Jesus: Praised by People and by Rocks

Jesus: Praised by People and by Rocks                 by Kelly Durant

Luke 19:36 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;

38 Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.

39 And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples.

40 And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.

2. How many of you have ever heard a strange sound and you can’t tell what it is or it’s where coming from? I recall one time I was in an English class in Santiago, Chile, in the Mercurio Newspaper where I had a student and there was a strange loud whistling sound outside the building. I asked the people in the office what that strange sound was that sounded like whistling wind through the buildings an alien invasion with a mystical musical tone. They said that that was a beggar below playing a saw (like for cutting wood)! He played for money but he had talent enough to produce a song for a Star Trek movie! I later went down to see him, what skill he had!

Have you ever noticed some people like music loud and others hate it that way? It depends on the music right? If it is a famous and moving song then loud is just fine, but if it is some mechanical machine sound with talentless verbally slurred words it is an irritation, agreed? Did you know they have sound weapons? They can vibrate items so much they will get destroyed. Contrary to this, water in a river flowing over stones makes a southing sound, agreed? But do we hear the rocks themselves speak?

Now, have you ever noticed that the worship of God always involves sound or music, no matter the culture? Muslims pray with their loudspeakers blasting at certain hours in all their cities repeating prayers. Hindus repeat the ‘Omm’ sound until the vibrations induce an altered state, and Christians usually shout out, ‘Praise the Lord, Hallelujah, Glory to God!’  All of these involve the human voice, and praise with music added will often be very moving. God created us to crave sound! All of nature is producing vibrations and sound non-stop! Even some stars mysteriously send out sound!

3. Our ears are amazing! God created them to absorb Him and his good vibrations of creation. Did you know His Word by vibration came before all things! John 1 ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God’. Then came His light. So His spoken word went out when light was created, how amazing all of John 1 is! Vibrations of sound originated first!

Romans 10:17 ‘So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God’. We hear sounds and words all day long, but only by hearing God’s word and letting it penetrate do we reach a point of understanding His love, depth, and wisdom to gain a connection with Him.

So what could Jesus have meant by saying the rocks would cry out in praise to Him if the people were to shut up their praise? This statement, like so many that Jesus made, seems to echo messages in other verses. Like when Jesus explained that God would raise up followers if it none came from the people; that He would even raise up stones for followers. Matthew 3:9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. God will get praise and followers, even if it means by supernatural means with rocks!  

4. We are celebrating Palm Sunday today, glory to God in the highest! All around Jerusalem where Jesus was entering in were rocks and stones. Israel is mostly dry desert with stones everywhere! After we got to visit there 3 years ago, I even did my 8 page report paper on how the stones in Israel speak to us concerning all the history that occurred there.

You and I are aware that in the Old Testament altars were made of stone to support the sacrifices of the lambs and animals. However, most altars from the pagan cultures had sinister purposes. When I looked at 3,000 year old round stone altars that the Philistines and other heathen cultures had made in Israel, I could almost hear the screams of the children crying that had been murdered as human sacrifices on top of them. This was their practice that God hated! Their innocent blood dripped all over these cold hard stone platforms. Rocks and stones can tell a story and they will even supernaturally speak to you and me if God wants them to!

Isn’t it interesting that God told Moses while in the desert with the children of Israel to speak to the rock to get out the water? All of God’s nature is under His control and knowing that man was made from clay (being rock in a soft state), it is not so far-fetched to believe that God could raise up praise and His people from the nearby stones!

5. The palm branches (used to show peace and praise) and the shouts praising Jesus while entering into Jerusalem were what God desired as they bore witness to the whole city, and to the world, that Jesus was the awaited Messiah! He was the expected chosen one, and the Savior of the world! Blessed are those that praised Him then and us who praise Him now! We did not see Him in person as they did, but we do sense     His presence in our lives and we shout out praises to Him! We must praise Jesus everyday all day long!

Imagine Jesus was defying the so called spiritual authorities of His day who were telling Him and everyone following Him to shut up from their praises. But He threatened them with having the rocks praise Him! I wish the rocks would have shouted out, that would have scared them to death, right? 

It is just like today, there are many people from liberal universities, from pagan nations, and from amongst our own communities and families mocking us who praise Jesus telling us to shut up! But we can’t! Even when some people go silent, others show up to give Him praise! Jesus overwhelms the place when He shows up!

6. Here is another spin, rocks are also used as killing instruments and we all know about people dying by stoning. If a person broke the law and committed an abomination, they would be stoned to death. The Jews and most nations no longer practice this punishment but many Islamic nations still do. You can see a person murdered by stoning by Muslims on Youtube, if you want to.

But God himself will stone the wicked in the latter days for cursing at Him and His Son Jesus, Revelation 9:18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. Revelation 16:21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great. These hailstones will be huge weighing 100 pounds!

Stones and landscapes may stay put or idle for millennia, or stones may be cut and transported for construction, no matter how they are used, afterwards they bear a testimony which can tell a story of how God, or men utilized them. God is connected to all of nature and He is aware when blood is spilled on the ground or on the rocks.

What did God say after Cain killed Abel? Genesis 4:10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. God is in pain for all of the atrocities man does to His fellow man and destroying the precious life on earth.

7. All of creation bursts out in praise to Jesus when Jesus is near, and it is good to keep Easter special! But in the mean time the situation of our earth and nature is sad and cruel because not very many praise Him. Due to evil men, and Godless mockers, our creation is under stress. Romans 8:22 ‘For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.’

We usually think of stones as rough, dumb, heavy, common as dirt objects but we can conclude they serve purposes than what meets the eye. Jesus referred to himself as a stone, the main cornerstone holding up the whole structure! Matthew 21:42 ‘Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?’

Because we love and praise Him, God wants us to become as a precious stone as Jesus became, did you know that? The scripture infers that we, the believers are as precious stones fitting along side of Jesus. 1 Peter 2:7 ‘Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner’.

And considering the palm branches that were used for praising, something similar is that Jesus also described Himself as the vine, and we are His branches that must stay connected to Him in order to stay alive. John 15:1 ‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.’

8. One other thing about stones, certain ones actually communicate! When I was a kid I was fascinated that you can make your own radio, that quartz could absorb radio waves and you could hear through the quartz. A friend and I built one and a fence was the antenna. Quartz is also used in fine watches to get the exact seconds of measurement.

The Hebrew priests had breastplates with 12 precious stones, symbolic of the 12 tribes of Israel. So precious stones have been communicating and praising God from the beginning. Don’t mystics always use their crystals to connect to the spiritual realm? But I doubt the things they claim to hear! The devil has always wanted to claim for himself the beautiful things of God so don’t accept any imitation and false communications from deceivers.

Precious stones make up the structure and the walls of heaven! We have studied this before in Revelation 21. So Jesus connection to stones is evident. Jesus connection to all of creation, even with inanimate objects like stones precious or not, is evident as His presence invokes praise and the whole earth is filled with His glory.

9. Never withhold praises to Jesus! It takes humility and a going against the devils of this world to praise and recognize Jesus as Lord. He is the King of the universe and the King of our lives. If you will not honor him by obeying Him, serving Him and loving Him then you will get judged and punished. God will get His followers and praises one way or another, be they from stones or be they from the common people like you and me.

Don’t be on the wrong side of God to get judged by hail stones from the sky as the wicked will get one day when Jesus returns. Tune into God’s vibrations of praises which come from all around the world. Especially you hear them on Palm Sunday!

Revelation 7:9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. Say that with me now, “Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb!” Let it be on earth as it is in heaven, Amen!