Luke 19:39-40: “Some of the Pharisees from the crowd told Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” He answered, “I tell you, if they were to keep silent, the stones would cry out!”
Jesus made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem on the Sunday before His crucifixion riding on a donkey colt as Zechariah had prophesied (Zech 9:9-10). As the Lord descended, the people surrounded him and threw palm branches down at His feet to welcome their Messiah. They sang “Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” Everyone in the city was filled with anticipation and wonder. The Pharisees were indignant and demanded that Jesus rebuke the crowds for such adoration and worship.
The topography of the place tells much of the story. The path Jesus traveled was a steep decline through the Kidron Valley and into the Temple Mount through the Eastern gate. On Jesus’ left side was the Mt. of Olives where the Jews had buried their loved ones for centuries in anticipation of the coming of the Messiah and the resurrection. These tombs were stone tombs. When Jews visit a grave, they do not leave flowers. Jews leave a stone to mark the visit. The graves were stone, the markers were stone, the remnants of grieving loved ones were stone, the ossuaries were stone, and the above ground sarcophagi were stone. All of these stones spoke of the dead who were buried in that sacred place.
Jesus told the Pharisees that if the worshipers laying down branches on that day remained silent then the rocks themselves would cry out. Jesus was saying that these graves would burst open and the saints from all the ages would celebrate the entrance of the Messiah. May we join today the saints from all the ages celebrating the coming of the Lord into the Holy City. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.