The Stones Will Cry Out

When the words “Palm Sunday” are spoken, churchgoers of all ages likely have some internal reaction. As a child, a good Bible story likely includes a donkey, and Palm Sunday signals only one more week until Easter eggs. Adults may think of palm leaves and have a sense of hope in Christ our King.

As we go through the book of Acts, courage is front and center as we watch the Apostles and new Christians spread the message of salvation in Jesus Christ bravely in a hostile word. It’s appropriate that as we pause Acts, the example of courage remains in our text. Luke 19: 37-40 lays a familiar scene, the crowd is cheering Jesus while the Pharisees are grumbling. The Pharisees want Jesus to silence His crowd for proclaiming Him a king, which challenges their authority. Jesus’ response in verse 40 is “I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

While perhaps some of the crowd had their hope solely in an earthly king to dethrone Roman rule, others very likely were part of those early Christians that after Jesus’ crucifixion, couldn’t help but proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen. I acknowledge that God chose me to be born two thousand years after this. Would I have had the courage to cry out “Lord Jesus!”, unable to remain quiet just like the stones and nature around Jesus?

Standing for an ideal can be frightening, and, like today, there were many viewpoints two thousand years ago. This crowd had followed Jesus for the last few years. They were healed, amazed, and awestruck. A week after Palm Sunday, many were caught up in the prevailing moment, succumbed to groupthink, and played a role in His crucifixion. Perhaps some of these people wanted courage, but were scared as they saw their friends, neighbors, and loved ones turn against Jesus.

It’s easy to get caught up in the ideas of others and lose our fundamental footing in Jesus’ words. I could say it’s easier today than ever before, a 24 hour news cycle, the abundance of opinion and reaction on social media, notification pings in your pocket. But clearly opinions spread quickly in Jesus’ day too, as a crowd of many went from cheers to boos in one week! We should be well reminded that the Enemy wants to distract and confuse us, perhaps that’s more use to him than if we were murderers. Palm Sunday is a reminder to stay grounded in Jesus’ words, with courage to exclaim the Gospel and courage to gently encourage a friend (or stranger) in need. Courage comes in all shapes and sizes, but is used best when founded in Jesus’ red letters.

-Alex Pfister