Matthew 21:1-11, 14-171And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, 2Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. 3And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. 4All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. 6And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, 7And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. 8And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. 9And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. 10And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? 11And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. (Matthew 21:1‑11)
14And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them. 15And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased, 16And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise? 17And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there. (Matthew 21:14‑17)
WHICH was one of the greatest miracles that Jesus ever did? It was making Lazarus alive again; because he had been dead for four days.
Many of the wicked people who hated Jesus heard of it, but then they hated Him more than ever. They said, ‘We must kill Him soon, or everyone will believe that He is the Son of God.’ Jesus knew that they wanted to kill Him, so He went and hid Himself in a place they did not know about. They looked for Him, but they could not find Him.
But could Jesus always stay in that quiet place, where He was living with His disciples?
No, He came down to this world to die for sinners. He only waited till the time came for Him to die. Then He said to His disciples, ‘We must go up to Jerusalem, and I shall be mocked and beaten and killed, but I shall come out of My grave after three days.’
The disciples did not like to hear this, but they chose to go with Jesus wherever He went. Jesus walked along the road and at last He came near Jerusalem. Then He stopped and said to His disciples, ‘I shall ride into Jerusalem on an ass.’ Jesus had no ass of His own; He always walked from place to place. But Jesus could put it into a man’s heart to lend Him one.
He said to two of His disciples, ‘Go along the road a little way, and you will see an ass and a young ass tied, and a man standing near. Bring the ass and the young one to Me, for I know that the man will let them come.’
So the two disciples went. When they had gone a little way, they saw an ass tied up, and a young one with it. They began to untie the ass, but a man standing near them said, ‘Why do you untie the ass?’
They said, ‘The Lord has need of them.’ Then the man let them go. I suppose that man loved the Lord Jesus and liked to lend Him his things.
The two disciples brought the asses to Jesus. They took off some of their clothes and put them on the young ass, and Jesus sat on it.
Many people came out of Jerusalem to see Jesus, for they heard that He had made Lazarus alive again. The people began to praise Jesus and to call Him King. They took off some of their clothes and laid them down on the road for the ass to walk on. And they pulled branches off the trees that grew near and laid them on the road too.
So Jesus came to the great town of Jerusalem. All the people came into the streets to look at Him. Even the little children began to praise Him, and to call Him King.
The proud men that hated Jesus were very angry at hearing all these praises. They did not like to hear Jesus praised. They came to Him and said, ‘Why dost Thou let these children call Thee King?’
But Jesus liked to hear the children sing His praise. So He would not tell them to be silent. Jesus loved little children, and these little children loved Jesus.
Questions
What did some of the people in Jerusalem wish to do to Jesus?
Did Jesus walk or ride into Jerusalem?
Where did the disciples find an ass?
Why did so many of the people come to see Jesus when He was riding on the ass?
What did the people lay upon the road?
How did the little children make the proud men angry?
The people who should praise God
A verse from the Bible for you to learn: