0304 AIN’T NO ROCK

AIN’T NO ROCK

There aren’t too many times that Jesus allows this to happen, so maybe it’s good to pause and recognize just what he is saying. We are nearing the end of his time on earth, the beginning of his final week, the time of “the passion of Christ.” He must fulfill many Scriptures regarding his suffering, humiliation and death. But first, there is an important event that will fulfill a different set of prophecies; He must be honored, praised, riding into Jerusalem, humble, and riding on a donkey. 

Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion. Sing aloud, Daughter Jerusalem. Look, your king will come to you. He is righteous and victorious. He is humble and riding on an ass, on a colt, the offspring of a donkey. (Zechariah 9:9)

He doesn’t need to script this for people, you know. He simply stops holding them back, and lets them do what comes naturally. And a whole multitude begins to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice. They do it because of all the mighty works that they had seen him quietly doing for the last three years. The mighty hero has now arrived in the heart of it all, here in Jerusalem, and just in time for the Passover celebration. The multitudes are already gathering for the feast, and hearing that Jesus of Nazareth is coming today kicks off a spontaneous parade of jubilance and expectant praise. The cheer soon arises, heralding Him as “the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” 

The King has come! How did they come to start calling Him “the King?” Had Jesus been using the title of  “king” for Himself before this point? Did they know He was born in Bethlehem? That He was of the line of David? Had they been reading Zechariah? Or was it that obvious? This was the rightful king of the Jews, after all, this gentle man riding into town.

And I imagine who is in that crowd: people from all over Israel have gathered here. But especially there are the ones who had heard, who had been following, who had been healed. And I picture Jesus nodding to each as He rode down the hillside and through the gate into the city. He sees the ten healed lepers, the one whom he healed in the Jerusalem synagogue, the paralytic from right over there at the pool of Bethsaida, the blind man whom he sent to the pool of Siloam, the woman who had been caught in adultery, the young man whom he had brought back from the dead, Jairus and his daughter. And there is Legion, with dozens of eager friends and relatives from the Decapolis region. And the children–oh, the children! He quietly mouths the name of each person, now so vehement in their thanks and praise, and He rides, humbly on the back of the foal of a donkey.

As it turns out, for all their praises of Jesus as King, they only know a part of it. He is the King of kings, he is. This man is also the long-awaited Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the living God. The Word of God, the deliverer of Israel, the Lion of Judah, the Lamb of God, the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the Prophet, the eternal high priest, and the Lord of lords. 

And soon this man will be the atoning sacrifice for the sins of all. 

Of course, some of the Pharisees are offended by this display of honor for one whom they regard as a mere human. It would be blasphemy to say “glory in the highest” before any man. But, of course, Jesus is not just any man!

Luke 19:36-40 And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

And so, Jesus allows the accolades to come streaming down, like anointing oil on his head, running down his beard and onto his robe. These words are what he will hear in eternity, but it will be a long week before he gets to hear words of worship and adoration again. He knows the truth, that if he were to shut this jubilant party down, the very rocks themselves would cry out. 

He knows it because they already are silently giving their never-ending worship even now. The heavens are telling the glory of God. The mountains and hills bow down in worship. The earth is the Lord’s, and all the fullness thereof. The trees of the field clap their hands. The wind stirs, and the whirlwind carries the praise aloft. Mightier than the thunder of the mighty waters, mightier than the crashing of the seas the Lord on high is mighty. The stars declare his faithfulness through all generations.

Day after day they pour forth speech. Night after night they display their knowledge. There is no speech or no language where their voice is not heard.

So, if creation sings Your praises, so will I. If creation still obeys you, so will I. If everything exists to lift you high, so will I. If the wind goes where you send it so will I. If the rocks cry out in silence so will I. If the sum of all our praises still falls shy, then we’ll sing again a hundred billion times. 

Ain’t no rock gonna cry in my place. Amen.