Lesson 31. The Crowd Praises Jesus. John 12: PDF Free Download

L i f e o f C h r i s t from the gospel of J o h n Lesson 31 The Crowd Praises Jesus John 12:12-19 Mission Arlington Mission Metroplex Curriculum 2010 Created for use with young, unchurched learners Adaptable for all ages including adults Mission Arlington/Mission Metroplex Curriculum Lesson 31/Page 1 of 11

Life of Christ The Crowd Praises Jesus John 12:12-19 Younger Verse Older Verse Bible Story "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!" John 12:13 (HCSB) They took palm branches and went out to meet Him. They kept shouting: "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord the King of Israel!" John 12:13(HCSB) The following is a summary of the Bible story to help supplement your preparation. In your personal study time, use this summary as a guide, and make notes to help you remember your plans for the lesson. Please do NOT read to the children. Have you ever been promised something and had to wait for it? Did you find yourself thinking about it a lot? Did you imagine what it would be like when you finally received what had been promised to you? And when you received that promise, was it different than you imagined? We can read about something like that in the Bible. Do you remember when we began to study the book of John, we talked about how the Jewish people had been waiting a long time for a promise from God? They had been waiting for the Messiah, God s promised One. Do you remember who that promised one is? The Messiah, or God s promised One, is Jesus! The Jewish people had waited many years for God to send the Messiah. They had waited hundreds of years! In all of those years, some of the Jewish people began to think about what it would be like when God sent His Son. They dreamed about and expected a warrior to ride in on a war horse and lead them into war and put them in control. They did not want to believe that God had sent them someone like Jesus. He was no warrior. He walked around teaching and healing. They had not imagined God working this way. They expected someone to be on a throne. But, there were others who knew that Jesus must be from God because no one could do the things Jesus did if he weren t from God! Jesus had healed a blind man. Jesus had made a lame man walk. And Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead. And it was these people who heard Jesus was coming back into town. Remember, Jesus had gone away because the leaders were trying to kill Him. We have seen Jesus leave at just the right time, or not be arrested because it was not time for that to happen. So, why do you think He would head back to Jerusa- Lesson Goals To understand that Jesus rarely does things the way we expect Him to. To understand that Jesus came to save us by giving His life for us. Mission Arlington/Mission Metroplex Curriculum Lesson 31/Page 2 of 11

lem? Well, if you will remember from our lesson last week, the Passover Feast was about to be celebrated in Jerusalem. Jesus would want to be in Jerusalem to be obedient to God. Jesus knew that He needed to celebrate the Passover, the celebration of God rescuing His people from slavery in Egypt. There was another reason why Jesus was going back to Jerusalem. Jesus knew that it was finally the right time. On a Sunday, the day after Jesus special dinner with His friends, He began walking towards Jerusalem with His disciples. The word began to spread that Jesus was coming. The people who had also come to celebrate the Passover Feast ran to look for palm leaves. Palm leaves were a sign of victory and triumph! They took the palm leaves and went to meet Jesus. Jesus was riding on a donkey. As Jesus arrived, they waved their palm branches and they shouted over and over again, Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord the King of Israel! * Zech 9:9-10 Do you know what hosanna means? It means deliver us or save us. These were the people who realized that Jesus must be from God, but they were still seeing things a little differently. They, too, were looking for a king on a throne, but they thought that surely Jesus was the one. They didn t realize that it wouldn t be through war that He would save them. It would be like the Passover Lamb who died. Jesus would save them by dying in their place. And what is amazing is that more than four hundred years before, a prophet had said* their king would come riding on a donkey with the power to save! If Jesus didn t come to fight a war to save us from oppressive leaders, what did He come to save us from? He came to save us from our sin. The Bible tells us that we have all sinned and deserve death, but Jesus died for us while we were still sinning. Jesus died for me and He died for you. He was victorious! Will you welcome Him into your life today, just as the people welcomed Him into Jerusalem? Memory Verse Activities Prayer Time Make Hosanna pennants, like sports teams use to cheer on their players. Print the verse, or simply the words Hosanna, on a long triangular shaped pennant made from construction paper. Pray, thanking God for not sending Jesus as just a king who would live and die and only change things for a few people. Thank God for sending Jesus to save us by dying for all of our sins. Preparing for Next Week Lesson 32 The Grain of Wheat John 12:20-26 Mission Arlington/Mission Metroplex Curriculum Lesson 31/Page 3 of 11

Preschool Lesson Praising Jesus Do you remember the special meal that Jesus had with His friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus? Mary rubbed a wonderful perfume on Jesus feet. The day after that wonderful meal, Jesus left Bethany. Bethany was the town were Mary, Martha, and Lazarus lived. Jesus and his disciples headed for the city of Jerusalem. Something special was happening there that week and Jesus needed to be there. There were other people in Jerusalem, too. These people were also there for the special event that week. These people came from many different places and many of them had probably seen Jesus healing the sick. One of them must have passed Jesus on the road that day or seen Him coming from far away because they began to tell everyone that Jesus was coming! When the people heard that Jesus was coming, they began looking for large leaves called palm branches. By the time Jesus arrived at the gate, the people were so excited. They waved their palm branches in the air. They said wonderful things about Jesus. They praised Jesus. To praise someone is to tell them how wonderful you think they are. They thought Jesus was wonderful! He is wonderful! Can you praise Jesus like the people in Jerusalem did? Can you tell Him that you think He is wonderful? You can do that just by saying it. You can sing praises to God. You can even tell Him when you pray. Sing: Praise Him, Praise Him All Ye Little Children Pray: Jesus, you are wonderful. You created everything and you know all about me. You even came to die for me. Thank you. Mission Arlington/Mission Metroplex Curriculum Lesson 31/Page 4 of 11

Activities Provide coloring pages and word puzzles that will enhance what you have taught today. Make palm branches from green construction paper, green pipe cleaners and glue. Cut out a leaf shape from green construction paper and glue a pipe cleaner to the back of the leaf. Cut slits in the leaves to resemble palm branches. Reenact the story and have your students wave palm branches and sing praise songs as Jesus enters. Bring a hobby horse to represent the donkey. You might even want to make preparations to have your students perform this as a play for their parents. Make Hosanna posters. Be sure to include the meaning, save us or deliver us. Make a donkey puppet out of a brown sock or brown paper lunch sack. Watch a film clip of the triumphal entry. On newsprint, a roll of butcher paper, or in chalk on a sidewalk outside, have your students illustrate the story, from Jesus leaving Bethany to the triumphal entry. Mission Arlington/Mission Metroplex Curriculum Lesson 31/Page 5 of 11

"Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord the King of Israel!" John 12:13 Mission Arlington/Mission Metroplex Curriculum Lesson 31/Page 6 of 11

Mission Arlington/Mission Metroplex Curriculum Lesson 31/Page 7 of 11 They took palm branches and went out to meet Him. They kept shouting: "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord the King of Israel!" John 12:13

Word Search... The Crowd Praises Jesus S P H A R H E S E S A N A S O H M C S F G P S B R J E S U S V R A E F I N N E R S O N N E U E E V O T P N Y M E Y R A I Y H A H S E B Z S R M E S S I A H E N T N C O N D I D C R O D J H S U O R E M E L I D T S O R C P H E O R T I E O E G N M O V N E E L O I W K O S D O R F S M E W D A O V M B P R I Y T E G N T L S A F O G M C G J E S E U E L I R A O R F T S P R A S S O R A N N I D O X H B T K Y V J E R U S A L E M T S I C C P A Y P E H I S S A M JERUSALEM JESUS CROWD PASSOVER HOSANNA SAVE US PRAISE MESSIAH PROMISED ONE Mission Arlington/Mission Metroplex Curriculum Lesson 31/Page 8 of 11

Word Search... Praising Jesus W O N D E R F U L Y O F F M E A V L E W O G A T E P H E R D H I P R A I S E D S F C E S H S J M E S A L M A R J E S U S L O L A S H R E S D P E W A V E E L P S H S H E I S C D S X B L E A V E S E E T JESUS LEAVES GATE PRAISE WAVE WONDERFUL Mission Arlington/Mission Metroplex Curriculum Lesson 31/Page 10 of 11

Lesson 31. The Crowd Praises Jesus. John 12:12-19