In the section which follows (John 12:12-19), we again meet with matter which is common to St. John and the earlier Gospels. The Entry into Jerusalem is described by each of the evangelists, and the outer incidents are told more briefly by St. John than by any one of the others. (Comp. 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 only gives us this definite note of time, connecting the Entry with the previous sojourn at Bethany. The Synoptic narrative is more general, describing the approach from Jericho, and naming Bethphage (Matt. 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 heard probably 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 so. 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.” (Comp. John 11:54.)