Jean 12:13 Commentaire

It was a melancholy account which we had in the close of the foregoing chapter of the dishonour done to our Lord Jesus, when the scribes and Pharisees proclaimed him a traitor to their church, and put upon him all the marks of ignominy they could: but the story of this chapter balances that, by giving us an account of the honour done to the Redeemer, notwithstanding all that reproach thrown upon him. Thus the one was set over against the other. Let us see what honours were heaped on the head of the Lord Jesus, even in the depths of his humiliation. I. Mary did him honour, by anointing his feet at the supper in Bethany (Joh 12:1-11). II. The common people did him honour, with their acclamations of joy, when he rode in triumph into Jerusalem (Joh 12:12-19). III. The Greeks did him honour, by enquiring after him with a longing desire to see him (Joh 12:20-26). IV. God the Father did him honour, by a voice from heaven, bearing testimony to him (Joh 12:27-36). V. He had honour done him by the Old Testament prophets, who foretold the infidelity of those that heard the report of him (Joh 12:37-41). VI. He had honour done him by some of the chief rulers, whose consciences witnessed for him, though they had not courage to own it (Joh 12:42, Joh 12:43. VII. He claimed honour to himself, by asserting his divine mission, and the account he gave of his errand into the world (Joh 12:44-50).

Then Jesus, six days before the passover,.... Or "before the six days of the passover"; not as designing the days of that feast, for they were seven; but as reckoning so many days back from it, that is, before the sixth day from the ensuing passover: if there were six complete days between this and the passover, as this way of speaking seems to imply; then this must be the day before the Jewish sabbath, and this is more likely, than that Christ should travel on the sabbath day: but if this was the sixth day before it, it was their sabbath day, and so at the going out of it in the evening, a supper was made for him, which with the Jews on that night, was a plentiful one; for they remembered the sabbath in its going out, as well as in its coming in (e), and this was to prevent grief at the going out of it: so some days before the passover, the lamb was separated from the flock, and kept up till the fourteenth day, Exo 12:3 particularly it may be observed, that seven days before the day of atonement, the high priest was separated from his own house, and had to the chamber Palhedrin (f); and much such a space of time there was, between the day of the great atonement by Christ, and his unction by Mary; which is said to be against the day of his burial, which being the same day with his sufferings, was the great day of atonement: at this time Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, which had been dead; the last clause is left out in the Syriac, Persic, and Ethiopic versions: whom he raised from the dead; that is, "Jesus", as the Alexandrian copy, the Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions express; and the Ethiopic version adds, "in Bethany". This was the town of Lazarus; here he lived, and here he died, and here he was raised from the dead; and here he continued and dwelt, after his resurrection; and hither Christ came to see him, and the rest of the family, though he knew he exposed himself to danger in so doing. (e) Maimon. Hilchot Sabbat. c. 29. sect. 1. 11, 12, 29. (f) Misn. Yoma, c. 1. sect. 1.

Took branches of palm trees,.... The Ethiopic version adds, "and young shoots from Jerusalem"; these grew in great plenty, on one part of the Mount of Olives, that next to Bethany, from whence that town had its name; for it signifies the house of dates, the fruit of the palm tree; See Gill on Mat 21:17. And as that tree was a sign of joy and victory, they carried branches of it in their hands, as they met the King Messiah, who was about to make his public entrance into Jerusalem, in triumph; and where by his sufferings and death, he should gain the victory over sin, Satan, the world, and death; and lay a solid foundation for joy and peace, to all that believe in him: the Jews say (n), "if a man takes (the very Greek word here used,) palm tree branches in his hands, we know that he is victorious.'' The Persic version reads, "branches of olives". And went forth to meet him, and cried; when they came up to him, and as he passed by them: Hosanna, blessed is the King of Israel, that cometh in the name of the Lord; See Gill on Mat 21:9. (n) Vajikra Rabba, sect. 30. fol. 170. 3.

The Lord granted, by means of his advent, a greater gift of grace to those of a later period than what he had granted to those under the Old Testament dispensation. For they indeed used to hear, from his servants, about the King who would come, and they rejoiced to a certain extent, inasmuch as they hoped for his coming. But those who have actually been in his presence and have been freed and made partakers of his gifts—they possess a greater amount of grace and a higher degree of exultation in their rejoicing because the King has arrived. This is also what David says, “My soul shall rejoice in the Lord; it shall be glad in his salvation.” And for this reason, on his entrance into Jerusalem, all those who were in the way recognized David their king in the sorrow of his soul, and spread their garments for him and ornamented the way with green boughs, crying out with great joy and gladness, “Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord: hosanna in the highest.” … What had been declared by David concerning the Son of God was accomplished in his own person.… It was he himself who was announced by the prophets as Christ, whose name is praised in all the earth.

As, therefore, hosanna is said in the psalm we are considering, which is translated “Save us now,” and the Hebrew has “Lord, save us,” and the words “blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord” are taken from the same psalm, and these words can only refer to the Christ of God, we naturally apply the rest of the prediction to him as well.

When the crowd took the palm branches from the date palms and went before Christ as he was about to go up to the feast, all of them bore witness that he had called Lazarus forth from the grave and had raised him from the dead. Because of this, this great throng believed on him when they heard that he had done this sign. For all the people had come out of the tomb before they buried him and closed the mouth of the tomb. A great wonder seized them all when they heard that he was alive again.

In psalms and hymns, let us raise to Him our shouts of thanksgiving; and, without ceasing, let us exclaim, "Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord; "

Seest thou that this most choked them, the persuasion which all men had that He was not an enemy of God? And this most divided the people, His saying that He came from the Father.

Moreover, the multitude which went before and which followed after was sufficient to cast them into an agony; for no sign so much attracted the people as that of Lazarus. And another Evangelist saith, that they strewed their garments under His feet, and that "the whole city was moved"; with so great honor did He enter.

And they took the small branches of palm trees and olives, and strewed their garments in the way, showing that they now had a higher opinion concerning Him than of a Prophet.

The exclamation used by the worshipping people is Hosanna, indicating, as some who know the Hebrew language affirm, rather a state of mind than having any positive significance; just as in our own tongue we have what are called interjections, as when in our grief we say, Alas! or in our joy, Ha! or in our admiration, O how fine! where O! expresses only the feeling of the admirer. But when it is said, "Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord, [as] the King of Israel," by "in the name of the Lord" we are rather to understand "in the name of God the Father," although it might also be understood as in His own name, inasmuch as He is also Himself the Lord. As we find Scripture also saying in another place, "The Lord rained [upon Sodom fire] from the Lord." But His own words are a better guide to our understanding, when He saith, "I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: another will come in his own name, and him ye will receive." For the true teacher of humility is Christ, who humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. But He does not lose His divinity in teaching us humility; in the one He is the Father's equal, in the other He is assimilated to us. By that which made Him the equal of the Father, He called us into existence; and by that in which He is like unto us, He redeemed us from ruin.

(Tr. li. 1) See how great was the fruit of His preaching, and how large a flock of the lost sheep of the house of Israel heard the voice of their Shepherd: On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees. The branches of palms are songs of praise, for the victory which our Lord was about to obtain by His death over death, and His triumph over the devil, the prince of death, by the trophy of the cross. (Tr. li. 2) Hosanna is a simple exclamation, rather indicating some excitement of the mind, than having any particular meaning; like many interjections that we have in Latin. (Tr. li. 4) It were a small thing to the King eternal to be made a human king. Christ was not the King of Israel, to exact tribute, and command armies, but to direct souls, and bring them to the kingdom of heaven. For Christ then to be King of Israel, was a condescension, not an elevation, a sign of Hispity, not an increase of His power. For He who was called on earth the King of the Jews, is in heaven the King of Angels.

The multitudes do not praise Jesus with ordinary language but quote from the inspired Scripture that which was beautifully spoken regarding him. Confessing that he was indeed the King of Israel, they call him their own king and accept the lordship of the Christ.

The multitudes hymned Christ as One Who had conquered death, carrying palm branches. And they do not praise Him with ordinary language, but quote from the inspired Scripture that which was beautifully spoken with regard to Him; confessing that He was indeed King of Israel, Whom also they called specially their own King, accepting the lordship of the Christ. And the Son, they say, is Blessed: not because He Who blesseth all things and guards them from destruction, and Who is of the ineffable Essence of the Father, receives the blessing which comes from the Father; but because the blessing which is due to One Who is God and Lord by Nature is offered to Him from us, inasmuch as He came in the Name of the Lord. For all the saints did not come with the authority of lordship, but as trusted servants; This One, on the contrary, as Lord. Wherefore the prophetic language was quoted very suitably with regard to Him. For indeed some are called lords, who are not such by nature, but have the honourable name granted to them by favour. As also, to take another case, men are called "true," when they abstain from falsehood: but this is not the thing to say with regard to Christ; for He is not called "Truth" for the reason that He does not speak falsely, but because He has that Nature which is altogether superior to falsehood.

With palms everyone came On the occasion of your arrival, Savior, Crying to you, “Hosanna!” Now all of us sing praises to you From our pitiful mouths, As we wave to you the branches of our souls and cry out: “O you, who are in the highest, save the world That you brought into being, Lord, And blot out our sins, Just as you previously dried The tears of Mary and Martha.” The holy church holds a high festival, Faithfully calling together her children, O Lover of humanity; With palms she meets you and strews garments of joy So that you, along with your disciples and your friends, May establish your feet and grant deep peace for your servants, And release them from oppression, as previously you checked The tears of Mary and Martha. Incline your ear, O God of the universe, And hear our prayers, And snatch us from the bonds of death.… Let those of us who have died because of our sins, and who dwell in the tomb Because of our knowledge of evils, Imitate the sisters of faithful Lazarus as we cry to Christ with tears, and in faith and in love: “Save us, you who willed to become man. And raise us up from the tomb of our sins, You, alone who are immortal.”

Those who went ahead and those who followed exalted our Lord with one and the same voice of praise, for undoubtedly the faith of those who were approved before our Lord's incarnation and of those after it is one [faith], although they had sacraments that differed according to the customs of the times. Peter bears witness [to this] when he says, "But we believe that we are being saved in the same way as they also were, through the grace of the Lord Jesus." As for their saying, "Hosanna," that is, "salvation to the Son of David," this is the same thing we read in the psalm, "The Lord is [our] salvation, [let] your blessing [be] on your people." It is the same as the chorus that the saints echo with a chant of great praise in the Apocalypse, "Salvation to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb."

The crowd took this verse of praise from the one hundredth and seventeenth psalm, and there is no one who doubts that it is sung about the Lord. Hence it is appropriate that there is previously sung of him in the same psalm, "The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone," for Christ, whom the Jews rejected as they were building the decrees of their own traditions, became a memorial for believers from among both peoples, namely, the Jews and the Gentiles. For as to the fact that Christ is called the cornerstone in this psalm, this is what was being chanted in high praise in the Gospel by the voice of those who followed and those who went ahead.

"In the name of the Lord" signifies "In the name of God the Father," just as [our Lord] himself said elsewhere to the unbelieving Jews, "I have come in the name of my Father, and you do not receive me; another will come in his own name, him you will receive." Christ came in the name of God the Father because in everything that he did and said he was concerned with glorifying his Father and with proclaiming to human beings that he is to be glorified. The antichrist will come in his own name, and although he may be the wickedest person of all and a great help to the devil, he will see fit to call himself the Son of God while "being opposed to and raised above everything that is said to be God and is worshiped."

It is a compound of two words; Hosi is shortened into save; Anna a mere exclamation, complete. Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord. The name of the Lord here is the name of God the Father; though we may understand it as His own name; inasmuch as He also is the Lord. But the former sense agrees better with the text above, I am come in My Father's name. (5:43) He does not lose His divinity, when He teaches us humility.

The Jews, when they called Him King of Israel, dreamed of an earthly king. They expected a king to arise, of more than human greatness, who would deliver them from the government of the Romans. But how did our Lord come? The next words tell us; And Jesus when He had found a young ass, sat thereon.

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. 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). 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.

Fourthly, he mentions how they conducted themselves. And first of all, what they did: they took branches of palm trees. Now the palm, since it retains its freshness, signifies victory. Thus in antiquity it was conferred upon conquerors as a symbol of their victory. Again, we read in Revelation (7:9) of the conquering martyrs that they held "palm branches in their hands." And so the branches of palm trees were given as praise, signifying victory, because our Lord was to conquer death by dying and to triumph over Satan, the prince of death, by the victory of the cross. And went out to meet him: "Prepare to meet your God, O Israel!" (Amos 4:12). Secondly, the Evangelist mentions what they said: they shouted out Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel! Here they combine both petition and praise. There is petition when they say, Hosanna, that is "Save us, I implore you." It is like saying: hosy, which means "save," and anna, which means "implore." According to Augustine, this is not a word, but rather an exclamation of one praying. And it is quite proper that they should ask the Lord Jesus for salvation, because we read in Isaiah (35:4): "Behold your God, He will come and save you"; "Stir up thy might, and come to save us!" (Ps 80:2). They praise him for two things: for his coming and for the power of his reign or kingdom. They praise his coming when they say, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Note that to bless is to speak good things. Now God blesses us in one way, and we bless God in another way. For when God blesses us he makes us good, since for God to speak is to do: "For he commanded (that is, spoke), and they were created" (Ps 148:5). But when we bless God, we profess his goodness: "We bless you from the house of the Lord" (Ps 118:26); "Blessed be every one who blesses you!" (Gen 27:29). Therefore, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, for Christ worked in the name of God, because every thing he did he directed to the glory of God. Now because both the Father and the Son are the Lord, the phrase, in the name of the Lord, can be understood in two ways. In one way, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, means blessed is he who comes in his own name, as Lord: "The Lord is our ruler" (Is 33:22). Moses did not come in the name of the Lord in this way, because he came as a servant: "Now Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later" (Heb 3:5). According to Augustine, the better interpretation would be to say that in the name of the Lord means in the name of the Father. For Christ's words direct our minds to this: "I have come in my Father's name" (5:45). Further, there are two ways in which Christ is said to have come in the name of the Father. First, he came as the Son, which implies the Father; secondly, he came to manifest the Father: "I have manifested thy name to the men whom thou gave me" (17:6). The people praise the power of his reign when they say, the King of Israel! Literally, the Jews believed that he had come to reign over them temporally, and ransom them from subjection to the Romans. That is why they hailed him as a king: "He shall reign as king and deal wisely" (Jer 23:5); "Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule in justice" (Is 32:1). We should note that the above words can be gathered from the Psalms. For when the Psalm says, "The stone which the builders rejected..." (Ps 118:22), it then continues on, "Save us, we beseech thee, O Lord! Blessed is he who enters in the name of the Lord!" (v 25-26). And there Jerome, according to the meaning of the Hebrew, translated hosanna as "blessed." But what the people added, the King of Israel, is not in the psalms. Instead, the Psalm says: "The Lord is God, and he has given us light" (v 27). In saying this, the people, due to their blindness, have lessened his praise: for the Psalm praises our Lord as God, but they praised him as a temporal king.

Jesus sups at the house of Lazarus, and Mary anoints his feet, Joh 12:1-3. Judas Iscariot finds fault, and reproves her, Joh 12:4-6. Jesus vindicates Mary and reproves Judas, Joh 12:7, Joh 12:8. The chief priests consult to put Lazarus to death, because that through him many believed on Jesus, Joh 12:9-11. He enters Jerusalem in triumph; the people meet him, and the Pharisees are troubled, Joh 12:12-19. Greeks inquire after Jesus, Joh 12:20-22. Our Lord's discourse on the subject, Joh 12:23-26. Speaks of his passion, and is answered by a voice from heaven, Joh 12:27, Joh 12:28. The people are astonished at the voice, and Jesus explains it to them, and foretells his death, Joh 12:29-33. They question him concerning the perpetuity of the Messiah, and he instructs them, Joh 12:34-36. Many believe not; and in them the saying of Isaiah is fulfilled, Joh 12:37-41. Some of the chief rulers believe, but are afraid to confess him, Joh 12:42, Joh 12:43. He proclaims himself the light of the world, and shows the danger of rejecting his words, Joh 12:44-50.

Took branches - See on Mat 21:1 (note), etc., and Mar 11:1-6 (note), where this transaction is largely explained.

THE ANOINTING AT BETHANY. (Joh 12:1-11) six days before the passover--that is, on the sixth day before it; probably after sunset on Friday evening, or the commencement of the Jewish sabbath preceding the passover.