The Stones Will NOT Speak for Me!

Amy K

Last Sunday we celebrated Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.  If you can put yourself back into that time and place, it is an amazing site!  Jesus enters the city on a donkey that the disciples had been given, not even one that they owned.  Most would enter the city on foot.  A king, a conqueror would come by noble steed, but Jesus came on a borrowed donkey.  

The people, looking for a Messiah to conquer and save them from Roman rule instead were given a savior who humbled himself, riding on a donkey, to save them from sin and death.  The donkey was not chosen by accident, Jesus did not go looking for a horse and instead found a donkey.  It was to fulfill the messianic prophecy found in

Zech 9:9 “ Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

Now to the scene that we now call Palm Sunday, the people had heard or seen so much of Jesus. He healed the sick. He did miracles to feed thousands. He cast out demons. He even raised the dead.  Perhaps even some in the crowd that day had been touched and healed by him.  And now He rode through the city streets on a donkey.   The people’s cloaks covered the road, they cut palm branches to lay before Him on the road and they rejoiced with great shouts!  Three very important acts.

FIrst, the act of laying down one's cloak on the road represented the people's absolute submission and loyalty before Christ.  It was a costly act.  The cloak was a valuable possession at that time.  It cost much.  It was used to shelter the wearer from the weather and usually there was only one that each person owned.  Laying it down to be trampled on was a symbol of practical and sacrificial praise.

Next, in Matthew, Mark and Luke all describe the crowd cutting branches to lay down on the road before Jesus.  This too was a deeply symbolic act, pointing back to the Feast of Tabernacles in the Old Testament.  In Leviticus 23:40, God commands the Isralites to use palm branches to rejoice during the Feast of Tabernacles. 

“On the first day you are to take branches from luxuriant trees—from palms, willows and other leafy trees—and rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days."

It was a symbol of Victory.  By waving the palm branches the crowd was saying “Our King has come!!”  We see this a completed and fully realized picture of this later in scripture. In Revelation 7:9, John sees a vision in heaven “After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.”  The palm branches shout victory and the cloaks represent our total surrender to our Lord Jesus.  The next act came from the crowds themselves.  

Luke 19:37-38 “When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: 'Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in Amy K

Last Sunday we celebrated Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. If you can put yourself back into that time and place, it is an amazing site! Jesus enters the city on a donkey that the disciples had been given, not even one that they owned. Most would enter the city on foot. A king, a conqueror would come by noble steed, but Jesus came on a borrowed donkey.

The people, looking for a Messiah to conquer and save them from Roman rule instead were given a savior who humbled himself, riding on a donkey, to save them from sin and death. The donkey was not chosen by accident, Jesus did not go looking for a horse and instead found a donkey. It was to fulfill the messianic prophecy found in Zech 9:9 “ Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

Coming back to the scene that we now call Palm Sunday. The people had heard or seen so much of Jesus. He healed the sick. He did miracles to feed thousands. He cast out demons. He even raised someone from the dead. Perhaps even some in the crowd that day had been touched and healed by him. And now he rode through the city streets on a donkey. The people’s cloaks covered the road, they cut palm branches to lay before Him on the road and they rejoiced with great shouts! Three very important acts.

The act of laying down one's cloak on the road represented the people's absolute submission and loyalty before Christ. It was a costly act. The cloak was a valuable possession at that time. It cost much. It was used to shelter the wearer from the weather and usually there was only one that each person owned. Laying it down to be trampled on was a symbol of practical and sacrificial praise.

Matthew, Mark and Luke all describe the crowd cutting branches to lay down on the road before Jesus. This too was a deeply symbolic act, pointing back to the Feast of Tabernacles in the Old Testament. In Leviticus 23:40, God commands the Israelites to use palm branches to rejoice during the Feast of Tabernacles. “On the first day you are to take branches from luxuriant trees—from palms, willows and other leafy trees—and rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days."

It was a symbol of Victory. By waving the palm branches the crowd was saying “Our King has come!!” We see this later in scripture in Revelation 7:9, John sees a vision in heaven “After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.” The palm branches shout victory and the cloaks represent our total surrender to our Lord Jesus. The next act came from the crowds themselves.

Luke 19:37-38 “When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: 'Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

The pharisees, quickly try to put this to an end. They were steeped in Jewish history and tradition. They knew what the cloaks and the palm branches represented, but now the multitude showing was just one step too far! They turned to Jesus and said in verse 39, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” Jesus answered “I tell you,' he replied, 'if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” (vs 40).

As we move into this Easter weekend our lives should be so saturated with joy of the Resurrection of our conquering King that being silent would be impossible. To think that creation does a better job of praising Jesus than we do should be a wake up call this Easter!

Ps. 19:1-4 "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world."

Nature has no choice but to obey God’s design for it. We were also designed to praise and glorify God with our very being. Yet, we do have a choice to live lives that not only praise Him for who He is and what He has done but also to be an advertisement to those who are still lost that they may too taste and see of His goodness.

How do we praise the Lord with our lives? We lay down our cloaks in surrender to our King and praise Him with our obedience. John 14:15, “If you love me, obey my commands.” We praise Him when we commune with Him. John 15:4-5 "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches." We wave the branches and lay them before him and praise him by giving Him the glory for our successes and by trusting in Him through the struggles we face. Ps. 115:1 "Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness."

Let us “cry out” this week by being a bold testimony in our homes, our schools, our community and workplace. We have the privilege that the stones do not have. We can praise God by choice and in a deep, intimate relationship with Him. Let us not leave the worship of our great God and King to the stones. Our lives are to be the evidence that the grace is empty and the King is alive!