All-age messages
The King is Coming
Palm Sunday – Matthew 21:1-11
I wonder what you do when you’re excited? Maybe you’ve been waiting for something good to happen. Perhaps like looking forward to going somewhere special or counting the days ‘til it’s your birthday. Then at last it comes. Some folk sing or jump up and down with excitement.
People can be like that too when someone important comes to town. The crowds line the streets, cheering and waving. It was a day like that when Jesus came to Jerusalem, the capital city in Israel. People were cheering. Many were singing and shouting. Others took big branches from palm trees and started waving them. Some even spread their coats on the ground for him to walk on. This was a special day. Jesus was the king that God had promised them.
Crowds of people were in the city. They’d come from all over the world for an important holiday called the Passover. When they’d got there they’d been told the story we thought about last Sunday. If you remember, Jesus’ friend Lazarus had died and Jesus had brought him back to life. This had happened just a few weeks before. But now Jesus had come back to stay with Lazarus, who lived nearby, just outside the city. Many people wanted to meet him and to see Lazarus for themselves. (John 12:9,17,18)
Jesus spent the night at his house. Then, in the morning, his friends got a donkey for him to ride on. Lots of people went with him as he rode towards Jerusalem. When the people in the city heard he was on the way, even more went out to welcome him. The crowds around him sang and the crowds coming to meet him sang too.
When the two groups met up, they all joined together. Some walked in front and others walked behind him. Everyone was going wild with excitement. This was their king. The whole city was thrown into uproar when he got there. (Matthew 21:10)
Now you’d think Jesus would have been wonderfully happy. But it wasn’t all joy and laughter.
Jesus knew, despite all the noise and the fun, there was trouble coming. And the people weren’t ready. Yes, it was a day of great excitement. He really was their king. They were shouting, ‘Hosanna’, which means, ‘save us’ or ‘save us now’. They expected him to take charge and rescue them from the Romans who had conquered them. But they didn’t realise they needed to get their hearts right with God. So, in the middle of it all, he started crying. Big tears and loud sobs. “If only you knew what is needed for peace”, he wept, “but you cannot see it now”. (Luke 19:21-24).
Not everyone was pleased to see Jesus either. His enemies didn’t like him and they didn’t want to hear what he had to say about God. So, when they saw the crowds cheering him on, they were angry and plotted to kill him. In fact, they plotted to get rid of Lazarus too. It was because of that miracle, when Jesus brought him back to life, that people were putting their trust in him. (John 12:10)
It was to be the first day of an incredible week. A week that would see Jesus cheered, then betrayed, arrested, tried, condemned, and crucified. But as that week came to an end, another week began just as this one did... with a celebration.
A celebration which would change things forever.
See below for puzzle pages for 5 April to print and complete.
Sunday 29 March
When tears turned to joy“Jesus wept” John 11:35
Here are some worksheets you can print and complete.