The next day, the large crowd that had come for the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, and so they took branches of palm leaves and went out to meet him. They were crying out: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel!”
Jesus had to have this last loving contact with the crowd. Jesus will never be the first one to withdraw, no, never! He goes out to meet them. We can compare Jesus’ response to Judas with his response to the crowd. Cleary, Judas needed to be corrected, yet he doesn’t accept it and this even hastens his betrayal. Jesus responds to the cry of distress from this good-willed crowd as to those who are poor. The greatest of poverties is when those who are supposed to govern, those who have authority, become cowards, or become jealous. The two go together; where there is cowardliness, jealousy is always present. This religious crowd was in a state of distress. The greatest distress for religious people is to be a flock without a shepherd. Jesus responds, and goes out to meet them, because he hears the cry of the poor.
He knows well that this crowd who is proclaiming “Hosanna, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord, the king of Israel,” a few days later will cry, “Crucify him”. If Jesus would have acted according to human prudence he would have said, “I know this crowd. It’s not worth it to reply.” Yet he, through his royal mercy, answers this last act of good-will since in this crowd there was still something true. Jesus wouldn’t extinguish even the flame dimly burning.[1] One last time he wants to freely go out to meet the crowd: And Jesus found a young ass, and sat upon it; as it is written, “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on an ass’s colt.” And here is how Jesus responds. The crowd proclaims him king of Israel and he answers in humility, poverty, as one stripped of everything. It is not normal for a king to sit on a colt without any means of defense. Jesus gives himself up. (…)
He responds in humility, and in doing so he reveals to the Apostles his magnanimity. The quality of a royal heart is to be magnanimous and not to look at the danger. (…) Here we grasp Jesus’ greatness of soul since his royalty is one of love. He doesn’t look at the danger; he looks at the Father’s will. He doesn’t look at where there would be difficulties or where there would be fewer difficulties. He only sees the Father’s will. This is what he wants to accomplish. And to do this, he had to have this last loving contact with the crowd.
[1] Is 42:3
Father Marie Dominique Philippe, O.P. 
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