Jerusalem was bursting. People had come from all over the country to celebrate the Passover feast; to remember how God had rescued their ancestors from slavery in Egypt.
Then someone heard a rumour and immediately passed it on.
“Jesus is coming to Jerusalem!”
Ask everyone to whisper the phrase: “Jesus is coming to Jerusalem!” into their neighbour’s ear.
Word spread right across the city. There was a buzz of excitement. They had all heard about the amazing miracles Jesus had done; particularly the one where he raised his friend Lazarus from the dead! So they were keen to see Jesus. And, more than that, to see what amazing thing he would do next.
“Might he be the Messiah?” they wondered. “The special saviour God had promised to send his people? Wouldn’t it be especially amazing if he appeared during the very feast when we remember how God saved our people all those years ago?”
And so they came up with an idea.
Ask everyone to whisper to their neighbour: “Let’s pick up palm branches, and go and greet him!”
And that’s what they did. They waved palm branches to greet Jesus, and they shouted the very things that would make sense to shout if he was the Messiah.
Ask everyone to shout the following three phrases: “Save us, Lord!” “Blessed is the one whom God has sent!” “Blessed is the King of Israel!”
Jesus gladly accepted the words they were shouting. In fact, he found the colt of a donkey and rode into Jerusalem on it. This was to fit in with an old prophecy about the Messiah, which said:
“Don’t be afraid, Zion’s daughter.
Look! Your king is coming.
And he’s riding on the colt of a donkey.”
Jesus’ disciples didn’t quite understand this.
Ask everyone to whisper to their neighbour: “We don’t get it!”
But after Jesus had died, come back to life and ascended into heaven, they finally understood what it was all about.
Ask everyone to whisper to their neighbour: “It was a Messiah thing. We get it now!”
On the whole, it was one big gigantic celebration, parading through the streets of Jerusalem. But there was one group of people that was not celebrating. And that was the Pharisees.
They understood exactly what it all meant, and what the people were saying about Jesus. And they did not agree. They did not think he was the Messiah. But the enthusiasm of the crowd was so great they didn’t think there was anything they could do.
And so they said to one another…
Ask everyone to whisper to their neighbour: “What can we do? The whole world is following him!”
And that is certainly how it looked as the crowds paraded by, still shouting…
Ask everyone to shout the following three phrases: “Save us, Lord!” “Blessed is the one whom God has sent!” “Blessed is the King of Israel!”
