Will the Rocks Cry Out for You?
Wednesday, March 11, 2009 at 06:00AM Near the end of his ministry and life, after healing, teaching, and performing miracles all over Israel, Jesus goes to Jerusalem to submit to His ultimate destiny. His entry into Jerusalem, riding on the back of a borrowed young donkey, with followers throwing clothes and palm fronds in His path, is often described as triumphant.
Thousands of disciples shouted praises to Him as He passed by. The Pharasaic teachers were disturbed by the noisy outpouring of support for the renegade Jesus, and they demanded that He tell the crowd to stop. In response, Jesus declared that if these people did not praise Him the rocks around them would cry out instead.
When Jesus said that His people needed to praise Him, He was acknowledging that He indeed was God, because Isaiah 43:21 shares God's declaration that "This people (Israel) have I formed for myself; they shall show forth my praise." In other words, God created us to praise Him. So if we have to praise Jesus in order to prevent the rocks from crying out, it's because Jesus is God.
But what exactly did Jesus mean when He said "the rocks will cry out"?
I used to think Jesus meant that if we don't praise Him, He'll cause something as inanimate as stone to praise Him in our place. But that's not right. God is not a man that He should lie, and He does not break His own laws. He spoke the rocks into existence just as He made us, and He created rocks without life or voice. So how can they "cry out"?
This confusion is an example of why no scripture can be taken out of context. As we continue reading in Luke 19, after Jesus says the rocks will cry out, He Himself begins to sob in sorrow over the future of His beloved Jerusalem. His entry into the city is not triumphant after all.
Jesus is distressed because He knows His life is nearly over and that even most of His followers don't understand who He is. They are purposely blind to the fact that He is coming as a sacrifice to bring us peace and spiritual salvation, rather than coming as an earthly warrior king on a great stallion--which is their expectation of a Messiah.
On the other side of the spectrum are the Pharisees who may indeed understand who Jesus is, but don't want Him, because they are so afraid of the reaction their Roman overseers will have to His bold teachings and the furor of His followers. They perhaps want a quiet, undemanding Messiah, as so many of us do.
Jesus weeps as He looks over Jerusalem because He knows the unbelief of the majority of her citizens will cause their destruction. He says that they will be surrounded by enemies and destroyed. The tumbled down stones of Jerusalem and her Holy Temple will "cry out" as a testimony to the unbelief that led to her people's destruction.
Each of us who refuses to see Jesus for who He is brings destruction on ourselves just as destruction came to the Holy Temple not long after the death and resurrection of Jesus. The Temple still remains in mostly buried ruins, testifying to the truth in Jesus and the suffering that results from distancing ourselves from Him.
Our own ruined lives cry out as a testimony when we don't believe and accept the truth about Jesus. But it's not too late to change that.
Reader Comments (2)
Very relevant for all that we are facing in our country. I
As a believer—it is also a great reminder of how our lives should testify through edification and praise of our faith in Jesus. Thanks for sharing such a poised piece.
Hey, thanks for inviting me to read this post. Though I've read the story many times, I've never taken the time to study that part of it. You gave great insight and make a great point. Thank you!