What is Palm Sunday? Best News Ever on Keys for Kids Radio!

“The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
'Hosanna to the Son of David!'
'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!'
'Hosanna in the highest heaven!'”

Matthew 21:9

Welcome to the first day talking about the Best News Ever on Keys for Kids Radio! Today, let’s learn about Palm Sunday, the first day of what is called “Passion Week”, the last week of Jesus’ work on earth.

Two Big Things

The two big things that you need to know about Palm Sunday are: 

1. That the way He came to Jerusalem made a prophecy about Him from a long time ago come true, and
2. That the people of Jerusalem treated Him like a king (which He is) who was going to free them from Rome (which He would not).

The Donkey

As Jesus and his disciples came closer and closer to Jerusalem, He sent two of His disciples ahead for a donkey for Him to ride the rest of the way into Jerusalem. 

Why did He want a donkey? Because when a king came into a city on a horse, it symbolized that he conquered the city in war and he was taking it over. But if he came into a city on a donkey, he was coming in peace. So when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, it showed that He is the Prince of Peace.

Everything is cuter when it's smaller, even donkeys.

This is also how He made the prophecy about Himself come true. Way back, about 500 years before this, the prophet Zechariah talked about the Messiah in Zechariah 9:9, 

“Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
    Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
    righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
    on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

And that’s why Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem.

So then why Palm Sunday?

Why is it called that? That comes from John 12:13, also talking about this day,

“They took palm branches and went out to meet him…”

They must have had really tall ladders to cut those branches!

The crowd of people greeting Jesus laid down their coats and palm branches on the road, the same way that they would greet a king. (King Jehu was treated in the same way when he was crowned king in 2 Kings 9:13.) 

The people were right about Jesus being King, but they thought He was going to free the nation of Israel from the rule of Rome, who controlled their country and treated them very badly.

Jesus didn’t come to free them politically; He came to free them (and everyone, including you and me) from sin and having to take the consequences for all the bad stuff they (and we) have done.

And that wraps up the first day of the Best News Ever on Keys for Kids Radio! Check What’s Up tomorrow when my friend Tami will be setting up the background on why Jesus had to die in the first place.