Jesus: Praised by People and by Rocks

Jesus: Praised by People and by Rocks                 Re: 4-13-25   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 where it’s 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 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 magical song then loud is just fine, but if it is some mechanical machine sound with talentless verbally slurred words it is an irritation, agreed? A river flowing over stones is a southing sound, agreed? 

 

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 a prayer. 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!

 

3. Our ears are amazing! God created them to absorb Him and his good vibrations of creation, and His Word 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 wisdom in word went out when light was created, how amazing all of John 1 is!

 

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 do we reach a point of understanding His love, depth, and wisdom and get 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? This statement, like so many that Jesus made, seems to echo the message in other verses. Like when Jesus explained that God would raise up followers and if it none came from the people, that He would even raise up stones. 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.   

 

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 desert with stones everywhere!  I once wrote a 5 page report paper on how the stones speak to us concerning all the history that occurred around Jerusalem.

 

You and I are aware that in the Old Testament altars were made of stone to support the sacrifices of the lambs and animals. When one looks at 3,000-year-old round stone altars that the Philistines and other heathen cultures made in Israel, I could almost hear the screams of the children crying out that had died as human sacrifices with their blood dripping over these cold hard stone platforms. Rocks and stones can tell a story and they may 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 stones.  

 

5. The palm branches (used to show peace and praise) and the shouts praising Jesus while entering Jerusalem were what God desired, as they witnessed to the whole city and the world that Jesus was the Messiah, the awaited 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!

 

Imagine Jesus was defying the so-called spiritual authorities of His day telling Him and everyone to shut up from their praises and He threatened them with having the rocks praise Him! I wish the rocks would have spoken up, 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 are silent, others show up to give Him praise! Jesus overwhelms the place when He shows up!

 

6. Another focus, take into account 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, but many Islamic nations still do. You can see a person murdered by stoning by Muslims on Youtube (if they did not erase them), if you want to. But God himself will stone the wicked in the latter days for cursing at Him and at 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 (stone!), which issued out of their mouths. 

 

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. 

 

7. 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. 

 

All of creation bursts out in praise to Jesus when Jesus is near, but in the meantime the situation of our earth and nature is sad and cruel because few 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 they can be more than that. Jesus referred to himself as a stone! 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 marvelous 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’.

 

8. And considering the palm branches that were used for praising, 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.’

 

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 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! We are warned not to listen to the soothsayers!

 

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 within inanimate objects like stones precious or not, is evident as His presence invokes praise.  

 

9. Shutting up when Jesus is near? It’s impossible! He is always the center of attention as a huge rock in the middle of the road. You either embrace Him or hate Him, but no one escapes ignoring Him.  Romans 9:33

As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumbling stone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. It is our calling to honor Jesus as the only rock and foundation upon which we should build our lives. 

 

Jesus’ humble entrance in Jerusalem invoked praise and He got the red carpet greeting, or I should say green carpet greeting with the palm branches! Not everyone praised Him though, the Pharisees and indifferent faithless didn’t. That is symbolic of how it has been for perpetual generations, some loudly praise and love Him, while others observe and think the praisers have lost their minds. But we haven’t, we recognize who He is, we feel Him, and we tremble with His vibrations (Word).

 

We will praise Jesus when we float into the gates of heaven, into the New Jerusalem. We will share heaven with many in that same crowd that praised Jesus on Palm Sunday in Jerusalem. So, praise God as they do in heaven. Praise Him every day, in every moment of the day, amen!