"The Very Stones"
[Luke 19:28-40]
April 1, 2007 Second Reformed Church
Our text this morning is a familiar one: we have come in the life of Jesus to His final week before the crucifixion. At this point, He tells His disciples to go and fetch Him a colt, which He will ride into Jerusalem. They go and do as He has commanded them, and Jesus rides the donkey into Jerusalem, much to the joy of His disciples and the crowd that follows. They throw their cloaks and palm branches on the road to make for a smooth ride. They cry out blessings on Him as One sent by YHWH God. But the Pharisees rebuke Jesus and tell Him to rebuke His disciples, and Jesus tells them that if He did, "the very stones would cry out."
Jesus' actions tell us two things about Jesus, two things that we ought to remember this morning and always: First, Jesus is the King of Israel, and second, Jesus is the King of Creation.
First, Jesus is the King of Israel.
The prophet Zechariah prophesied this way, "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you, righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey" (Zechariah 9:9).
It had become practice that when a new king was announced in Israel, he would ride a donkey through the gates of Jerusalem; this would be the coronation march, so everyone would see the new king, and they would receive him as their king. There would be no mistaking the new king.
So what was Jesus doing? What message was He communicating? Israel was an occupied nation; Rome ruled over Israel, and Rome had appointed Herod as king. But Jesus told His disciples to get Him a donkey -- that He would ride into Jerusalem. Notice, the disciples didn't ask Him why -- they understood very well why -- they asked Him what to do if the owner of the donkey thought they were stealing it. They understood what He was doing, the crowd understood what He was doing, and the Pharisees understood what He was doing:
In riding into Jerusalem this way, on a donkey, amidst the jubilation of the crowd, Jesus was announcing that He is the King of Jerusalem; He is the King of Israel. Not Herod, not Rome. No, Jesus is the King of Israel. It would be like Billy Graham driving up to the White House claiming to be the real and true President.
The Pharisees understood, and they did not want this to get out of hand. They had it well under the occupation. They were still supported by the people. They could still manipulate and cheat and control the people. But if Jesus was ever made king -- well, we know what Jesus thought of the distorted religion of the Pharisees.
The fact of the matter is that Jesus was and is and forever will be the King of Israel, and He not only symbolically fulfilled Zechariah's prophecy, He fulfilled it in fact. Jesus is righteous -- He has been declared innocent based on His Own Merits -- and He is Salvation. In Him, by Him, through Him, and for Him, we find our salvation and its confirmation through the week that followed.
Jesus is the King of Israel.
The Pharisees were angry and afraid, and they said to Jesus, "Teacher, order your disciples to stop." "Rabbi, stop this -- tell them they have misinterpreted You. Tell them to stop calling You, 'King.' Tell them to stop declaring that You have been sent by YHWH God. Don't forget, we are an occupied nation. Do You want to bring the wrath of Rome down on us? Do You think they will tolerate You saying that You are King, and not Caesar? You’ll ruin the good thing we have going here. Rome will disband the priesthood."
But Jesus doesn't do what they want. Jesus answered them, but it was not the answer they wanted. Jesus told them, "I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out."
When Jesus was brought before Pilate, Pilate asked what crime Jesus had committed. They told him that Jesus had denounced the Pharisees and claimed that He is God the Savior, the Christ. But Pilate would have none of it -- he wasn't going to get mixed up in their strange religion. But then they said, "We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king" (Luke 23:2).
The Pharisees understood Who Jesus claimed to be, and on Good Friday, they twisted His Words and presented Pilate with a case of treason. Pilate was stuck. He had to act. The Pharisees understood that Jesus claimed to be the King of Israel, and they understood that He claimed to be the King of Creation, God Himself.
Jesus told them that even if the tongues of men and women went silent, the creation itself would declare His Divinity. If the people would not sing His Praises, then the stones -- inanimate objects -- would shout out Who He is. The Pharisees understood Who He was claiming to be.
Now, we look at this, and we're twentieth-first century people. Our science has advanced greatly in the past two thousand years. We're not superstitious like the ancient peoples were. We know that rocks don't speak. We understand the point Jesus was making, but He didn't mean it literally, right? Right? Right?
Let us remember the history of Balaam:
"But God's anger was kindled [towards Balaam] because he went [to Moab], and the angel of the Lord took his stand in the way as his adversary. Now he was riding on the donkey, and his two servants were with him. And the donkey saw the angel of the Lord [YHWH] standing in the road, with a drawn sword in his hand. And the donkey turned aside out of the road and went into the field. And Balaam struck the donkey, to turn her into the road. Then the angel of the Lord [YHWH] stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on either side. And when the donkey saw the angel of the Lord [YHWH], she pushed against the wall and pressed Balaam's foot against the wall. So he struck her again. Then the angel of the Lord [YHWH] went ahead and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right or to the left. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord [YHWH], she lay down under Balaam. And Balaam's anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff. Then the Lord [YHWH] opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, 'What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?' And Balaam said to the donkey, 'Because you have made a fool of me. I wish I had a sword in my hand, for then I would kill you.' And the donkey said to Balaam, 'Am I not your donkey, on which you have ridden all your life to this day? Is it my habit to treat you this way?' And he said, 'No.'
"Then the angel of the Lord [YHWH] opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord [YHWH] standing in the way, with his sword drawn. And he bowed down and fell on his face. And the angel of the Lord [YHWH] said to him, 'Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come to oppose you because your way is perverse before me. The donkey saw me and turned aside before me these three times. If she had not turned aside from me, surely just now I would have killed you and let her live'" (Numbers 22:22-33).
This is history: God caused a donkey to be able to speak in Hebrew. And we say, "Well, even if that is true, donkeys have mouths, stones don't have mouths." And that makes good logical sense, but there's one more question to consider: Is it possible for the Almighty God, the God Who created everything from nothing, is there any possibility in all of infinity that the God Who did this, Who made everything exist that exists, is it at all possible that He could cause a stone to speak -- even without a mouth? Be careful how you answer; you might deny the God of the Bible.
Even now the Creation is declaring Him, as Paul writes, "For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the World, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles" (Romans 1:18-23).
The Creation, even the rocks, are already clearly telling us Who God is, and if we know God, we will also know His Son. Let us not wait for God to give the rocks mouths. Let us declare and proclaim what we know now: Jesus is the King of Creation. Let us join together with the creation and Christians around the world in proclaiming, "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!"
The day will come when we will eternally praise Him without interruption in the New Jerusalem. Let us begin now, because we know Him and He has made us His through His Salvation. Let us make His Name and His Salvation known to the whole world now before the day comes. Let us join together in receiving the bread and the cup, remembering the Work that Jesus finished, communing with Him right here and now in this sanctuary, and looking forward in hope and expectation for the day when the sky will roll up like a scroll, and we will be received into the Kingdom fully come.
Let us pray:
Almighty God, Jesus, Lord and Savior, You are King of Jerusalem and of the entire created order. Cause us to praise and acknowledge You. Let us join unashamedly with the non-human creation is showing who You are through our words and deeds. And may You be forever praised. "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven." In Jesus' Name, Amen.
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