healed' ( Isa . 6:10). This is repeated six times in the New Testament ( Matt . 13:14; Mark 4:12; Luke 8:10; John 12:40; Acts 28:27; Rom . 11:8). When texts are repeated like this they often contain alterations for various reasons. Examples include: (i) Exegetical: to clarify their exposition. Examples include: Psalms 78:2 cited in Matthew 13:35 Psalms 78:24 cited in John 6:31 Isaiah 28:16 cited in Romans 9:33 Psalms 110:1 cited in 1 Corinthians 15:25 Psalms 116:10 cited in 2 Corinthians 4:13 Genesis 13:15 cited in Galatians 3:16. (ii) Diacritical, to distinguish, indicate or clarify places, times and persons, as for example in the citation of Micah 5:2 in Matthew 2:6. (iii) To limit the sense of a passage to the original intention and meaning of the Holy Spirit. Examples will be found in: Deuteronomy 6:13 in Matthew 4:10 Isaiah 29:13 in Matthew 15:8 Genesis 2:24 in Matthew 19:5 Isaiah 59:20 in Romans 11:26. (iv) For application, so that a type might be related to its fulfilment, the general to the special, and vice-versa. Examples include: Jonah 1:17 in Matthew 12:40 Isaiah 61:1 in Luke 4:18 Psalms 22:18 in John 19:28 Exodus 12:46 in John 19:33 Psalms 69:25 in Acts 1:20.