The Rocks Will Cry Out

By Shirley Mitchell

“Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, rebuke your disciples!’

‘I tell you,’ he replied, ‘if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.’ "

Luke 19:39-40

Jesus accepted the public worship of His followers and did not silence them. He stated if the people were silent, then the stones would cry out. It was a day to give praise. Let’s explore history to understand why it was such a great day that inanimate objects would have to praise God for the event.

For centuries, cities were surrounded by walls made of stones. Guarded gates opened to those who were allowed to enter and shut out the unwanted. From the tops of the walls, watchmen surveyed the landscapes and the horizons to see anyone who approached the city as either an enemy or a friend. The condition of a city’s walls was a matter of pride or shame.

God gave Israel (the Northern kingdom) and Judah (Southern Kingdom which included Jerusalem) repeated chances to repent from their idol worship and turn to Him. The prophet Jeremiah warned the people and prophesied that they would be turned over to their enemies and be held captive for 70 years (Jeremiah 25:11-12). The prophecy was fulfilled when the Babylonian empire invaded Jerusalem in 586 B.C. Decades later in captivity, Daniel searches the Scriptures for this prophecy. He prayed for God to confirm the 70-year captivity period is near the end (Daniel 9:1-3). God not only told him that captivity would end soon, but He also told Daniel more of His plans for the future.

Daniel 9:25 says “…From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until…” This decree was issued by Cyrus, king of Babylon (or Persia), on March 5, 444 B.C. Ezra 1:1-2 tells us that “In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put it in writing…The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and He has appointed me to build a temple for Him at Jerusalem in Judah.”

Jerusalem’s walls were also destroyed during the Babylonian invasion. The walls and the gates were in rubble. While living in exile, Nehemiah learned “…The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.” (Nehemiah 1:3) He sat down and wept, fasted, prayed, and reminded God of His covenant of love that God always keeps (1:5). God had placed Nehemiah in the palace as the cupbearer for the king. When Nehemiah was sad in front of the Babylonian king, the king asked him, “Why this sadness of heart?”

Nehemiah asked the king if he could return to Jerusalem to rebuild the city walls. God granted Nehemiah favor and success with the Babylonian king, and this king gave him the provision to rebuild the walls. However, the enemies of darkness attempted to thwart God’s plan. Their enemy mocked them saying the stones could not be brought back to life. The Jews were so committed to bring honor and protection to their beloved city that they did it under the fear of attack. They risked their lives to rebuild the walls.

Are you grasping the big picture yet as seen from God’s holy throne? The walls that Nehemiah had rebuilt after the Israelites were released from the 70-year Babylonian captivity would have cried out because of the eternal significance of this event. If the people of this generation would not recognize the Messiah, then an inanimate object with a tie to the previous generations would have to recognize Him. Praise for the true and long awaited Messiah could not be repressed or veiled. The stones would bear witness to this day anticipated by men of long ago. The stones would have cried out for the men who fought to build those walls who had the faith to honor their God and risked their lives to rebuild the city. The stones would have cried out because all of creation is crying out for our Redeemer. The stones would have cried out to give praise to the Most High God who fulfilled His divine plan made before the creation of the world, using kings set into their positions of authority who withstood enemies’ attempts to thwart His plan from being fulfilled.

In my church’s Passion Play this year, the directors asked me if I would take the role of the mute. Jesus heals the mute right after the triumphal entry. After praying over it, God told me there was no way I could be silent during the triumphal entry. After writing today’s study, my heart will be overflowing with joy as I act out these people’s emotions over this long awaited day. Even now, my heart is filled with praise like the lyrics to the song we sing at the play’s closing:

“If we keep our voices silent, all creation will rise and shout.

If we fail to praise You, Father, then will the very rocks cry out.”

An inanimate object won’t give my God the praise that He desires from my lips and from my voice. That’s my job. That’s your job. It’s time to let a little WAHOO-ing out, darling!

Pray with me: Oh, Lord, God, I praise YOU! Thank you, Father, for what this day meant to people for many generations! This world is crying out for a Redeemer…One who protects us from our enemies…One who frees us from captivity. Jesus, You are the answer to generations who have cried out for such a Redeemer so I cry out in worship! It’s in the Name above all names and the Name that one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess, in Jesus’ Name, Yeshua’s Name, I pray. Amen.

Excerpt from the Jesus Lives Bible study, Copyright ©2008 Christ Compels