I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out

 

 When He had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.  And it came to pass, when He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, saying, "Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat.  Loose it and bring it here.  And if anyone asks you, 'Why are you loosing it?' thus you shall say to him, 'Because the Lord has need of it.'"  So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them.  But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, "Why are you loosing the colt?"  And they said, "The Lord has need of him."  Then they brought him to Jesus.  And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him.  And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road.  

Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying:

"'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!'

Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"

And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples."  But He answered and said to them, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out." 

 

- Luke 19:28–40 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus taught another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because His disciples thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately.  Therefore He said:  "A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.  So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, 'Do business till I come.'  But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We will not have this man to reign over us.'  And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.  Then came the first, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned ten minas.'  And he said to him, 'Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.'  And the second came, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned five minas.'  Likewise he said to him, 'You also be over five cities.'  Then another came, saying, 'Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief.  For I feared you, because you are an austere man.  You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.'  And he said to him, 'Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant.  You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow.  Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?'  And he said to those who stood by, 'Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.'  (But they said to him, 'Master, he has ten minas.')  For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.  But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them.'"

 

 When He had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.  And it came to pass, when He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, saying, "Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat.  Loose it and bring it here.  And if anyone asks you, 'Why are you loosing it?' thus you shall say to him, 'Because the Lord has need of it.'"  So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them.  But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, "Why are you loosing the colt?"  And they said, "The Lord has need of him."  Then they brought him to Jesus.  And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him.  And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road.  We note in this interesting passage the notion of God's providence at work, in Christ's command regarding the donkey's colt upon which no one has ever sat.  Moreover there is the hint of the Messianic undertone as the owners of the donkey's colt simply accept that the Lord has need of him.  For the disciples to throw their own clothes on the colt, and the people to spread their clothes on the road, is understood as paying reverence to a King.  Moreover, my study Bible notes, it is spiritually interpreted as our need to lay down our flesh, and even our very lives, for Christ.  There are multiple symbolic meanings here, for the Messiah was prophesied to enter Jerusalem from the East, precisely this route which Jesus takes near Bethphage and Bethany, and the mountain called Olivet.  But, as my study Bible points out, Jesus enters not as a conquering king, riding on a horse or chariot, but on a donkey, and a donkey's colt at that.  Besides its pure quality as in a kind of sacrifice (on which no one has ever sat), a donkey is a sign of humility and peace (Zecharia 9:9).  

Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying:  "'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!'  Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"  This cry comes from Psalm 118:26, which was associated with messianic expectation.  It was recited daily for six days during the Feast of Tabernacles, and seven times on the seventh day as branches were waved.  Again, as my study Bible points out, Jesus is being welcomed by His followers as Messiah. 

 

 And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples."  But He answered and said to them, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out."   Even the stones are in some sense symbolic with meaning, as they suggest echoes of other sayings we read in Scripture referring to those who will inherit and carry the Kingdom.  Jesus will quote from Psalm 118:22 to suggest that He Himself is the stone it mentions:  "The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone" (see Luke 20:17-19). In Luke 3:8, Jesus tells the religious leaders that "God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones."   St. Peter, who was given the name which means "Stone" by Jesus, writes, "Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, 'Behold, I lay in Zion, a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame'" (1 Peter 2:4-6).

In today's reading we read the events of what is known as Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.  This is celebrated in the Church on Palm Sunday.  My study Bible explains that by Christ's time, Jewish nationalism had led to the expectation of a political Messiah, to deliver them from Roman control and to re-establish the kingdom of David.  Christ's riding into Jerusalem on a humble donkey's colt is a sign that He has not come to establish an earthly kingdom.   To come into Jerusalem this way, greeted as Messiah, is rather a kind of promise, an image to be fulfilled in a teleological sense; that is, in the fullness of Christ's Kingdom.  For Jerusalem as the Holy City is the true Bride, the Church.  My study Bible states that this is a promise of Christ's final entrance into the heavenly Jerusalem with all believers and of His accepting the New Jerusalem as His pure Bride (Revelation 21:2).  Yet even with such a greeting as one fit for an earthly Messiah, we know what is going to happen in a week, and so does Christ.  He has warned His disciples three times about what is going to come about -- His Passion, crucifixion, and Resurrection on the third day.  As we view these elements of the Triumphal Entry, on the day we call Palm Sunday, let us consider the way that parallel realities can seemingly exist all at the same time.  The people believe the Messiah to be an earthly king, one who will issue in a re-emergence of the kingdom of David, and they greet Jesus as such.  But this is, devastatingly for many, not to be.  Neither is Jerusalem going to be freed from Roman rule except in one of the most terrible battles recorded, the Siege of Jerusalem, at which time the magnificent temple will be destroyed -- which was surely unthinkable to the people.  Christ's kingdom, as He has said, is "not of this world" (John 18:36).  So it becomes an important lesson in looking at Scripture and the powerful symbolism in the events we're given to understand that such "realities" exist on different levels.  While it is true that the people expect a political messiah -- which Jesus is not -- it is also true that He is the Messiah.  While they expect a worldly kingdom, which is not to be so -- it is also true that Jesus has come to bring the kingdom of God closer, "at hand" to us.  Let us consider that we need clear vision to understand more than mere appearances tell us, for such vision would also include meanings that rest within the spiritual realm Christ has anchored more firmly into this world, within us and among us.  Just as we are to understand that as the angels in heaven celebrate and worship God, so we also participate together in the same worship, for this is the communion of saints.  In John 18:36, after Jesus states that His kingdom is not of this world, He declares, "If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here."  In yet another perception of a layered reality, Jesus' kingdom is not of this world and so His servants do not fight in an earthly fashion, but we understand that parallel with all that we think we see and know is a spiritual battle that rages, and in which we most certainly fight, but not with conventional material weapons.  For that fight we "put on the whole armor of God," as St. Paul tells us.  In Ephesians 6:10-20, he goes into detail about how that battle is fought.  So let us consider this "dueling" sense of reality, how Christ is bringing a Kingdom into the world and is Messiah, yet at the same time He goes to the Cross, and to Resurrection.  We live in such a time as we await the fullness of His promise, and the time of His return.  Let us follow His commandments, for as St. Paul tells us, in so doing, we battle for a Kingdom with a power we can't fully know, even a power to make the stones cry out.