John 12: 9-19, Hosanna!

After the winter festival, Lazarus gets ill and Jesus is contacted.  Waiting a few days, he eventually visits Mary and Martha in Bethany, after Lazarus has died, and there raises Lazarus from the dead.  At a later dinner (weeks later? months later?) Mary anoints Jesus by pouring perfume on his feet.

John 12: 9-11, Angry priests

Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 
10 So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, 
11 for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him.

According to this gospel, the raising of Lazarus is the catalyst for the leaders' decision to kill Jesus and also for the crowds that welcome him to Jerusalem. In addition to killing Jesus, the leaders intend to kill Lazarus!

John 12: 12-19, The last week begins

The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 
13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,

“Hosanna!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Blessed is the king of Israel!”

14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written:

15 “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion;

    see, your king is coming,

    seated on a donkey’s colt.”

16 At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.

17 Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. 
18 Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. 
19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”

Jesus decides to travel from Bethany to Jerusalem and the people expect him.  They greet him as the anointed Messiah, the king in David's line.  Some of the crowd are there because of the stories about the death and revival of Lazarus. (According to John's gospel, the resurrection of Lazarus is a major reason for the crowd's reaction on his entry to Jerusalem.)

The other gospels have this story; John provides additional details. According to John, the people are stirred by the resurrection of Lazarus.

The disciples first miss the prophetic nature of this event.

NIV Footnotes: "Hosanna" is a Hebrew expression meaning "Save!", which became an exclamation of praise. The quote in verse 13 is from Psalm 118:25-26 and the quote in verse 15 is from Zechariah 9:9.