This was a lesson plan, of a sort, that I carried out, recently -- it is just an outline, so you might want to adapt ideas from it to your own needs: I made this lesson plan as an adaptation of the "Messianic Prophecies for Children" curriculum mentioned earlier on this blog. This is for Lesson Five: "The Triumphal Entry of Messiah."
Part One:
Concept A: REJOICE
Today, I'm going to get YOU, the student, to guess what our lesson is about. First of all, though, let's find out whether this is a
happy prophecy, or a
sad one. [Show pictures such as those on Google's "rejoice" image page, preferably without captions that actually say "rejoice," and kids get the idea that the children and adults on this page are extremely happy about something. So, we build up the idea of being elated, joyful, about something, of "rejoicing." In today's verse in the Bible, someone is being told to "Rejoice" about something. Do you think that this will be a happy, or a sad event? [most would say, "happy."]
Pictures one might use are, for example,
Boy, Elated, or, as well,
Girl, Rejoicing, and, maybe, something like
Kids Dancing With Joy.
bus
From looking at these, an others, we gather the prophecy is going to be something that will make people extremely happy and joyful. So, this is a key word for today:
"Rejoice."
Interlude: Introduce ZECHARIAH the prophet, and tell the class when he lived. Find him on a Biblical TimeLine and a student may decide he is four hundred or so years before the time of the Nativity in Bethlehem. So, we know that Zechariah is telling people about the events of the life of Jesus, the Messiah,
a very long time before the coming of Messiah/Christ.
Question: Did Zechariah ever actually
meet the Lord Jesus during his [Zechariah's] lifetime? [No]. So, how did Zechariah know about
those events? Who told Zechariah? [God] This is a good topic for discussion at the end of this lesson.
Concept B: KING
Let's guess
who or what kind of person is the subject of this prophecy. [Show pictures such as the ones at these links, that depict various rulers that have been "kings" or "pharoahs" or "kaisers" or "tsars" or other such authorities -- this is NOT a political lesson, it should be emphasized, so use ones that are
merely generic to the students you teach, not ones that will bring emotions that conflict with the basic message of the lesson, or that will lead them down another path completely.
If you wish to avoid using pictures of ACTUAL monarchs, items such as gold crowns, sceptres, robes, beautiful thrones, etc., could be used in their place. My students do not have experience with problematic monarchs, and it is all somewhat neutral, where I am, so I use photos of actual monarchs and also depictions of pharoahs and the like, such as:
A Pharaoh, a
Caesar, a
Tsar, a
Kaiser.
If using symbols, such matters as clip art
crowns,
sceptre and the like, can be utilized, or, perhaps more realistically, real regalia, such as that of real monarchs, might be shown, such as
real crown, could be used.
By this time, students would guess that the news that people are being told to rejoice about has to do with some kind of a
KING.
Concept C: MANNER OF TRANSPORTATION
I'm glad you have guessed "king" for our second lesson concept. Now let's see if you can guess the next concept. I shall give you some
clues, by showing you two or three pictures. Let's see what you come up with:
[Show the following, or something of that nature]: a
bus, a
car, a train, a plane, etc., etc.]. Usually, the student will by then guess that it has to do with
transportation.
Concept D: WHAT KINDS OF TRANSPORATION MIGHT A KING UTILIZE?
Thinking of kings, pharoahs, caesars, emperors, ancient and modern, we could imagine a good number of types of transportation.
- Chariots
- Rickshaws
- Sedan Chairs
- Carriages
- Limousines
- Horses
- Royal Trains
- Yachts
and so on.
Show pictures of as many of these as possible, particularly emphasizing the
grandeur of it all.
Sum up, so far:
- We have a command to rejoice.
- It's about a king, and
- It has something to do with this king's transportation.
Concept D: POMP and CIRCUMSTANCE, sometimes leading to, or related to, pride and vainglory
Show photos illustrating pride, not the kind of 'pride' that is mere satisfaction in a job well done, or the kind of remark made by a father to a son, "I'm proud of you for doing your best," but, rather, the kind of pride that makes oneself better than another -- that may
sneer at others who have been given less by way of ability or goods or even, opportunity, e.g.:
Pride
This kind of pride makes one feel better than others, and may view or treatt others as "losers," and oneself as a "winner," or as a "better sort of person."
Pride can have very bad results. It can make people feel entitled to
- rob other people,
- view other people's concerns as irrelevant
- treat other people discourteously
- view other people as an inferior race, class of humans.
Some of the monarchs of this world have been kind and good, and helpful and sharing. Others, however, have been
cruel, and even
selfish.
THOUGHT QUESTIONS:
Do you think that the Israelite people enjoyed living under the Pharaoh around the time that Moses was born, when that ruler ordered their
baby boys thrown in the Nile?
Do you think that they enjoyed seeing the Babylonian king's soldiers arrive in Jerusalem and
tear down its walls, and
melt down the gold in their beautiful Temple? Did they enjoy being taken away from their land?
Most kings look wonderful on parade days, and it is fun to look at their jewels and crowns and sceptres. Would it be all fun if they happened to be your enemy?
A DIFFERENCE
The king that Zechariah is talking about is one that will be very different from other earthly kings. And one of the ways that we immediately see this difference is the way in which He comes into town.
One of the worst things that we see about pride, is that people, such as the Pharoah in the story of Moses,
even consider themselves to be above God. "Who is the Lord, that I should obey Him?" said Pharaoh to Moses. He was saying, "I'm bigger than God."
CONCEPT E: HUMBLE: Show the picture of a young donkey, such as
this one.
This king, says Zechariah, will not be coming into town in a chariot. He will not be accompanied by soldiers with lances. He will not even come in on a beautiful horse. He will not ride in a golden coach or on a royal train or in a limousine. He could do much better than that, of course -- our earthly jewels were, after all, made by HIm -- but Heaven has much more than that
Even when we have relatively humble kings on earth, however, we do not usually get to meet them. They might wave at us when we are in a crowd, but they are not our friends and they do not come to our place for dinner.
However, the king that Zechariah was writing about is one who is willing to come into each of our houses, and into each of our lives.
CONCEPT F: JUST
Show the picture of a SCALE that is evenly balanced, something like
this one.
Many kings are unjust -- that is, they are unfair. They are kind to some people, and cruel to others. The king that Zechariah is talking about is a JUST king --
he does not play favourites. He is not unkind. He is not cruel.
CONCEPT G: SALVATION
This king will come to save us. He also came to save the Jewish people from their enemies. Some people recognized this -- for a while, anyway -- and that is why they sang "Hosannah." Do you know what "Hosannah" means? It means "Save us now."
However, at the time that Jesus came, the leaders of the nation did not accept Him and they persauded the people to also not accept Him to say "Away with Him," so His kingly offer was withdrawn from that generation of Israelites. Of course, a good many individual people accepted Him. But, not the nation. So, they did not crown Him king, except in a mocking way -- what kind of crown did they give Him, then? [crown of thorns]
So, He will come again, and when Israel, the whole nation, does accept Him, He will rule the whole world and save them from their enemies. He will rule the whole world in
righteousness, which means that nothing bad will win or get passed over. His rules will be fair and His judgments will be fair and
just.
THE VERSE: I pointed out that the terms "daughter of Zion," and "daughter of Jerusalem" were ways of referring to the Jewish people. Different kings had ruled over them -- foreign rulers such as the Pharaohs and the Kings of Babylon and Persia, and even some of their own kings of both good and bad quality. This king, however, would be different, and the differences are mentioned in the verse. My class is a Gentile class, but we know that Jesus is not only the Jewish king, but also, the Saviour of the world, to those who believe in Him, and we partake of the goodness of the vine, so it is just as important to us to know the Jewish Messiah.
Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! shout, O Daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, your king is coming to you,. He is just and having salvation. Lowly and riding upon a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.
