This is lesson continues our curriculum for preschoolers about knowing Jesus. Each lesson is based on a passage in the Gospel of Mark. You can read the series introduction for more explanation and links to the other lessons.
This particular lesson is from passages in Mark 10:32-34, 11:1-10 where Jesus rides into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Preschoolers will learn that Jesus revealed Himself as a humble, sacrificial King when predicting His death. He is our King, deserving all of our honor and praise.
Bible Passage: Mark 10:32-34, 11:1-10
Bible Lesson Title: The Triumphal Entry (Palm Sunday)
Target Age Group: 4-5 years old (preschool & Kindergarten)
Target Time Frame: 37 minutes
Original Teaching Context: Preschool Sunday School
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Knowing Jesus through the Book of Mark: Lesson Twenty-Two (37 minutes)
Exegetical Idea: Jesus predicts His death for a third time to His disciples. He enters intoJerusalem and is honored as King.
Pedagogical Idea: Jesus revealed Himself as a humble, sacrificial King when predicting His death. He is our King, deserving all of our honor and praise.
Cognitive Aim: Preschoolers will know Jesus is our King and deserves our honor and praise.
Affective Aim: Preschoolers will feel confident that Jesus is our King.
Behavioral Aim: Preschoolers will memorize John 12:13.
Memory Verse: John 12:13, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the King of Israel!” (NIV)
Lesson Overview
- Kindle Curiosity (5 minutes) Description: Put on Bible outfits, introduce lesson Supplies: Bible, picture of a king (could perhaps use King Peter from Chronicles of Narnia)
- God Revealed (15 minutes) Description: Experience the story. Supplies: Bible, imaginations, optional- “palm” branches, coats
- Personal Pursuit (10 minutes) Description: Apply the lesson, draw pictures, praise Jesus as King. Supplies: Paper, crayons or markers; song King of Glory by Chris Tomlin (link found in complete section below.)
- Daily Knowing (7-10 minutes) Description: Memorize John 12:13. Supplies: Notecards with John 12:13 written on them for the parents of each child.
**Before the children arrive, have the Bible outfits ready. Allow the children to dress-up before gathering them around you for the lesson.
1. Kindle Curiosity (5 minutes)
- Hold up picture of a king. Ask: Who is this? (a king) What do kings do? (Runs his kingdom, makes rules, protects his people, battle, help people, etc.) Are kings weak or strong? Are they powerful or helpless?
- State: Jesus is going to tell His followers some very important things that are going to happen to Him when they come to Jerusalem. We know Jesus is our king, but these things do not sound like something a king would allow to happen. We are going to find out why!
- State: Today our lesson is in Mark chapter 10 and Mark chapter 11 (show them the book name and chapters in your Bible). What is this? (hold up your Bible) This is the Bible. It is God’s Word. He wrote it, so we know everything in it is true. This story really happened! And you are going to enter into it today and pretend you were Jesus’ followers!
2. God Revealed (15 minutes)
Tell the following story in your own words and act out the actions in parenthesis:
- Jesus and his followers were on the road going up toJerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them (have the children begin to follow you around the room; tell the story as you walk). They were amazed and those who followed were fearful (have them show you amazed faces). Jesus took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him (gather the children around you), saying, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles. They will mock Him and spit on Him, and scourge Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again.”
- Soon after this, they came near toJerusalem. Jesus said to two of His disciples, “Go into the village and immediately when you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie this colt and bring it here. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ you say, ‘The Lord has need of it’; and immediately he will let you have the colt.”
- They went away and found a colt tied at the door, outside in the street just as Jesus had said! They untied it, and some of the people around them asked, “Why are you untying this colt?” They spoke to them just as Jesus had told them, and they gave them permission to take it. They brought the colt to Jesus and put their coats on it (pretend to put coats on the colt); and He sat on it. And many spread their coats in the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields (have them spread the coats and branches, real or imaginary). Everyone surrounding Jesus, in the front and the back were shouting (have the children march in front of you and behind you around the room, shouting): “Hosanna (basically, hooray for salvation-see this reference)! BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Blessed is the comingkingdom ofour father David; Hosanna in the highest!”
3. Personal Pursuit (10-15 minutes)
- Ask: I wonder why Jesus told His disciples that He would be killed when they came toJerusalem. Does this sound like something a king would do? (allow them time to ponder and think aloud)
- State: The people had heard that Jesus was the Messiah King, and many believed this. But, they wanted Jesus to be their kind of king. When Jesus first enters into Jerusalem, the people are happy and praise Him as their King. When Jesus does not rise up against their enemies and defeat them like a warrior, they become angry and want Him killed. They distrust Him because He is not the type of king they want Him to be. He is not doing things according to their plan.
- State: Jesus is our King. He is the mightiest king who ever was and who will ever be! Jesus did rise up and defeat the enemy-in dying on the cross and being raised from the dead, Jesus defeated Satan and death (Colossians 2:15-consider reading if adapted for older children). Those who believe and trust in Him have victory over sin and the grave! The people did not see this. They forgot His teaching. Even His closest followers, the twelve disciples, did not realize what was happening until much later, though Jesus had told them at least three times what was going to happen to Him.
- State: God’s plan is so much better than our own. It was His plan from the very beginning of the world to come down to earth as man and die for all of us. Only the true King could conquer sin and death so that we may be forgiven and live forever with Him! His plan was to come first as the sacrificial King who laid down His life for His people. He will one day come again and conquer all His enemies, establishing a perfect kingdom. We are looking forward to that day now! (See an expansion of this truth at the end of the lesson.)
- Draw pictures of the type of king the people wanted and the type of king Jesus was going to show Himself as. For example, one picture of a king in battle on a stallion versus one of Jesus on the cross or riding into Jerusalemon a donkey. He was in the ultimate battle, and He claimed the victory! Help them understand that He is our King, He still fought and triumphed, but in His perfect way, not the way we expect a king to battle.
- State: Jesus deserves all of our honor and praise! Let’s praise Jesus together as our King through this song that declares who He is!
4. Daily Knowing (7-10 minutes)
- State: One way we can come to know Jesus more is by memorizing God’s Word. Today we are going to memorize a verse that helps us to know Jesus as our King. Our verse is John 12:13, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the King of Israel!” Let’s think of hand motions to help us memorize this verse!
- Pray over the children.
- Make sure you review with them the next week or when you have encounters during the week one-on-one. Remind the parents how important it is for them to help their children review their verses all throughout the week. Encourage them to memorize the verse with their children. Provide each parent with a notecard that has John 12:13 written on it.
Further Activities:
Consider expanding the lesson with the following truths: God created the world perfect, it all completely submitted to His rule. But mankind rebelled and sinned against Him. God is still in control, but his reign is continually being rebelled against, leading to turmoil, pain, and much sin. Our Scripture passage states, “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David.” The ultimate coming of David’s kingdom is Christ’s second coming, when all enemies are conquered, sin is no more, and all things are in complete submission under Christ, our King. Through His reign, all things will be restored and made new! Christ is currently reigning as our King, but it is not until His second return that His kingdom will be fully established and no longer blackened by our sin.
Video Clip: To adapt for older children who understand clearly between the realness of Christ and the imagination of Aslan, show a clip of King Peter in battle and Aslan going to the stone table to illustrate the difference between the people’s plan and God’s plan. Jesus demonstrated Himself as our sacrificial King who lay down His life for us. He will return one day and vanquish all enemies! You could also show this kid-friendly Easter story video.
Coloring Pages: For younger children you can print our free Palm Sunday Coloring pages.
Craft Ideas: To extend this lesson, you can use our paper palm leaf craft or Jesus is king paper crown.
More Lesson Ideas: Compare this lesson plan with a similar Palm Sunday preschool lesson based on Matthew 21. You can also get ideas from the elementary-aged Palm Sunday Bible lesson.