If These Become Silent, The Stones Will Cry Out!

So I debated this week about whether I should change my sermon text to be something about what's going on with David and Becky, and I decided not to. And I thought, okay, so if you're not going to, then you have to have some reason why. Why don't you want to do that? And it's because I think that what I would say, what I've said to David, what he said to me is, we do need to be moving on. And there's a great temptation to just kind of circle the wagons and just kind of stop and just hunker down in the transition. But when you're in a transition, you want to be moving through the transition. Not fast. Not faster than should be. Not flippantly or lightly. But you actually want to be moving through the transition and not just slowing down and stopping and just getting used to the what? The instability.

And so for that reason, I decided I was going to keep going through Luke. Last time we were in Luke, two weeks ago, we studied Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. And I told you, you know, this is the normal Palm Sunday text. And so we're always talking about the proclamation of the people, what they were saying in reference to Jesus and how it was true. That's normally what your Palm Sunday sermon is going to be about. But since we've come to this text in our study through the book of Luke, I took time to focus on something else, which was just the simple obedience of the men who were told to go get the donkey. Jesus told them to go get it. They went and got it. And this morning, what we're going to do is pick up in verse 37, and we're going to read through verse 40. And it's basically the account of the crowds praising God and the Pharisees telling Jesus that he needs to tell his disciples to stop. And then Jesus responds to them. And so we're going to work through that and see what's going on here and what's underneath.

this situation. So would you please stand for the reading of God's word from Luke chapter 19 verses 37 through 40? This is the word of the Lord and it's eternally true. As soon as he, Jesus, was approaching near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen. Shouting, blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest. Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, Teacher, rebuke your disciples. But Jesus answered, I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out. This is the word of the Lord. You may be seated. Now I've noted before, as Jesus has been approaching Jerusalem, that all of the people that were with him had a misunderstanding of what was going to happen when they got to Jerusalem.

They knew that God was establishing his kingdom, but they envisioned that to be some sort of military takeover. That all of the oppression and the hardship and the difficulty that they'd been living under was somehow going to be removed because God has now sent his Messiah, his Savior, to save his people. And so they're coming with Jesus through the surrounding area of Jerusalem into Jerusalem, and they're expecting him basically to set up shop. and to overthrow all of what's wrong and to establish peace and prosperity and victory for God's people. Now, is that what he's going to do? Yes, that is what he's going to do, but he's not going to do it in the way that they expect it, primarily militarily. He's not going to be kicking the Romans out, for instance. And so as he's coming into Jerusalem, he's coming in in a fashion like a king would come back into his home city after he'd been out in a war and had conquered. They come back in, there's all of this praise, and there's this pomp and this circumstance, and there's all this excitement. And so that's what's going on with Jesus. Now, the people, while they have a misunderstanding of what's going to happen when they get there, their response here is appropriate, even though they don't understand what's about to happen.

And so their response is that as they were coming into Jerusalem, they're starting their descent down the Mount of Olives into the city, they begin to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all of the miracles which they'd seen. And it was a very joyful occasion. One of the things I'm always telling you guys is when you read Scripture, put yourself in there and figure out where you fit. Who are you in the situation? Because every story has a... A good has good, has bad, has a moral, has something to instruct us or to teach us. And so one of the things that I want us to be doing when we read scripture is say, if I was there, who would I be? Would I be the good guy? Would I be the bad guy? Am I supposed to be like this guy? Am I supposed to be like that guy? What am I being taught? Where do I fit in this account? And so when we read this hullabaloo, I want us to go into it and say,

where do we belong? Where would we hope to be? And the answer is, you know, if you're a Christian, the answer is, well, we want to be with the crowds praising Jesus. Because we've seen all these miracles and they've seen stuff that's unbelievable. Literally unbelievable. Like if they hadn't seen it, they couldn't have believed it, but they've seen it. And so as they go into Jerusalem, their fervor and their excitement sort of boils over into this triumphal entry. Where they're praising God and they're shouting, blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest. Now you remember, when the angels, when Jesus was born, what did the angels proclaim in the heavens? Do you remember? Peace on earth, right? Glory to God in the highest. Peace on earth and goodwill toward men. And now we come, you know, this is at Jesus' birth. Now we come to the beginning of his death or his passion.

And we see that the people are now proclaiming themselves what the angel said was to come. Peace in heaven. Glory in the highest. They're excited. And they should be. And if we were in this time and in this place, we would want to be there with them doing it. And so the rejoicing only makes sense. How could you do anything else? If you had seen blind men be given their sight and dead men who were to the point of stinking brought back to life. What else could you do except what these people have done? And I want to note to you that the lives of these people were not easy. At this time, it was not a happy time or a good time to be one of God's people. And the reason I say that to you is just to say praising God and rejoicing in him is not ultimately a function of what's going on in your life at this time. And I think that too often we want to qualify our

praise or think, well, I will when it's easy. And yet these people's lives were not easy. And they'd left their homes and they'd followed Jesus and they're praising him with all of their heart. And so there's not a reason, you know, not to do this. There's not an excuse where we say, well, but things are really difficult. They're really hard. They're really discouraging. They're really sad. There's not a season in which we as Christians can say, I have nothing to rejoice about. I have no good thing in my life. But it's so much easier to focus on what the hard stuff is and the difficulties and the burdens and the undone, sort of the tattered mess that we all have of our lives. Can I get an amen? You guys all have problems? You're all sitting here like, we don't have any problems, Pastor Dave. And it's like, come on. Am I the only one? And so from the beginning of our text, I want you to see that

The ease or comfort or smoothness of your life is not the basis under which we praise God. It's not the basis for which they praise God. They didn't praise God because their lives were easy. They praised God because they saw what Jesus had done. And it overwhelmed their own lives. And if a Christian is to have joy in their life, it has to come from this fountain. Our joy doesn't come from... what goes on in our lives or what's easier, our expectations being met or our avoidance of hardships. Because as you live your life, you're going to find that it's hard and there are difficulties. And so you have to have a principial commitment to praising God for his mercy and his kindness and his goodness to you, no matter what comes or you'll never do it. Do you remember in Nehemiah, what happened when Nehemiah went back to rebuild the temple? I'll tell you that, you know, the real quick...

30,000 feet above synopsis of Nehemiah. Nehemiah is with the people of Israel and they're in captivity. And Nehemiah ends up and asks the king, the king says, why are you so sad? And he says, well, because I'm here and the tombs of my fathers are laying in ruins back in Jerusalem. And they talk and the king says, go back and rebuild them with my blessing. It'll be a province, you're not being set free, but go back and rebuild them. And so Nehemiah goes back to rebuild the tombs. And what does he meet with when he gets back to rebuild the tombs? A bunch of people who are excited and who want to help. No, that's not what he found. What he found is opposition. And so there was battle. There were threats of war. There was a lot of tension in this work. A lot of difficulty. And yet some of the people, when Nehemiah and Ezra, when they left captivity, some of the people came with them.

And so they had these people to lead, and they had these people to cast a vision for, and they had people to instruct and to guard and to guide through this process. We're here to rebuild this city, and there are people here who don't want to do it, want us to do it, and they're opposing us. And so what did they do? Well, they opened up the book of the law and read the law to them. And so when we think of the book of the law, what do we think? Oh, well, commandments, condemnation, difficulties, warnings, you know, basically like not... fun, not good, not nice. But the reason they read the law to them was because it was meant to be a comfort to them. Because in the midst of the warnings and the instructions in the law, there are promises and there are kindnesses of God's mercy to his people. And that's what they needed to hear. And so they open up the book of the law and they read it to them. I want to read to you a few verses from Nehemiah chapter 8, verses 9 and 10. It says,

Then Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites, who taught the people, said to all the people, This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep. Because they're looking at the ruins and the opposition, and they're going, You've got to be kidding me. This is very difficult. For all the people were weeping when they heard the words of the law, what the glory of God should have been, and what they had in front of them, and the disparity between them. Then he said to them, Go, eat the fat. Drink of the sweet and send portions to him who has nothing prepared. So this is a feast. This is a celebration. This is what you do when things are going well. This is what they're told to do. Go eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared. For this day is holy to the Lord. Do not be grieved. Does anyone know what comes next? That's right. That's right. And it's such a simple, simple thing. For the joy of the Lord is your strength. And we would do well to remember it.

The time in which the disciples who were praising Jesus lived was a hard time. And they praised God. And the time in which Nehemiah was around and he was leading God's people back into the land to rebuild the city and the wall was a hard time. And his comfort to them when he tells them, do not mourn and weep, but rather rejoice. Eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, give to those who have none. The reason was because the joy of the Lord is your strength. The joy of knowing him and loving him. supplies energy and zeal to do this work that's before us. And if you look for strength somewhere else to do the work before you, you won't find it. And so we have at the very beginning of our text an example of how Christians ought to live, no matter what's going on in their lives, praising God, rejoicing with a loud voice. And no matter how quiet you are in public, I know every one of you has a loud voice. I believe Marianne Meyer has a loud voice. I'm told by Daniel that she does.

And if I asked their kids, they might confirm it. And so use your loud voice to praise God. First point. Second, in this context, the Pharisees say to Jesus, teacher, rebuke your disciples. Tell them to shut up. They're being inappropriate. And you have to ask what the Pharisees thought was inappropriate. What were the disciples doing wrong? What was wrong with their praise? Well, You know that some of the Pharisees had a point by this time in Jesus' ministry. They had a point of looking for an opportunity to kill him, right? And so undoubtedly there were Pharisees in this group who were not there because they wanted to praise God and believed in Jesus and followed all of his teachings. They were there because they were trying to find a way to do away with him. And it makes sense that those people would say something like this because they don't love Jesus. They want to see him die.

And so they would think this sort of praise was more than over the top, that it was actually wicked, that they were attributed that what these people, these crowds were saying was actually blasphemous. They were attributing to a man things that belonged to God. And so it makes sense that if that's what they believe, they would say, teacher, rebuke your disciples. This is too far. This is too much. So do you think there might be any other reason why they would say something like that? Because it would be easy and comfortable if we just stopped and said, well, that's because the Pharisees hated Jesus. That's why they did what they did. And again, I want you to put yourself in this situation. And I want you to think. If you want to know of another reason why the Pharisees might say it, just think, what would cause me to say that? What would it take for me to say, stop it. Settle down. What are you doing? You don't know what you're talking about. Or are you willing to praise God the way they did? Or would it make you uncomfortable? Now, being good Reformed folk,

Of course it makes us uncomfortable. Which one of you isn't uncomfortable with someone hooting and hollering about Jesus? You all smile and you're like, no, no, not me. And it's like, well, prove it to me. Tell me, Dave, prove it to me. You prove it to me, Pastor. We like things to be in order and in their place and everything just like it's supposed to be and with sobriety and with reverence and everything just controlled and just the way it's supposed to be. Because that's what we're comfortable with. So what would you do if you were with the crowds? Remember at the beginning I said, if we were with the crowds, what would you want to be? Where would you be? Who would you be? And we're all like, well, I'd be with them screaming and shouting for Jesus. And I said, okay, would you? Do you? If you want to know if you will, just ask if you do. And if the answer is, well, you don't understand, Pastor Dave. I mean, do you know what people would say? And I say, yeah, they'd say what the Pharisees said. And you wouldn't be the first one to have gone through it.

Those of you who have kids, you take them out in the grocery store, what's the danger? Little kids. Well, it might be crazy. That's true. The thing about little kids is they haven't learned what you can say and can't say in public yet. And so sometimes they say things that are very embarrassing, but you know what else they are? True. And that's the problem, right? Because now you're faced with whether or not you want to teach your kids not to say the truth. You want to teach them not to see the truth. Why is he fat, daddy? Where he could hear what was being said. You get in the store with your kids and they go, mommy, is that a man or a woman? Oh, that's not funny, is it? No, we can't laugh at that because all of a sudden then we know the conflict. It's like, you can't say that because that's offensive. Why has he got tattoos all over him? These are the things kids notice and they ask, okay?

Should they be taught to say what's true without worrying about what other people have to say or should we teach them? Teach and rebuke your disciples. Parent, tell your children to be quiet. Are we so far removed from the Pharisees and our embarrassment or shame with regard to who Jesus is and praising him for it? I don't think we are. I think we understand what's going on with the Pharisees. There's another situation like this in the Old Testament where there's worship. and they're scorned for it. There was a time when David was king, 2 Samuel 6. The ark's been gone, and they get the ark back. And David's bringing the ark back into his city. And what's David doing? Oh boy, he's dancing. That's what scripture tells us. It says, then it happened as the ark of the Lord was coming into the city of David that the daughter of, I'm sorry, Then Michael, the daughter of Saul, looked out of the window and saw King David, this is her husband, leaping and dancing before the Lord. And she despised him in her heart. She looked out and saw him praising God. And she went, you fool. Who in the world do you think you are? And so finally, David, when he's all done with what's going on, he comes into his house. And this is what Michael says to him, his wife. He says, it says, when David returned to bless his household, after he's gone to these other places and blessed them,

Michael, the daughter of Saul, came out to meet David and said, how the king of Israel has distinguished himself today. He uncovered himself today as the eyes of his servants made, as one of the foolish ones shamelessly uncovers himself. And what she's saying is that your clothing wasn't covering you, your private parts. That's what she's saying to him. And so if you want to know what she thinks is shameful, that's what she thinks is shameful. And there are times in the law where the people are told not to walk up the steps because of their attire, they would expose themselves. And this is what she's upset about. He's out there, he's leaping, he's dancing. He's not thinking about that. And she despises him for it. What a fool you've been. So David said to Michael, it was before the Lord who chose me above your father and above his house to appoint me ruler over the people of Israel.

the Lord over Israel. Therefore, I will celebrate before the Lord. I will be more lightly esteemed than this and will be humble in my own eyes. But with the maids of whom you have spoken, with them I will be distinguished. Now, to translate that into our own words, what he said is, if you think that was bad, wait and see. Just wait and see. And as far as what people think of me, they're going to love me and you're an idiot. That's basically what he says to her. And then you're left at the end of it going, okay, so who's right? Because she's like, you just acted like a complete and utter fool and you're the king of the people. And David says, you think that was bad? Just wait. So who is right? The very next verse says, Michael, the daughter of Saul, had no child to the day of her death. Why? Okay, you know, non sequitur here. What's that mean? Why is that in there? Well, because that's their judgment. That's the judgment of the Lord was to close her womb for her faithlessness.

And for her opposition to David's worship. David was in the right. These disciples were in the right. Michael was wrong. And the Pharisees were wrong. And do we face the temptation to be wrong in exactly the same ways? Do you worship? Do we worship God in some level the way these disciples did? Or the way that David did? And you go, no. And I say, okay, well, how can we get proof? How can we improve? I can't change the past, right? Water under the bridge. How can we improve? So Jesus answered the Pharisees. And he says, I tell you, if these become silent, these people, my disciples, if they become silent, the stones will cry out. And I want you to see from that that God will receive his praise. And if we don't offer it, for whatever reason, he's not going to be lacking in it in any way. The rocks were going to cry out because That's what God made them to do. You know in July when the sun's up in the sky and it's super hot outside and it's uncomfortable and the humidity's just unbearable and everyone hates to live in Indiana? Do you know what the sun's doing? Exactly what God made it to do. It's doing its part to praise God. And when the wind blows, what's it doing? But exactly what God made it to do, which is blow. And it doesn't matter what...

creature or thing, even down to the rocks, were made to give glory to God and to praise him. And if the rocks were made for it, how much more so you and me who were made in his image? How much more so are we to be the ones who praise God? Before, just a moment ago, I asked you, do we worship God this way? And sort of the implicit answer is no. But now the question is not, do we worship God this way? The question is, will we? You know, when you see something and you come to the truth, of God's word, and it says, here's how it is. What are you going to do with it? That's nice. That's good. That should be done. We will someday. Is that supposed to be the response? So will we? Will we grow? Will you become more exuberant in your worship? Will you come to rejoice more in God whenever life's hard? Will you grow to see that that's in no way meant to preclude you or keep you from worshiping God? In no way.

You say, but it's hard and it's sad. And I say, I know. If there's one person in this room who understands, you say, but Dave, it's me. If I was at this time, you know what I think I would actually be doing. I think I would be there. And I have about, you know, there's probably a 10% chance that I'd be whooping it up with them. Because I do have that in me somewhere. Some of you more, some of you less. But I think what I would be doing is most likely walking along. being super encouraged and really happy that there were people doing something even though I was afraid to do it. And I'd be jealous. Just like you were at the high school dance when you wouldn't go out on the dance floor and dance, but you watched everyone else have a good time out there instead. You were jealous. I would be jealous of these disciples. I would say they have something that I want. And it's not because their life's easier or better or this is just according to their personality. They have faith that I admire. And I want some of it.

And so if you're like me and you go, well, that's hard and scary and uncomfortable, unfamiliar. I don't really have that kind of personality. You know, I'm kind of more of a sit and watch kind of guy. You know, I like to, I'm an observant type woman. Is that how you're going to act in heaven? Is that how you want to act in heaven? Do you think that's what, when you don't have sin tripping you up anymore, you think that's what you're going to be like? Do you really think that your personality is so tied into who you are that when you get to heaven, you're not going to do this? It's foolish to think that we will. Our encumbrances that we face now to keep us from worshiping God are not our personalities. They're our sins. What will people think? I don't want the Pharisees. I don't want people thinking like, you know, would it be so bad? Would it be so bad if someone came?

into church or into your house and thought, man, these people really love Jesus. Look at them. They are weird. I don't know if that's right. Would it be so bad? It wouldn't. It sure wouldn't. And so the application, I've been pointing at it the whole time, and I'll say it. It's simply that we as God's people, no matter what your circumstances in your life, ought to praise God just like these disciples did. You have no reason not to. You just have none. I know you've got stuff going on in your life. So does everyone else. Everyone who's ever praised God like them had stuff going on in their life. But they loved God, and they couldn't keep their mouth shut. In this world, you're going to face so much trouble, and there's going to be a lot of hardships. And if you think that when you get the other side of it, you'll praise God, you'll never get to it. And consequently, all of the struggles and the hardships are going to be that much harder to bear. And so I invite you out of that.

into praising God in the midst of whatever it is that's going on. You got stuff, I got stuff. We could talk about our stuff. Why don't we talk about the Lord? No matter what's going on in your life, if you're a Christian, you've been saved, you've been redeemed, you've been changed. And somewhere inside of you, there's part of you that's going, he's right, he's really uncomfortable, and I don't like you pointing out that I'm bad at this. But there's somewhere in there that says, but he's right. I want to be like those disciples. And so no matter what's going on in your life, can you not praise God for being merciful to you and saving you from your sin? Can you remember what it was like before you were a Christian? Do you have eyes? Can you see how people around you live who aren't Christians? Is that really better? Was it better before you were a Christian? Do you covet the unbeliever's life? Do they have joy? Not this kind of joy.

They can get mad and they can whoop it up and they can make a scene, but it's never a joyful scene. They can get angry, but they don't have joy. Joy is a distinctly Christian attribute. And they're the only ones who can have joy in the midst of trial and difficulty. And so I invite you to do that, to praise God, because he sent his son to save you from your sins. And whatever trials and struggles you face in this world, that doesn't change. And it is the foundation that our whole life is built upon. No matter what happens in this life, what trials we face, what struggles we face, what sins we commit, there's a God in heaven who has loved us enough to send his son to save us from our sins and to remove all guilt and all consequence and all judgment against us. And that has to, in our hearts, grow. And it has to overwhelm, consume, subsume.

The present momentary afflictions is how scripture describes the stuff that we go through on a daily basis. Such that we praise God in seasons of plenty and in seasons of want because he's worthy of it. So praise God because it's the right thing to do. If that's the helpful way for me to say it to some of you, then there you go. Do it because you're supposed to. Praise God because it's evangelistic. The fact is, the Christians that you know who actually live more like this, You like being around them, don't you? You're like, hey, I want to go be around the guy who loves Jesus. He's fun. He has faith. His life sucks. He's got hard stuff. But you know what? He's an encouragement. And it's clear that he loves Jesus. I want to be around him. It's evangelistic. It's attractive. Don't ever be ashamed of your love and devotion to Jesus. Don't ever be ashamed of it. There's nothing to be ashamed of in loving Jesus. He wins.

When it's all said and done, he wins. And if you're yoked with him in his death, you'll be yoked with him in his resurrection, and you'll win. And then you can live through whatever hardships you face in this world with faith and with joy. Let's pray.