Luke 19 records the story of Jesus’s triumphal entry. As Jesus rode on a donkey into Jerusalem,
people placed their coats on the ground and shouted praises to God: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of
the Lord!” and “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” But some Pharisees told Jesus, “Teacher,
rebuke your disciples!”
This was Jesus’ response (verse 40): “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep
quiet, the stones will cry out.”
The stones will cry out.
I always thought of this as another demonstration of Jesus’s
power – that He could make inanimate stones sing His praises if He wanted.
But last night I started thinking about the importance of
stones to the nation of Israel, and I realized…if stones could speak…OH the
stories they could tell. For years, the
nation of Israel had been using them as witnesses and reminders of who God is
and what He had done. Both the Old and
New Testaments are full of stories about rocks and stones.
What would the stones have to cry out about?
·
The
Faithfulness of God
o
He keeps his covenant:
§
Pillar
at Bethel: After Jacob had a dream
were God promised to be with him, Jacob placed a stone up as a pillar and
called the place “Bethel” (Genesis 28:18-22).
o
He provides for His people:
§
Water
from the Rock: Moses struck
the Rock and water came out for the people of Israel (Exodus 17)
o
He protects His people:
§
Memorial
of 12 Stones after Crossing the Jordan: After the nation of Israel
crossed the Jordan, God told Joshua to have each tribe take a stone from the
middle of the Jordan River. “In the
future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them that
the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the
LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the
waters of the Jordan were cut off. These
stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.” (Joshua 4)
o
He guides His people:
§
The Tablets
of the Testimony: Moses was given 2
tables inscribed by the finger of God to take to the people of Israel. When he came down from Mount Sinai, Moses
found them worshiping a false god and threw the tablets down, breaking them
into pieces at the bottom of the mountain (Exodus 31:18 , 32:15-19). Moses carved another two tablets out of rock
and God rewrote the law on them (Exodus 34).
§
Stones
of the Law: When the Israelites
crossed into the promised land, they were to set up large stones and cover them
in plaster. They were then to write on
them the words of the law and offer sacrifices there (Deuteronomy 27:1-8,
fulfilled in Joshua 8).
o
He reveals Himself to those who seek Him:
§
Cleft of
the Rock: Moses asked to see
God’s glory, so God put Moses in the cleft of the rock and covered him with His
hand until He passed by (Exodus 33:22).
o
Even when His people are unfaithful, He remains
faithful:
§
Witness
Stone: “On that day Joshua made
a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he drew up for them decrees and
laws. And Joshua recorded these things
in the Book of the Law of God. Then he
took a large stone and set it up there under the oak near the holy place of the
LORD. ‘See!’ he said to all the
people. ‘This stone will be a witness
against us. It has heard all the words
the LORD has said to us. It will be a
witness against you if you are untrue to your God” (Joshua 24:25-27).
§
At the
Trial of Jesus…on the “Stone Pavement” (Gabbatha): The same people who a week earlier shouted
“Hosanna!” shouted “Crucify him!” at a place known as the Stone Pavement. Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified at their
bidding when they claimed to have no king but Caesar.
·
The
Compassion of God
o
Dropped stones: A woman caught in adultery was about to be
stoned. Jesus’s words caused the stones
held by her accusers to drop after he wrote in the dust and said: “If any one of you is without sin, let him be
the first to throw a stone at her” (John 8) ….(***interesting note: could the writing in the dust tie into
Jeremiah 17:13?)
·
The Power
of God
o
Over the earth
§
Earthquake
and splitting rocks: During
Jesus’s death on the cross, the Earth shook & the rocks were split (Matthew
27:51).
o
Over animals
§
Sealed
Stone covering the Lion’s den:
Daniel was sentenced to be thrown in the lion’s den and die for praying
to the Lord. A stone covered the
entrance and sealed him in, but he was not harmed by the lions (Daniel 6).
o
Over humans
§
A stone
called Ebenezer: “Then Samuel took a
stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying,
‘Thus far the LORD has helped us’” (I Samuel 7:12).
§
A
shepherd, a sling and 5 smooth stones: David kills Goliath with a sling and a stone
(I Samuel 17).
§
The
building of the wall of Jerusalem:
Pretty much the whole book of Nehemiah J
§
People
who wanted to stone Jesus and couldn’t: John 8:59, 10:31
o
Over spiritual enemies
§
Elijah’s stone
altar: Elijah built an altar and the
LORD consumed the sacrifice, wood, stones, soil and water in the trench,
soundly defeating the false god, Baal (I Kings 18:16-39).
§
Stone-cut
demon-possessed man saved by Jesus:
Demon-possessed man “night and day among the tombs and in the hills he
would cry out and cut himself with stones” (Mark 5:5). Jesus cast the demons out and healed the man.
o
Over Satan
§
Temptation
of Jesus – Stones to Bread:
Satan tempted Jesus to turn stones into bread – but Jesus said, “Man
does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of
God” (Matthew 4, Luke 4).
o
Over Death
§
Stone
over Lazarus’s tomb: Jesus commanded
them to take away the stone from Lazarus’s tomb and called him back from the
dead!
Well…it sure looks like the stones would have had quite a
few things to say if they had been given the ability to speak during the
triumphal entry. They could have spoken
of God’s faithfulness, compassion, power, and might. I didn’t even write all the stories down! There are more! But the greatest thing to praise God for
didn’t happen until after the triumphal entry – and there is one large stone
that was privy to that bit of history.
Matthew
28:2-7 “There was a violent earthquake,
for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled
back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his
clothes were white as snow. The guards
were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be
afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as
he said. Come and see the place where he
lay. Then go quickly and tell his
disciples: ‘He has risen from the
dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.’”
I admit. I’m jealous
of that stone. :) I would have loved to
see Christ conquer death!
But I don’t have to be jealous of the fact that stones have
witnessed so much of God’s power through time.
As much as the stones have witnessed of God’s faithfulness, compassion,
power, and might throughout the ages – I have witnessed those very same things
in my life.
May Jesus never have to make inanimate objects sing His praises
because we, the Church, are silent.
We have much more to be thankful for than stones.
