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 to His disciples, because He was near Jerusalem and because the 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 until 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.  Today's reading presents us with what is called Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, which is celebrated in the Church on Palm Sunday.  My study Bible comments that by Christ's time, Jewish nationalism had led to the expectation of a political Messiah to deliver them from Roman control, and to reestablish David's kingdom.  But as the text indicates here, Jesus very carefully (and with foreknowledge) instructs the disciples in how He is to enter into Jerusalem.  It was expected that the Messiah would enter into Jerusalem from the East, as Jesus is doing, from the mountain called Olivet.  But He quite carefully structures an entrance that will not display military power and the might of a conventional king with horse or chariot.  By doing so, He shows that He has not come to establish an earthly kingdom.  In humility, He will ride into Jerusalem on a donkey's colt.  My study Bible notes that this is a sign of humility and peace (Zechariah 9:9).  

 

 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.  The people who spread their clothes on the road before Christ do so as paying reverence to a King.  It is spiritually interpreted, according to my study Bible, as our need to lay down our flesh, even our very 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!"  The cry of the whole multitude of the disciples comes from Psalm 118:26, which was associated with messianic expectation.   At the Feast of Tabernacles, which was the feast of the Coming Kingdom, this was recited daily for six days, and seven times on the seventh day as branches were waved, my study Bible tells us.

 

 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."   This intriguing response from Jesus appears only in St. Luke's Gospel.  Habakkuk 2:11 and Joshua 24:27 speak of stones as witness or witnessing, and throughout the Bible we read of creation praising the Creator.

 

 I'm intrigued by Christ's response to the Pharisees, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out."   While it is not unusual in the Bible that the witness of all of creation praises God (see, for example, Psalms 19; 148), we also read references to stones connected to St. Peter.  Possibly, as St. Luke was in Rome, and as he is also the author of Acts of the Apostles, which greatly follows the development of St. Peter subsequent to Christ's death, Resurrection, and Ascension, Luke echoes themes in St. Peter's life and teaching.  Of course, we know that Peter was called Simon, and was given his name by Christ, as it means Rock, or Stone (Matthew 16:18).  Moreover, in St. Peter's first Epistle, he gives us the image of the faithful as "living stones," who build up "a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 2:5).  Of course, we know that Jesus has pronounced Himself to be the "chief cornerstone" (see Luke 20:17; Psalm 118:22) to these same religious leaders, indicating to us, if we follow these metaphors, that He is the foundation stone of the Church, and the faithful witnesses, the living stones, build up its walls.  Perhaps most important is the suggestion of what "stone" or "rock" indicates to us.  Most significantly, it suggests strength.  In particular, this is the strength of witnessing.  We want to be steadfast in our faith, steadfast in our living testimony to our faith by the shape of our lives, even day to day.  A stone is solid and enduring, it does not change its substance.  A stone that is part of a wall relies and rests on the stones laid first beneath it, but it also upholds, strengthens, and supports that which is placed atop it afterward.  Those who have come before us have built up on the foundation of the Church their own walls and fortifications as witness testimonies to our faith; they have given us support and foundation.  Will we do the same, in our time, for those who come after us?  Jesus' suggestion that the very stones would cry out in witness also tells us of the natural support and testimony of all of creation to His identity as true Creator and Lord.  This world was made for the kingdom of God, and not to be the kingdom of the one called the "prince of this world" who is also the father of lies.  Creation, in this sense, is the true and natural witness to the majesty and glory of God.  Moreover, my study Bible reminds us that in this entrance to the holy city of Jerusalem, Jesus also images the promise of His entrance into the heavenly Jerusalem with all believers, and of His accepting the New Jerusalem as His pure Bride (Revelation 21:1-2).  The crying out of the stones, therefore, suggests not only witness but prophesy by the elements of creation, the stones of Jerusalem, turning toward the fullness of Christ's entry as Messiah manifest in its true destiny as the transfigured New Jerusalem of Revelation.  Let us be like these stones, those who know who we are in Christ's faith, in His kingdom, and in our destiny as faithful witnesses to the King who comes in the name of the Lord.