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rocks crying out

pickled

Member
Joined
Dec 23, 2006
Messages
11
in luke 19 when Jesus is coming into jerusalem and everybody is praising Him... the religious rulers tell Him to tell the people to be quiet Jesus responded... if they are quiet the rocks will cry out .. what does He mean here by saying this . does He mean the rocks will sing his praises or does he mean the rocks will cry out in the slings (in an act of war against rome) of those wanting Jesus to be a political leader. Jesus makes reference to war as he sobs over jerusalem immedietly following this.
 
Yes God can make everything to praise Him

God is almighty and He is able to make every creature to praise Him...creation reveals the marvels of God and bring glory to God...Let us praise God in everything and for everything ...
 
Here is the text in the KJV. Let’s see how it reads:

37 And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; 38 Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. 39 And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. 40 And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.
41And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, 42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. 43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, 44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

“Began to rejoice and to praise God,” this is the condition that the Pharisees wanted to silence. “Mighty works that they had seen” are the cause for the “Loud voice” in it. And for the meaning of it all: “Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.” I would have to say that the obvious sense is that if Christ silenced the disciples, then the stones would take their place in laudatory praise. Yes 41-44 follows this because the events happened that way.
Sling stones are mentioned in the OT not only with David but with special left handed troops who were expert with them. Engines of war are also mentioned which cast large stones. Never, however, is there any linking of the words ‘cry’ or ‘cry out’ with any of these passages. The land of Israel is, on the other hand, a land strewn with stones; and this fact becomes a ready illustration in several narratives. Here is a couple:
Matthew 3:9
And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
Matthew 4:3
And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

Their numerousness and visibility lend them to this sort of hortatory use. Thus these stones would cry out. The main idea: Listen Pharisees, quieting the disciples will not stop it; if they don’t praise the stones will. Lastly supposing something like you mention (sling stones of Rome or Israel in warfare 4 decades away) was the real meaning of Christ’s words, then since Christ did not silence them, the Pharisees are thus promised there would not be the stone crying out war. This construction would be false prophetically and historically. My conclusion: nope, the war construction is just not workable. The praise interpretation stands sound and just plain obvious when the facts are weighed. Thanks for the question; hope this helps. …DGB
 
yes what you say is not lacking . i could be happy with this obvious explanation . but when i look at the context of the text i worry that i am missing what Jesus was grappling with within his own heart. here He is on the colt .. many people are praising Him for what seems to be all the right reasons. then right after he is confronted by the "leaders" , He is crying that Israel does not not know what will bring them true peace. if the people who were singing praise to Jesus hearts were in the right place and not for political reasons wouldnt Jesus be encouraged rather than sad .and doesnt it seem strange that He was clearly upset shortly there after when He cleared the temple. it seems this paints a picture of a man clearly upset with his present surroundings and is acting out with righteous anger. He knew what was going on in the hearts of the people . is this why HE reacted the way he did. was it a warning to the leaders who had romes ear that these people were bent on war for there freedom from rome ? think about it , these same people were cheering "kill Jesus" not but a couple days after this because Jesus let them down. They wanted barrabus the rabbel rouser .barrabus was a stirring up the people to fight against rome .

please pray about this . could we be wrong about this popular
interpratation of sricpture and miss the heart of God?
 
Luke 19 (NKJV)

The Triumphal Entry

28 When He had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 And it came to pass, when He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Loose it and bring it here. 31 And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you loosing it?’ thus you shall say to him, ‘Because the Lord has need of it.’”

32 So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them. 33 But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, “Why are you loosing the colt?”

34 And they said, “The Lord has need of him.” 35 Then they brought him to Jesus. And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him. 36 And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road.

37 Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, 38 saying:

‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!’
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

39 And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.”
40 But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.”Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem

41 Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, 42 saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, 44 and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

Matthew Henry's Commentary

Christ enters Jerusalem

Christ has dominion over all creatures, and may use them as he pleases. He has all men's hearts both under his eye and in his hand. Christ's triumphs, and his disciples' joyful praises, vex proud Pharisees, who are enemies to him and to his kingdom. But Christ, as he despises the contempt of the proud, so he accepts the praises of the humble. Pharisees would silence the praises of Christ, but they cannot; for as God can out of stones raise up children unto Abraham, and turn the stony heart to himself, so he can bring praise out of the mouths of children. And what will be the feelings of men when the Lord returns in glory to judge the world! (Lu 19:41-48)
 
Looking at the scripture quoted here. It would appear to me, trusting absolutely in the exegesis given, by precious brothers, that the phrase "the rocks would cry out" suggests that if we do not give thanks and magnify, then,...... or now,..........Jesus will pass by
 
There are 14 references to “cry out” in the Bible. The first 3 are crying appeals of wrong and oppression, (1 Sam.1:18, Job 19:7, & 35:9). The next reference in Isaiah 12 is like the one in Luke; 1 And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. 2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. 3 Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. 4 And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. 5 Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. 6 Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.” The next 3 are a crying out for war distress of Moab in an apparent judgment scenario, (Is.15:4,5 and Jer.48:31 q.v. whole passage). Lamentations 2:19 is an exhortation for Israel to cry out for a war judgment upon them; aspects of this chapter remind me of the 70AD destruction. Amos 3:4 has a lion crying out of his den; and the larger context is judgment on Israel. In Micah 4:9 there is a distressed crying out that preceeds a deliverance and turning of the tables where Israel becomes the brass hoofed thresher that beets in pieces the people. Habakkuk 1:2 and 2:11 finish out the OT references. The first one is the prophets own distress cry to the Lord for spoiling and violence, and the second is actually a stone cry: 11 For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.” This is a cry of stones to building timbers; v.12 is probably the content of the cry: 12 Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity!”
The other 2 are in the New Testament. Mark 10:47 says, “And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me.” This is blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, who sat by the highway side begging. Jesus healed him. And then our text here in Luke is the last. Crying out has nothing to do with sling stones in all the Scriptures. Crying out does have somewhat to do with judgments and distresses of wars. There is crying out for praise in terms of the king being in their midst.

One thing I notice in these crying out passages is that the content of the cry is evident in the text itself. Now we must ask of the Luke 19:40 context this question: Does the content of the cry precede or follow the statement: “I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.”? The praise content introduces the clause, and the judgment content follows the clause. A crying of sling stones is out of the question biblically, but there is OT data that would lend support to a condemnation and woe cry of threatened destruction in judgment, also a cry of sympathetic compassion. You ask what does the cry Jesus referred to mean, and the answer is: if the disciples quit through restraint of Jesus, then the stones would say the praise words the same words the disciples were saying. Could there be a second meaning hidden in "the stones cry out" that carries the condemnation, woe, and sympathetic grief motif that follows?

Now, the stones on the ground that Jesus was pointing to that would cry are not the stones mentioned later that would not be left one on the other in 40 years. This would not exclude the pathway stones from proclaiming the cities stones destruction off hand. But it makes it difficult. I think the telling critique is the fact that the plain meaning, since Christ didn’t silence his disciples, is that the stones will not cry out. If we ask what they did not cry out, the answer is they did not cry out the praise. The condemnation and woe and sympathy, which I am sure Jesus was also aware of, the stones could cry out as well, and metaphorically, with Biblical warrant, they did in 70AD. But remember the meaning of the cry Jesus mentioned is that one they did not cry, not the one they cried.

Doing a key word search in gateway on: “things which belong unto thy peace!” and “the time of thy visitation” is also informing. And if you want to know the thoughts and feelings of Christ at this time, all these OT passages are full of relevant sentiments, none of which are premised on iffy speculations, but on solid exegesis and lend depth to the meek and lowly entry of Christ into Jerusalem.

Exploring this question has been interesting; may God make it profitable. …DGB
 
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Yes I believe as Stephen says if we do not praise Him the rocks will. He will turn us over to our evil ways if we do not turn to Him. Then the rocks will cry out. Also, the spirit talked to my heart aobut this a while back. The spirit told me was, If we do not praise Him the rocks will. We should always be thankful everyday every second He saved us from hell. That is enough to praise Him. That is just my two cents.

debbi
 
thanks for the tremendous amount of time you gave to this subject .i agree with your info & understand how we are bound to interpretation by cross referencing the bible. is this very striving for truth hindering our ability to see the obvious in this situation. i am not trying to be right. this is a very crucial section of scripture, i think , because God is displaying such heart . what you wrote was awsome but there is still a check in my heart . please forgive me!

lu.19:38 the people were caliing Jesus their King. is this an earthly king(political) or spiritual? please use the rest of luke to answer.

If it is political (secular in nature) then is Jesus' answer political in verse 39?

think about it , there were thousands of jews there for the passover . remembering , sharing stories of there forefathers , talking about great victories God had given them in the past , raging against rome . there were people there stirring up the crowd,barrabus for example.
the religious leaders are trying to maintain order for the passover. they had a hot business going in the temple. ( this is obvious in the following scripture) not to mention the pressure they were under from rome itself to maintain order so they could continue their religion . is this the REAL REASON the pharisees rebuked Jesus? were the pharisees trying to quell rebellion against rome ? was there a powder keg ready to explode into war ? was Jesus' response actually letting the pharisees know that He would not lead them into war ? was Jesus' response shortly there after by weeping a reaction to the crowds misunderstanding of why He was there in the first place ?

do slings make a noise(cry out ) when you whirl them over over your head fast enough to split a mans skull when you release the "rock" ?
 
The people who are crying out in vs.38 are called there “the whole multitude of the disciples.” We can posit that here as in the request for their rebuke in v.39 that: “thy disciples” were the 12 disciples and others who were of their company going up to Jerusalem for the feast. That their entourage met up with other groups near the Mount of Olives is probable given the nature of this festival. This event is in fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9 which says, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ***, and upon a colt the foal of an ***.” Here is the just king coming, as David had, to the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite (1 Chron.21:21), and the sacrifices there were only shadows of his mission. As peter says years later, “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit, (1 Pet. 3:18),” and again on the days after Pentecost when Peter had healed the man at the temple gate, “But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you. (Acts 3:14)” Always the negation of salvation is in the self-righteousness of men: “Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. (Gal. 5:4)” The prophesy (This lowly entry), Pilates superscription (The King of the Jews), and Christ’s cry from the cross (it is finished, tatellisti), with Jesus’ own testimony to Pilate (My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews, John 18:36) all combine to resolve what kingdom this is.

Was it a popular delusion that messiah would lead Israel in a war of independence from Rome? Christ’s own warning of false messiahs and the Bar Chokbah rebellion, as well as the final war all indicate that. This is one of the reasons Christ used the term “son of man,” avoiding current messianic misconceptions. The rejoicing is fulfillment, however, of Zachariah’s prophecy; this is why the stones would cry out if the disciples were silenced. Did God’s will go against the insipid fears and usurping ambitions of the leaders? Yes of course. That sentiment is most evident in Caiaphas’s statement in John 11:50, “Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.” Jesus was aware of this throughout his ministry. Isaiah prophesized Israel’s blinding; Jesus ties his teaching in parables to it, and Paul uses it in his treatment of election in Romans. The disciples were not in that blinded class; Jesus explained the parables to those chosen to come to repentance and understanding. Jesus taught his disciples much concerning his death and resurrection in preparation for going up to this feast. The Pharisees in agitating for Barabbas’ release (not a good ploy for peace at the feast) betray their envy and manipulative scheming as Pilate made note of it in Mark 15:10, “For he knew that the chief priests had delivered him for envy.”

41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it. “And when he was come near,” shows that some distance has been traveled during this fulfillment of Zachariah 9. “He beheld the city,” would include its purposes designed by God, its history, its present blinded state, and its future destruction, as well as its future beyond that. Grief weeps; compassion weeps; distress weeps; even wrath weeps. Which is it here?

42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. Peace, Jerusalem’s peace, and the things which belong to it are not known to it; therefore tears. Peace, first, is free approach to God with their sins forgiven and their iniquity not imputed unto them. This work was transpiring before their eyes and they did not see it. Secondly, for the city would be destroyed for its wickedness, perversion, and stubborn rebellion toward God, and this is the fruit of its seeking to be justified by works. God by his prophets said he would hide it from them and send them blindness, and that he would remove his glory and give it to other nations bringing forth the fruits of righteousness.

43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, 44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation. Compassion in the midst of wrath would weep, for then there will be great distress. The word “for” shows how this judgment adds weight to the fact that the peace was hid from their eyes. These grief tears are most prominent, especially if we consider the substance of what they missed (Eph. 2:13-22). “13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. 14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; 16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: 17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. 18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. 19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; 20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.”

The sounds of flying projectiles has nothing to do with this passage, if we let the scriptures interpret the scriptures. The poetry of it is just not supported by other scripture. ...DGB
 
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Hmmm... interesting, I've never heard the war with Rome theory. But in the end, the people did praise Jesus.
Is it possible that nature itself is subject to the law of God?

Rom 1:20; For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
Rom 8:19; For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.
Rom_ 8:22; For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.

If Jesus can stop the wind and waves of a storm, ( Matt 8:27; Luke 8:25; and God can make the earth stand still and make a day last longer than normal, ( Josh 10:12-13; )
could he not truly make the rocks cry out?
 
Hi pickled:

There are a number of ideas as to what Jesus meant, when he said: "If they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."

One such idea is that Jesus was talking about angels, who would cry out Jesus' message if his followers were some how stopped from their preaching work. This is because Ezekiel 28:14, (NASB) says: "You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones." The reference to angels being fiery stones gave rise to this idea, Jesus was talking about angels.

Some think Jesus had in mind the science of archaeology, which in recent times has corroborated much Bible history and prophecy, sometimes by means of discovered monuments or other stone objects. There were specific words that had to be spoken on that occasion back there, and if Jesus' disciples had not uttered them the very stones would have.

Another, which seems more rational is the simply explanation that Jesus meant literal stones as a hyperbole. Luke 19:37-40, (NASB) says: "37-When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: 38-"Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" 39-Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" 40-"I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." Jesus was not here saying that if all the preachers he had taught and trained remained silent the stones would do the preaching work, but rather he was referring to the particular declaration his disciples were here making and to which the Pharisees objected. His disciples were voicing the words foretold for utterance on this very occasion, by Psalm 118:26. "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. From the house of the Lord we bless you." That prophetic psalm inspired by God would certainly be fulfilled for God's word does not return to him unfulfilled. (Isaiah 55:11) If it was made necessary by a forced silence upon the disciples, the literal stones would have cried out in fulfilment of Psalm 118:26. A similar hyperbole is used in Habakkuk 2:11, (NASB) which says: "The stones of the wall will cry out, and the beams of the woodwork will echo it." Habakkuk speaks of a stone crying out of the wall in testimony against the wickedness of the people during his time.
 
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