When Stones Cry Out

The Necessity of Praise

Now see the necessity of praise. The pharisees, in verse 39, urged Jesus to stop all this carrying-on. Let us put these pharisees in the best possible light, since they usually take such a beating. Perhaps these are folks in sympathy with Jesus, for a group of pharisees warned Him of Herod Antipas earlier. Now they are fearful that all this tumult will draw the attention of the Romans and the religious authorities. It is in reply to their admonition that He rebukes His disciples that Jesus makes an unusual statement: "I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out!"

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This statement tells us several things. The first is that there is a closer connection between the natural world and redemption than we may think. Paul said the entire creation groans for redemption, and from the beginning we see how creation was twisted and thorns infested the ground because of sin. Matthew's Gospel tells us how all creation reacted when Jesus walked among us; a wondrous star at His birth, the darkness at noon, the earthquake and the ground casting out the dead at His death and the earthquake at His resurrection.

Second, this phrase tells us that praise is not elective, not a choice; it is a necessity. I have no doubt those stones would have shouted if the people had held their tongues! And that leads to the question for us, made in the likeness of God: What should our response be to the mercy of God?

Those of us who have been rescued from the kingdom of night and set down in the kingdom of light ought heed Nehemiah as he commands, "Stand up and bless the Lard your God!" and the Psalmist as he calls us to "make a joyful noise unto the Lord" and "Bless the Lord O my soul and forget not all His benefits!" If God's people will not praise Him, the stones will!

Praise in the Midst of His Sorrow

I close by pointing you to the fact that this praise of the multitude as Jesus entered Jerusalem was praise in the midst of his sorrow. In verse 41 we read that Jesus, when he saw the city, began to weep. Can we let Jesus be fully human here? I don't just mean that he wept, although the world sees tears as weakness in a man. Laying that aside, this is no time to break down and cry!

The multitude has made Him, in their minds, a conquering hero; this one who works miracles and refused to let them crown Him as king a year ago now boldly rides into Jerusalem in the trappings of prophecy — obviously God is about to break in and destroy the Romans! This man will be king and Messiah and Saviour! So why is He crying? Jesus is probably the only person weeping in Jerusalem that day. Why does He weep to the confusion of the crowd that adores Him?

The sight of Jerusalem from the top of the Mount of Olives is a majestic sight even in its ruins today. But in its glory — the sun gleaming on the gold of the temple, all the aura of sacred story — Jesus weeps as He beholds the multitudes who are blind, spiritually blind to their visitation by God. Here is God in their midst, and they will reject Him and crucify Him and think they have done God a favor! And He weeps. He weeps over lost souls, defeated lives, people in the chains of sin with no hope.