VERSES: Matthew 21:1-9; Luke 19:29-40; John 12:12-19
MEMORY VERSE: Matthew 21:9 "...Hosanna to the Son of David..."
BOOK TO REMEMBER: Review all the books of the Old Testament from Genesis to Esther. Because this is a shorter lesson, perhaps more time could be invested in reciting the Books of the Old Testament a few times together as a class.
PRAYER: Pray that we would receive Jesus' teachings the way that the people received Jesus in this lesson--joyfully!
SPECIAL SONG: Jesus Loves The Little Children - (see February 2014 - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #2 on this blog. Click orange circle to hear tune.)
VISUAL AID: Large Activity (a few palm branches could be used as bulletin board aids around the class, if desired); Bible map showing Bethphage, Bethany, Jerusalem, the Mount of Olives.
LESSON POINTS:
- Note: Three of the four Gospels, Matthew, Luke, and John, tell about how Jesus was celebrated by the people as He traveled into Jerusalem. By the Bible teacher reading and studying all three passages of scripture together in advance, they are able to understand and teach the details of these events.
- When Jesus and His disciples drew close to Jerusalem and had arrived in Bethphage, which was close to the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples into the village. He told them to bring to Him a donkey and her colt that were tied there. Jesus said that no man had never sat on the colt before which normally would be a hard task to undertake. He also said if anyone asked what they were doing to just tell them that their master needed them. All of this was prophesied in Zechariah 9:9 and now was coming true.
- When the disciples found the donkey and her colt, the owners of the animals asked them just like Jesus had said, "Why are you untying these animals?" So, the disciples answered them, "The Lord needs them," and then they brought them to Jesus. The disciples put their garments or coats on top of the colt and then Jesus sat on its back. As Jesus traveled on this colt that had never been ridden before, there was a huge crowd of people who were in Jerusalem for the Passover. They were gathered along the sides of the road. Some people had placed their garments on the road and others had also cut down palm branches from the trees and placed them on the road, too. All the crowds of people who were in front of Jesus and behind Him, cried out, "Hosanna to the son of David; Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.," and "Blessed is the King of Israel." As they got close to the Mount of Olives, everyone was happy and praised God with loud voices. The people had seen all the miracles that Jesus had done like raising Lazarus to life after he had died. They knew that there was something special about Jesus, making Him very popular. They thought He might be a prophet, so they were honoring Jesus.
- But, some of the Pharisees who were in the huge crowd told Jesus to scold His disciples, but Jesus said that if His disciples were told to be quiet that even the stones would immediately cry out. At that time, Jesus' disciples did not understand what Jesus' riding into Jerusalem meant, but after Jesus was glorified or raised up, they remembered everything that had been written about Him and all of those things were done to Him. The prophecies had all come true.
"Older Student" Tips:
- Prophesies from God always came true. That is how the people would know if the prophet was from God or not. Read Deuteronomy 18:21, 22.
- The reason why the people placed their coats and the branches of palm trees on the road was to honor and celebrate Jesus' coming into Jerusalem just like He was a king returning into the city.
ACTIVITY: The Triumphant Entry Into Jerusalem
Materials needed: 4" x 18" brown construction paper use brown poster board, if a stiffer branch is desired. I used construction paper), 9" x 12" green construction paper, marker, staples, stapler, scissors.
- Hand out brown paper.
- Fold brown paper in half, lengthwise.
- Fold brown paper again in half, lengthwise.This is the branch.
- Write "Jesus' Triumphant Entry Into Jerusalem" on one side of brown paper.
- Turn paper over.
- Write "Matthew 21:1-9," "Luke 19:29-40," and "John 12:12-19" on folded brown paper.
- Hand out green paper.
- Round two corners of green paper.
- Fold green paper like an accordion-style (folded in and out, in and out). This is the palm leaf.
- Place edge of folded branch inside the edge of the palm leaf.
- Staple leaf to branch.
