One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the one of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Throughout His earthly ministry it was rare that people recognized Him and worshipped Him for who He really was: the Son of God.
But… in this case they did. Here comes Jesus riding in on a donkey and the people are lining the road and praising Him as the Messiah. The people are crying out “Hosanna!” This word was originally an appeal for deliverance, translating to “please save.” But here we see it being transformed into an expression of joy and praise for deliverance that only the Messiah brings.
The crowds that lined the roads recognized whom Jesus was and were moved to praise.
The reason this is such a big deal is because at this point, the people still believed that the Messiah was going to be a warrior king who would overthrow the Roman government and raise Israel to a place of political and military power. However, we now know that Jesus accomplished the will of God in a way that they didn’t expect. But… their preconceived notions or thoughts about the Messiah didn’t prohibit them from recognizing Him and His power and worshipping Him for who He was.
The story is continued in Luke 19:37-40 where it goes on to say,
And when he was come nigh, even now at 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 that they had seen; saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.
Did you catch the end of that verse?
The Pharisees were religious teachers of the day, but they let what they thought they knew about God completely blind them for seeing God right in front of their faces. Their religion was their God. It is what they worshipped.
Are we sometimes so caught up in the things that we “know” about God that we miss the workings of God taking place right in front of us?
If Jesus were to ride into our churches today would we be moved to worship and praise Him or would the rocks have to cry out?
This triumphant entry is the beginning of the culmination of Jesus’ earthly ministry, and when the Pharisees tell him to quiet the crowd, his response is simply amazing:
I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.
What Jesus is saying is that because He is who they say He is, that He is worthy of their praise. Do we realize that? Jesus IS God, and He is worthy of all praise we can give Him and more!
So much that if people fail to praise him, then the stones themselves will because He is worthy of it! God WILL be praised. Regardless of willingness, circumstance, cultural acceptance, or even your participation!
This is one of my favorite stories in Scripture because it reminds me of how awesome God is, and it serves as a job description for all believers! Our job is to be worshipping God and bring Him the glory due His name. We should be constantly worshipping him!
Imagine hearing a rock cry out the praise of Christ. How incredible would that be? It is nothing more than a rock… but God is so amazing, that even it MUST acknowledge and give him praise. To be honest though, I don’t want the rocks to sing God’s praise because if they do, that means I’m not doing my job!
Our job is simple.
Psalm 150:1 says,
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.
Psalm 98:4 says,
Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music.
1 Peter 1:8 continues along with this pattern and says,
Let your love of the Lord Jesus pour out; rejoice with a glorious inexpressible joy.
The crowds who had seen Jesus ministry, his miracles, heard his teaching, and had their lives touched were eager to speak and cry out “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” Their words were a confession, an acknowledgment that in Jesus they were placing their hope, their future, their security, and their salvation.
Has Jesus changed your life? What are your words confessing?
Brothers and sisters… will you confess God’s goodness and salvation message each and every day despite your circumstances, emotions, or what the world might say?
Will you cry out or will the rocks take your place?
Psalm 95:1 says,
Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Tanner Royalty 