Word had begun to spread about Jesus. This was Palm Sunday afternoon now — crowds had already greeted his entry into Jerusalem. In John's chronology, this was hard on the heels of his raising Lazarus to life after four days in the tomb. Jesus was beginning to attract significant crowds, and they were even bigger than normal because this was a festival week, and folks had traveled from all over the known world to celebrate the Passover here.

Word about Jesus had apparently spread to the visitors in the city. Some of these Gentile converts ("God-fearers" as they were known) got wind of this incredible rabbi. Perhaps they had even heard of what he had done in cleaning out their part of the temple precincts from all the commercial traffic, the selling of sacrificial animals, and the money-cha…