7 Days of the Easter Story: A Family Experience Through the Feelings of Holy WeekSample

The Happiness of the Triumphal Entry

The Triumphal Entry is when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey as people happily waved palm branches and shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord— the King of Israel” (Luke 19:37; John 12:13). For those who recognized Jesus as the Messiah, this was a day of happiness! They shouted “Hosanna!” which means “Save us!”

Why? Because the Jewish people were under the control of the powerful and cruel Roman Empire. The people thought Jesus, who they saw as the coming King, would finally rescue them from the Romans. As a sign of victory, the crowd placed palm branches on the ground in front of Jesus. Not everybody believed He was the Messiah. But His disciples saw Jesus as their victorious King and were happy He had come to save them. They didn’t understand that Jesus hadn’t come to defeat the Romans; He had come to triumph over sin and Satan and death so we all might be saved and live with God. That was the real triumph brought by this King.

Happiness: Happiness is a feeling, so it comes and goes based on what’s happening in our lives. If circumstances change, we may no longer be happy. Unfortunately, just a few short days after the Triumphal Entry, even some of the people who were happy about Jesus would turn on Him and want Him to die.

Family Discussion Questions:

• Imagine you were there the day Jesus rode the donkey into Jerusalem. Where do you picture yourself in the story?
• The Pharisees were not happy. Why do you think they weren’t?