“THE DAY THE KING RODE INTO TOWN”

Season 5: Easter
Episode 1: “The Day the King Rode Into Town”
Today’s Bible Bite: John 12:12-19

Video Story:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_unHmAf7INk (The Bible Project – Luke 19-23 – for parents and older children)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-39h0xYqdE (Saddleback Kids – The Triumphal Entry)

“A large crowd of Passover visitors took palm branches and went down the road to meet him. They shouted, “Praise God! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD! Hail to the King of Israel!” (John 12:12b-13)

Jesus knew that the time of his death was fast approaching, but he still had some things he had to do. Many people were gathering in Jerusalem for Passover—a Jewish holiday that was a big deal. Jesus chose this moment to ride into Jerusalem on a donkey—a symbol of peace—and the people who had heard about the amazing miracles he had been doing, formed a crowd to welcome him. They treated him just like a king—waving palm branches, laying their coats on the road for his donkey to walk on and even cheering, “Hail to the King of Israel!” The people were ready to crown him as their king, right there and then, but they didn’t understand that his plans were very different from what they expected.

Think about it...
• Jesus had come to earth as a baby for a very special reason. Do you know what that reason was?
• When Jesus grew up he performed many miracles to prove he was God’s Son, the promised Messiah. If you heard that someone was performing miracles would you want to go see?
• The people were excited. Who did they think Jesus was?
• Not everyone believed Jesus was the Messiah. What did the religious leaders want to do to Jesus?
​
Prayer: Thank you, God, for sending Jesus to earth for us. Help us to remember that he is our King and we need to do the things he wants us to. Help us to always be grateful for what he did at Easter for all of us.