The King Enters Triumphant
CRAFT: We are going to make donkeys. There is a pattern page printed out. Have the children cut the various pieces from tag board, then they can color their donkeys and add a saddle and reins etc.
SNACK: I have struggled over this. At first I was thinking that popcorn, but I would rather have several kinds of dried fruits, especially if they are different colors. Also some bread.
LESSON PLAN: There is a wonder in the account of Palm Sunday. Jesus is received as the king, the victor hero that He is. This is clearly a different crowd than those who will show up to demand crucifixion. Note the various parts, the leaders complain, Jesus assuring even them that He is really the Messiah. They are making donkeys, perhaps you could even talk about what is ridden by the head of a parade today. Compare and contrast.
MEMORY WORK: Philippians 2:11 Jesus Christ is Lord to the Glory of God the Father.
The King Enters Triumphant
We will learn that Jesus fulfilled even the prophecy of His entry into Jerusalem on His final week.
We will understand that large crowds of people believe in Jesus.
We will thank God that we allows us to enter worship to praise Jesus for all He has done.
Preliminary considerations: We are standing (almost) alone among the Lutherans although most other Christians who use a three year cycle of lessons are some sort of Palm Sunday lesson. The overall theme for today is the King entering Jerusalem. The Introit sets the theme of celebration for the King of kings. The Collect adds our Hosannas to the voices of the people at the time of Christ. The Old Testament is the prophecy of the Gospel Lesson the Palm Sunday event of the entry into Jerusalem. The Gradual keep us fixed on the cross where the death of Jesus gave us life. The Epistle Lesson puts us in mind that we are all citizens together. The Gospel Lesson is the Palm Sunday account. The whole of the lessons bring us to join the parade of people who have come to worship the Christ for being the Godman, the hero of our salvation.
OLD TESTAMENT: Zechariah 9:9-12
The Christ comes to us having accomplished the wonder of peace. He is victorious in the war of our sinful flesh and God. He will come in a parade to proclaim the victory. He open the prisons to release the prisoners of war, He will rebuild the fortresses. The booty from His victory will give twice as much to those who join Him in the victory.
EPISTLE: Philippians 2:1-11
Christians at Philippi struggled with two competing mindsets: the mind of selfish man and the Spirit of Christ who made Himself expendable for others. On the one hand, they were a loving and charitable congregation, even giving first themselves. Some on the other hand, were seriously self-absorbed. The apostles plea, therefore, is similar to his appeal made to Christians at Rome. He urges both the Philippians and the contemporary readers of this Epistle to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. This is to say, the mind of Christ becomes our mind, His thoughts become our thoughts. His view of things becomes our outlook entirely so that, like Him, we humble ourselves and serve others even to the point of making ourselves expendable for them.
This is the account of Christ's public entry into Jerusalem, four or five days before His death. He came into town remarkably, to show that He was not afraid of the power and malice of His enemies in Jerusalem. He came to show that He was not cast down or grieving over His approaching sufferings. He came not only publicly, but cheerfully and with acclamations of joy. He rode on a donkey, borrowed as everything He had was borrowed, as everything we have is only borrowed from God. He came as one humble and was exalted by the people. They threw their coats on the donkey, they threw their coats and waved the palm branches for Him. The welcomed Him, they wished Him well. These were far different crowds than those He would face on Friday. The leadership complained that He was encouraging a riot, or at least encouraging people to claim He was the Messiah. Jesus tells them the truth they are missing. If the people don't cry out, the very stones from the ground will. We are those stones.
STUDY SHEET
Because the VFW has a parade on Veteran's Day, we almost caused a problem with the dedication of the Veteran's Memorial. We had to promise that the dedication would be over before the parade started. Curious that we were both trying to honor the same people.
Parades are a big deal. A victory parade can involve many elements. The people are so excited to be alive, and they are so grateful for all the work and sacrifice made by the troops that they shower them with shouts and ticker tape.
Jesus was making a triumphant entry into Jerusalem. He was coming to proclaim victory over sin, death and Satan. The people took up the call, the cry, because they recognized Him as the Messiah. Although some were probably expecting Him to set up an earthly Kingdom, it is probable that many understood what He was doing.
It is clear that this is a different crowd than the one that confronts Him on Good Friday. On Palm Sunday this crowd shouts hosanna. On Good Friday the crowd shouts crucify Him. It is thought that the Pharisees might have been complaining because they saw this as a riot and figured the Romans would come and crush them. I doubt this explanation. I think it is much more likely they realized that Jesus was being proclaimed as Messiah and they wanted Jesus to stop what they considered blaspheme. Jesus tells them the truth about even the stones crying out.
We join the parade as Jesus enters, we see the wonder, we recognize the peace that He brings to our life, a peace with God that passes understanding.
1. What prophecy does Jesus fulfill?
2. What is the significance of spreading coats and palm branches in the path?
3. What might the people have been expecting of Jesus?
4. What group complained about the noise?
5. What was their complaint?
6. How does Jesus answer their complaint?
7. Where else are stones mention in the Bible (think Abraham)?
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