Jesus: God and Man
key words
biblical reference
John 12:12-19 and Zechariah 9:9
lesson objective
To help the students know what kind of King Jesus is
memory verse
“That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord ...” (Philippians 2:10-11, NIV*).
prepare yourself to teach
Students of this age have knowledge of royalty from past and contemporary history as well as fiction stories. However, they may have false concepts about it.
In any case, the images of a kingdom are an important part of the Christian faith. Jesus is the fulfillment of the royal covenant that God made with David. His kingdom is the place where people recognize his lordship in their lives. One day his government will be total and complete.
This lesson will help your students discover what it means for Jesus to be the King of their lives. It begins with the decision to receive him as their Savior, and continues with the daily decision to love him and do what he wants, instead of merely doing what we want.
Can preadolescent nine-to-twelve-year-olds do this? Yes. Although some may lack physical maturity, they have enough mental development to give their lives to Jesus. That’s why it’s very important that they listen to this concept, and begin to make decisions to put the Lord in first place.
Throughout this unit opportunities will be offered for students to receive Jesus as their Savior. Pray for your students, and be prepared to help them if they show that they’re ready to take this step. Some of the preadolescents will have already made that decision. Others may not be ready yet. But some will be at the precise moment of taking this important first step: asking Jesus be their Savior and King.
biblical commentary
This was the welcome for a hero! The crowd cheered and shouted, rushing wildly at the Promised One. Emotion grew and people came closer, running over each other to see who was going to change their future.
For the Passover, the pilgrims and those who traveled to the holy place conglomerated in the city. It was the time in which the liberation of the Hebrews from the bondage of Egypt was celebrated. At that time, Jerusalem had a population of around 50,000 people. And scholars say that by Easter the population increased to 100,000!
Because the city was not large enough to accommodate such a large crowd, many had to camp on the hills outside the walls.
The news quickly spread that Jesus, who had raised Lazarus, would soon reach the city of Jerusalem. News of this miracle, which had caused a great sensation in the Jewish community, spread rapidly, convincing many that they should believe in this Jesus (John 12:11b).
The crowd shuddered excitedly. Many picked branches from palm trees, a national symbol of victory and triumph that they used to receive heroes and kings.
Some began to shout: “Hosanna!”, an Aramaic word that means: “Save us now!” Others joined the crowd and exclaimed: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” (John 12:13a) Without realizing it, they were repeating a blessing from Psalm 118. Then they added: “Blessed be the King of Israel!” This phrase deviated from what the first two tried to say; which clearly reveals the way the people were thinking. They were waiting for a national and triumphant leader. And they believed that Jesus would be the political king of Israel.
However, Jesus quietly entered the city in a procession, with leaves of palm trees and songs of victory, riding on a small donkey. Maybe a donkey seems ridiculous, but these were very important animals for the ancient Israelites. The kings rode on donkeys to show royalty, service and peace. Even King David and his sons used mules as royal mounts!
While the crowd roared with political fervor, Jesus quietly demonstrated his kingship, service and peace. As it’s written in Zechariah: “See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (Zechariah 9:9). The people were waiting for the Messiah to change the political reality of Israel. Instead, God sent a King to change them.
Personal reflection for the teacher
•What does it mean for you that Jesus is the King?
•What do you do to make Jesus the King of your life?
•What areas of your life do you need to put under the lordship of Jesus?
•How can you help your students welcome Jesus as King of their lives?
introduce the lesson
Who is Jesus
After telling the story, ask the children what was the first thing they thought about Jesus and what he was like. Ask: What do you know about Jesus? Who do you think he is? Why did he come to earth? Allow students to draw or write their answers in the “clouds” of Student Activity Sheet #379-A (Who Is He?). When everyone is finished, encourage volunteers to tell what they think, feel or imagine about Jesus. Say: In Jesus’ time, people were waiting for a Savior, someone to rescue them from the Roman rulers. Hearing how Jesus taught and seeing or hearing about his miracles, many people believed that he was the Savior that God had promised to send. Let’s read the Bible story on the student activity sheet and discover the different groups of people who thought Jesus was the king, and why they were waiting for him.
teach the lesson
Jesus, save us now!
You will need markers or pencils for each child and the biblical story from Student Activity Sheet #379-B and #379-C (Jesus, save us now!). Divide into 3 groups. Say: “There will be 3 groups of people in today’s story: 1) the crowd, 2) the disciples and 3) the Pharisees.” Assign the students to one of these three groups. When listening to the story, each group should mark with an X the phrases in which something appears about the group to which they belong.
After reading the story, say: “Let’s review again what different groups of people thought about Jesus.” Ask the groups to review the phrases they marked and tell what they learned about the Pharisees, the disciples and the crowd.
Ask: “Why do you think the Pharisees were so angry at Jesus? (Because they thought that he had come to establish an earthly kingdom, which meant that they would be in trouble with the Romans and that they would lose their power.)
Why do you think the crowd behaved the way they did? (They had seen the wonderful miracles - especially when Jesus resurrected Lazarus - and thought that he would be their King, that he would establish a kingdom, conquer the Romans, and at last everyone would be free.)
Why were the disciples confused with what was happening? (They didn’t understand what Jesus had meant when he spoke of the kingdom. Since they weren’t sure what kind of kingdom he was referring to, they didn’t know that the Lord, by allowing these events to take place, was fulfilling the prophecies.)
Say: “Today we know that Jesus came to be a special King of kings: the King of our lives. We’ll talk more about this during the lesson.”
connect the lesson
He is Jesus
Follow the instructions for this activity in Student Activity Sheet #379-D. You will need pencils or pens for the students to write inside the letters.
practice the memory verse
Ask: “What do you think the phrase in our verse ‘At the name of Jesus, every knee should bow’ means?” Let the students discuss their ideas, and help them by asking them the following questions:•Have you ever seen what people do when they’re in front of a king? (They bow.)•Why do they do that? (As a sign of respect and to show that they know that the king has a position of great responsibility.) Say: “Jesus is a great person, even his name is great. In the days of Jesus, a person’s name had a special meaning. Not only did it identify his family, but it also described something about person.”Ask the students to look again at Philippians 2:9.Tell them: “God gave Jesus a special name. His name means ‘Savior.’ This name is better than, and over, any other name. No other king here on earth can be given the name of Jesus, because no other person could be our Savior. So our verse means that we must show honor and respect to Jesus. In what way can we do that?” (In many ways: bowing our heads and kneeling when we pray, treating his name with respect, worshiping him, obeying him, and thanking him for being our King and Savior.)Biblical Palm TreesBefore the session, cut out small palm branches with six leaves each from construction paper or other green paper. Give one to each child. On each leaf of the branch write the phrases of the memory verse: 1) That at the name of Jesus 2) every knee should bow, 3) in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 4) and every tongue acknowledge 5) that Jesus Christ is Lord. 6) Philippians 2:10-11.Repeat the verses several times and then ask the students to march through the patio or garden as a procession while they sing the memory verse (everyone can invent a musical instrument to play or a certain type of rhythm). Then ask them to hang their palm trees on one of the room walls.
wrap-up
Pray
Say: “When we ask Jesus to forgive our sins, he becomes our Savior. But Jesus also wants to be the Lord and King of our lives. The Lord wants to govern our thoughts, words and actions.” Have everyone, including the teacher, to kneel to pray in an attitude of honor and reverence to our King, Jesus Christ. Be sure to thank him for his power and mercy.
Encourage
This is an excellent opportunity to encourage the students to ask their families and friends about their faith. Two important truths are: (1) faith in almighty God, and (2) belief in the Christ who lived like us, who overcame temptation, who had strength to prevail over the most horrible death and who really understands us. These truths will help us keep walking close to him despite the questions and concerns we may have. Help the students to ask their family and friends: “Would you like Jesus to be your Savior and best Friend and would you like to begin to live as a child of God?” Say: “It is as easy as A-B-C!”
A: Admit that they have sinned and need God to forgive them and to help them change.
B: Believe that God loves them and sent his only Son, Jesus, so they can be forgiven.
C: Receive Jesus as their Savior and claim their new identity as children of God.
Invite
Share something interesting about the next session to encourage attendance. Remind them to welcome visitors.
* Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™