| Lesson Plan 3: Following in Jesus Footsteps |
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| Thursday, 29 May 2008 08:43 |
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Mark 11: 1-11 This was a special time of year. Each year the Passover Festival was celebrated. This was to remember the time when Moses freed the Children of Israel from Egypt and led them to the Promised Land. Jews came from all over the Roman world during this weeklong celebration to remember the great Exodus from Egypt. So there were huge crowds of people in Jerusalem. As Jesus and his disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany, on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of his disciples on ahead to a village to get a donkey colt that had never been ridden. They were to untie it and bring it to him. If anyone was to ask what they were doing they were to say, “the Lord needs it and will return it soon.” The two disciples left and found the colt standing in the street, tied outside a house, just like Jesus had said! As they untied it, some bystanders demanded to know what they were doing. The disciples said what Jesus had told them to say and they were allowed to take it. They brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments over it, and he sat on it. News that Jesus was coming travelled fast and everyone was excited to know that Jesus was coming. Many in the crowd spread their coats on the road ahead of Jesus and others cut leafy branches in the fields and spread them along the way. Jesus was in the centre of the procession, and the crowds all around him were shouting: “Praise God! Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Bless the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Praise God in highest heaven!” Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with his twelve disciples. THE APPLICATION: Jesus began his last week on Earth by riding into Jerusalem on a donkey under a canopy of Palm branches, with crowds hailing him as their King. To announce that He really was the Messiah, Jesus chose a time when all Israel would be gathered at Jerusalem, a place where huge crowds would see him and a way of proclaiming his mission on Earth. On Palm Sunday we celebrate and remember Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. By this time Jesus was extremely well known throughout the region and when the disciples took the colt all they had to mention was “the Lord needs it” and the colt owners gladly turned the donkey over to them, knowing whom it was for. Jesus riding on a colt was fulfilling the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9 “… See your King comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt the foal of a donkey.” Another prophecy was fulfilled when the people spoke of David’s kingdom because of God’s words in 2 Samuel 7:12-14 where the Lord talks about the coming of His Son. The people who were praising God for giving them a King had the wrong idea. They thought Jesus was coming as a warrior to save them from the Roman rule, a national leader who would restore their nation to its former glory. Jesus came as a peacemaker proclaiming the Kingdom of Heaven. Only a few days later these same people who were praising Jesus on Palm Sunday were shouting out to “Crucify” Him! The people were right to say that Jesus came to save them, but not by being the new King. Jesus saved them and us by doing something even better. Jesus came to die on our place so that if we believe and trust in Him, He will King of our hearts and lives. MEMORY VERSE: “Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord.” Matthew 21:9 PRAYER: Dear Lord, we thank you for all that we have learnt about you in the bible and through the footsteps project. May we try and follow in your footsteps and be like you. We pray for the people of Kajiado and Ireland to know you more. Amen. |

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