Bible Study – Palm Sunday
Share: Your highs (something that made you happy) and lows (something that made you sad) this week with others around you or write them down.
The Lord is full of compassion and mercy: Come, let us adore him. And what if, during this season of Lent, we sought a deeper understanding of this amazing gospel of grace? Will that image of grace energize us to do the spiritual housekeeping we need to be ready for the "new thing" God is doing in Easter?
Gathered in our comfortable churches, we struggle to let the difficult words of the Crucifixion land anywhere in our psyches. Would any of us have been there, or would we have waited for the news to reach us? Had we shown up, would we have demanded that Barabbas be released instead of Jesus? Would we have stood with the few at the foot of the cross? What time will we scrounge in the week ahead to pause and squint at the grace of this awesome love?
Theme: What love is this?
Opening Prayer: Help us, dear God, to hear in the Scripture we have today the word you have for us. Amen.
Please open your Bibles to Luke 19: 28-40 & Luke 23:1-49 and read or read the scriptures below.
Luke 19: 28-40.
Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King
28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30 “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”
32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.”
35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.
37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”[a]
“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
Questions:
- Why did Jesus need a colt — a donkey colt, at that? (To ride into Jerusalem but not as a fancy king.)
- What did the people do? (Verse 36) One of the other Gospel accounts (Matthew) tells that the people also cut branches from the trees, and most of the trees were palm trees.
- Who did the people think Jesus was? (Verse 38)
Luke 23:1-49
23 Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. 2 And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king.”
3 So Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
“You have said so,” Jesus replied.
4 Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.”
5 But they insisted, “He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here.”
6 On hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean. 7 When he learned that Jesus was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.
8 When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform a sign of some sort. 9 He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10 The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him. 11 Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. 12 That day Herod and Pilate became friends—before this they had been enemies.
13 Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, 14 and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. 15 Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. 16 Therefore, I will punish him and then release him.” [17] [a]
18 But the whole crowd shouted, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!” 19 (Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.)
20 Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. 21 But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
22 For the third time he spoke to them: “Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him.”
23 But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. 24 So Pilate decided to grant their demand. 25 He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.
The Crucifixion of Jesus
26 As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. 27 A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. 28 Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ 30 Then
“‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!”
and to the hills, “Cover us!”’[b]
31 For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”
32 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. 33 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”[c] And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
35 The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”
36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37 and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”
38 There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews.
39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.[d]”
43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
The Death of Jesus
44 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, 45 for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”[e] When he had said this, he breathed his last.
47 The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” 48 When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. 49 But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
Luke 23: 1 – 17 - The leaders of the Hebrew people were now sure that Jesus was not only teaching things that they thought were wrong, but he was likely to get all of them in trouble with the Romans who were occupying their country. So they turned Jesus over to Pilate, the head Roman official. He couldn't find anything Jesus was doing that broke Roman laws, so he sent him on to Herod, the Judean ruler. Herod couldn't find anything illegal either, so he sent Jesus back to Pilate. There, Pilate thought he could get off the hook because it was the custom to release a prisoner. Surely the crowd would want Jesus released. No such luck. They wanted Barabbas released, so Jesus then, would have to be crucified.
Luke 23: 39 - 49 – The two thieves were crucified, one on each side of Jesus. One of them was bitter to the end; the other owned his crime and asked Jesus for forgiveness which Jesus quickly gave him, promising him that on that day the thief would be with Jesus in Paradise.
Click her for the young learner’s lesson
Videos (Click on the words or url)
The Crucifixion of Jesus: Luke 19-23 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_unHmAf7INk
Gospel of Luke Summary: A Complete Animated Overview (Part 2) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26z_KhwNdD8
Song: Hallelu Hallelu - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmYQ_irS5Y8
Activities
Portrayal of Holy Week: You will need art supplies. You are going to portray the events of Holy Week using drawings, words from Scripture, paraphrases, pictures or phrases from magazines that capture the scripture, or some of each. You can choose. You can decide how many sheets for this passage. (Selecting the donkey? Jesus on the donkey? The crowds spreading their cloaks on the road? Or, the words we proclaim that are probably what those people were saying: Verse 38b). Simon carrying the cross. The two thieves were crucified, one on each side of Jesus. One of them was bitter to the end; the other owned his crime and asked Jesus for forgiveness which Jesus quickly gave him, promising him that on that day the thief would be with Jesus in Paradise. What happened after the death of Jesus.
Palm Leaf Prayers – click on the following website and print out the Palm Leaf Prayer. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1c-mMyBE9de0N1JLRnVN961pGHbzDNlRS/view Color in your Palm Leaf Prayer. Cut it out and stick it to your door or use them as a prayer prompt throughout the week.
Tissue Paper Cross: Cut a cross out of poster board. Paste pieces of scrunch wads of tissue paper to the cross. Hang the cross with a string from the top of the cross.
5 W’s: Poster board with 5 W’s: fill in your own answers. Examples below:
Who – (Jesus and followers, etc.)
What – (Celebration – Passover)
Where – (Jerusalem …on the streets)
Why – (Jesus was coming, or to get a donkey, or to celebrate the King)
When – (Shouted Hosanna just before they shouted Crucify Him days later because he
Wasn’t the King they wanted etc.)
Palm Sunday – Word Shape: https://sermons4kids.com/activities/palm-sunday-6
Christ the King – Word Shape: https://sermons4kids.com/activities/christ-the-king-6
Palm Sunday - Word Search: https://sermons4kids.com/activities/palm-sunday-5
Christ the King – Word Search: https://sermons4kids.com/activities/christ-the-king-5
Palm Sunday – Crossword: https://sermons4kids.com/activities/palm-sunday-1
Triumphal Entry – Fill in the Blank: https://sermons4kids.com/activities/triumphal-entry-1
Palm Sunday – Multiple Choice: https://sermons4kids.com/activities/triumphal-entry
Christ the King – Multiple Choice: https://sermons4kids.com/activities/christ-the-king-4
Christ the King – Decoder: https://sermons4kids.com/activities/christ-the-king-3
Prayer: Thank you, Jesus, for your amazing love of us. Walk with us on this journey through Holy Week. Amen.
