Blessed is the King of Israel!

Get ready:

• A laundry basket full of sweaters and jackets

• Palm Branches (real ones or any variety of artificial ones, or make your own from old newspapers)

Here’s what Jesus’ welcome to Jerusalem looked like. It was kind of like they rolled out the red carpet, but instead of a red carpet . . . Pick up a sweater. . . . people threw their cloaks—their outer clothing—down in the road for Him to ride over on His donkey. Toss the sweater on the floor and pick up a palm branch. People also cut palm branches and threw them in the road for Jesus to ride over. Toss the palm branch and pick up another branch. Some people may have even waved palm branches at Him like this. Demonstrate.

And they said, “Hosanna!” which means, “Save us!” or even “Yay, we’re saved!” And they quoted scripture saying, “Bless the One who comes in the name of the Lord!”

Here is something the disciples and the people of Jerusalem didn’t know: only five days later, the King they welcomed would be called a criminal and hung on a cross—and some of the same people who welcomed Him would be calling for Him to be crucified. They had no idea what kind of King they were welcoming!

If you can stand it, leave the clothes and palm branch "lane" on the floor for the rest of the time as a reminder of Palm Sunday.

Did you see how Chris had it all backward?

Jesus wasn’t trying to get everyone to serve Him because He was King, was He? No, He came to serve others and show them how to treat each other. God’s people, Israel, had it all backward, too. Most of them thought the Messiah would be a conquering king who rode in on a snorting horse with his sword held high that would save them by conquering the Romans and the Philistines and whoever else opposed them.

But did Jesus ride in on a white horse while holding a sword? No, Jesus rode in on a donkey. Hundreds of years earlier, the prophet Zechariah said He would do it this way: