Easter- Day 1 - Triumphal Entry
I love, love Easter! I have such fond memories of it as a kid. We didn't do the Easter bunny and Easter egg hunts because I grew up in Spain. I lived in a small town in Roman Catholic Spain. Every year during holy week, the week between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday, the streets of our town would fill with processions of people carrying statues of Mary, Jesus on the cross and various saints. In the procession men would dress in the same hooded cloaks that they wore during the Spanish Inquisition. People lined the streets to worship and sing as the statues made their way through the town.
Our small group of believers chose to not celebrate Easter in this way and we would camping in the mountains. For us Easter was a big holiday! We got to go on a trip, go camping, and spend the whole week with friends and no school! Beside that, I remember the daily meetings of Bible study and worship. My family would sleep in a tent. On Easter morning one of the missionaries would put out his boombox and blast the Hallelujah chorus at dawn! Easter was a special time like no other during the year.
When I became a parent, I wanted my kids to have memories of Easter besides Easter bunnies and egg hunts. I wanted them to know where Easter came from and why we celebrate it. One year, I tried making a bigger deal of their baskets and gifts. But I felt that was a focus on the wrong thing.
After that, I decided to dedicate the week between the Triumphal Entry and Easter to going through the Passion Week. We look at what Jesus did, what happened, and compare the events to prophecies both future and past to see how Jesus’ work is a theme throughout all Scripture. We do some fun activities, visuals, and try to recreate some of the experiences of Jesus that week. I’m excited to share my plans with you all!
LAYOUT
I have organized this so that anyone of any age can use it, adults to children. Every day there is a remember section for background info and review, reading from Scripture, some activities or visuals for younger children and questions for discussion for older kids and adults. There are also tools you can download. I hope that you enjoy and that it will be a tool so that do not forget the wonder of our salvation!
May you live Abundant Days for His glory and your good!
Kristin L Overman
Resurrection Eggs Materials, Instructions, and Printable
SUNDAY Palm Sunday
Remember:
Israel had been in captivity, under rule of others since Babylon had taken them captive.
Babylon was the kingdom that ruled when Daniel was alive. (stories of Daniel and refusing the king’s food, the golden statue and fiery furnace with Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego, the writing on the wall)
Persia rules over them. Daniel is still alive. (stories of Daniel in Lion’s Den)
The Persian King allows the Jews to return, Ezra, Nehemiah. They rebuild the walls and temple.
Some Jews stay, Esther, Mordecai are alive at this time.
Then the Greeks rule the area (the time between the Old and New Testament)
When the New Testament opens the Romans rule over Israel.They are not their own nation, but more like a people group under the rule of another empire.
Read:
Matthew 21:1-17
Revelation 19: 11-16
Luke 19: 28-44
Daniel 9:20-27 (harder option below)
Activities:
Open Resurrection Egg 1 & 2
Activity Option 1: Compare Matthew and Revelation passages.
Make a T chart (2 columns). Both of these passages describe the coming of Jesus. Compare the two. How does Jesus come the first time? What does He ride? What do the people say? What does He do? How does He come the second time? What do the people say? What does Jesus do?
Activity Option 2: Compare Daniel passage with Luke (harder).
The passage in Daniel is a controversial and complicated passage. I cannot explain all the details of it here. If you are not familiar with it, I would just read it to be aware and do further study. The main point of comparing this passage to that in Luke is that God gives Daniel a future timeline for all events that will occur concerning his people (Jews) and his city (Jerusalem). The principle is that Jesus came and presented Himself to Israel at the exact time that God had told Daniel. The prophecy tells exactly when Messiah would come and show Himself as King to Israel.
Background: The decree to rebuild Jerusalem mentioned in verse 25 was issued by Artaxerxes in 444 B.C. The Bible mentions this in Nehemiah 2:1, 5-8. The date of Jesus’ death is estimated to be between AD 33-36. Between those two dates a span of 483 years occurs. The years are based on the Jewish/Biblical calendar of 360 days not the Gregorian 365 days. The term ‘weeks’ in the passage mean years. Someday I might write and explain more on this. But here is a simple calculation. Older kids can help you figure it out if you feel comfortable enough with it.
Do some Bible Math:
Step 1. 69 weeks (sets of 7 years) Multiply: 69 x 7= 483 years
Step 2. Biblical/Jewish calendar has 360 days. Multiply 360 days x 483 years= 173,880 days
Step 3. Gregorian calendar has 365 days. Multiply 483 x 365 days= 176,295 days
Step 4. Add the years from the decree and the years Jesus was alive. 444 BC + 33 AD years= 477 years
Step 5. Take the 173,880 days of the Jewish/Biblical year and divide them by 365 days of Gregorian Calendar. This will give you how many Jewish/Biblical years are in a Gregorian year.
173,880 /365= 477 years
(483 Jewish years= 477 Gregorian calendar years that we use for our B.C. A.D. calendar)
Conclusion: from the decree in 444 BC to rebuild Jerusalem to the year Jesus died in 33 AD there are 173,880 days or 477 Gregorian years or 483 Biblical years or 69 weeks. That is the same number of days the prophecy predicted for the coming of Messiah. God gave Daniel the exact time Messiah would come. (Exact date studies show that the decree was made Nisan 1 444 B.C. and Jesus died on a year Nisan 14 was on a Friday. From these it has been ascertained that the exact day of the prophecy was 6 days before at the triumphal entry.) Jesus’ words to Jerusalem about the time of their visitation is likely in reference to Daniel. Luke 19: 44, “and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”
Questions for Discussion:
Why did Jesus weep over Jerusalem?
Why does Jesus come differently in His first and second coming? What are the different purposes for His two comings?
