“Welcoming Jesus as King!”

YEAH! Church - Sunday, March 28, 2021

"Easter—the Greatest Event in History!" – This week’s story is one of the few that shows up in all of the four gospels (Matthew 21:1–11, Mark 11:1–11, Luke 19:28–42, and John 12:12–19). That’s because it is a very important one! Jesus made it very clear to everyone who he was—God’s promised Rescuer/Messiah! And he was determined to finish the work God had given him to do.

Today’s Lesson - “Welcoming Jesus as King!”

Video Story:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-39h0xYqdE (Saddleback – the Triumphal Entry)

Lesson Overview:
It was time for Jesus to proclaim exactly who he was to everyone and to fulfill what the prophets had written about him hundreds of years before. Jesus told two of his disciples to go and bring him a donkey that had never been ridden before. If anyone asked what they were doing, they were to tell them that Jesus needed it and they would be allowed to take it…which is exactly what happened. As Jesus rode into Jerusalem people waved palm branches and put their coats down on the road (kind of like rolling out the red carpet for famous people or royalty). This showed that the crowd thought Jesus was a king, God’s promised Messiah.

But not everyone was happy about it. The Pharisees, the religious leaders in Jesus’ day, wanted everyone to pipe down and stop causing a scene. They were afraid of the Romans, were jealous of Jesus and didn’t want to admit he was the Messiah, even though they knew about the miracles he had been doing. When they complained to Jesus, he told them there was no use trying to make everyone quiet because if the people stopped celebrating, God would cause the stones to make noise. This was God’s moment—to show everyone that Jesus was the Messiah—and no one was going to stop it!

Engage:
• God had promised to send a Rescuer to the world way back in the Garden when Adam and Eve sinned. Do you remember what the Messiah was going to do? (hint: Genesis 3:14-15)
• He chose Abraham to be the great, great, great….grandfather of the Messiah. What did God tell Abraham? (hint: Genesis 12:2 – How would Abraham bring a blessing to the whole world?)
• God told King David that there would always be one of his descendants on the throne as king. Do you know who one of king David’s great greats was? (hint: Romans 1:2-4)
• Jesus came to be the King over everything, not just over the Israelite nation, for all time. Where is Jesus king today? (hint: Hebrews 12:2)

Theme verses:
John 15:9-17 - “9 I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. 10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. 11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! 12 This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. 13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. 16 You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. 17 This is my command: Love each other.”
​
Prayer - Thank you, God, for making good on your promise to send the Messiah to rescue us. Jesus didn’t just come to rescue the Israelites from the Romans, and he didn’t just come to rescue us when bad stuff happens…he came to rescue us from sin, which means we can live forever in heaven with him if we choose to make him our king now. Thank you, God!~ Pastor Jane