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 spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they 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 before me.'"

 

  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 notice Christ's careful preparations for His entry into Jerusalem, which we commemorate on Palm Sunday.  This colt is a young donkey, upon which Jesus will ride into Jerusalem.  The Gospels of Matthew and John quote from Zechariah 9:9, which reads:  "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!  Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, acolt, the foal of a donkey."  My study Bible explains that by Christs time, Jewish nationalism had led to the expectation of a political Messiah to deliver them from Roman control and to reestablish David's kingdom.  In humility, Jesus shows that He has not come to establish an earthly kingdom, as He doesn't ride on a horse nor in a chariot.  A donkey, my study Bible says, is a sign of humility and peace, as Zechariah's prophecy implies.  My study Bible further explains that this entrance into the Holy City declares the establishment of the Kingdom of God.  It's also 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).  The people who spread their clothes on the road do so as paying reverence to a King.  My study Bible notes that this is spiritually understood as our need to lay down our flesh, and even our lives for Christ.

 

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."  The people shout praise by quoting from Psalm 118:25-26.  This verse was associated with messianic expectation.  My study Bible tells us that it was recited daily for six days during the Feast of Tabernacles (also known as the Feast of the Coming Kingdom), and seven times on the seventh day as branches were waved.  

 

 Jesus says, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out."  This expression gives us a sense of the unseen reality behind all things visible to us in the world, the reality of the spiritual life we can't grasp in a physical way.  This is the reality of the Kingdom "which does not come with observation" (Luke 17:20-21).  It is the reality and power of the Holy Spirit at work, the understanding possible only through a sense of spiritual comprehension, also known as noetic understanding.  John the Baptist makes a similar type of remark in Luke's chapter 3, when he tells the religious leaders who come to him for baptism, "Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones" (Luke 3:8).   These expressions speak of the power of God and its linking into our world via faith, a sense of uncovering what is true, despite being unseen by so many.  Those who cannot perceive are the ones referred to in the quotation from Isaiah used so frequently:  "He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, Lest they should see with their eyes, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them" (Isaiah 6:9-10; Matthew 13:15; Mark 4:12; John 12:40; Acts 28:27).   This spiritual force, so unstoppable that it would make the stones cry out if the people did not, is the reality being enacted in what we call Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, the declaration of the Kingdom.  Even as Christ does not ride in a chariot or on a horse like a military, earthly king with conquering forces, nevertheless the weight of glory is with Him on the donkey's colt, and the spiritual power of the universe on His shoulders as He goes to the Passion which He calls His hour of glory (John 12:23).  Those with faith, the disciples who welcome Him into Jerusalem, understand it.  Perhaps tellingly, in Matthew's Gospel, when the religious leaders chastise Jesus for the praise of those who welcome Him, it's with reference to the children in the temple.  Jesus replies quoting from Psalm 8:2, "Yes. Have you never read, 'Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise'?" (see Matthew 21:15-16).  Not for the only time, Jesus refers to God's surprising revelation to those whom He calls "babes":  "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes" (Matthew 11:25).  It's the wise and prudent religious leaders in today's reading who can't really see what's happening, and don't understand the power that could enliven even the stones to shout out, should the disciples fall silent in their praise.  What might be happening around us that we don't see right now?  How is God at work, and we are unseeing?  St. Peter 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" (1 Peter 2:4-5).   The living stones still testify with praise.