The Stones Would Cry Out is a sermon about events leading up to Palm Sunday when Jesus, as Messiah, enters Jerusalem, setting the stage for His crucifixion.

Key verses:
Luke 19:28-44

I’m going to ask you to take your Bible now, if you will, and turn with me to Luke chapter 19, and we’ll begin our reading in just a bit at the 28th verse. But I want to start by reading verses 39 and 40.

Luke 19:39: “And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples.”

Luke 19:40: “And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.”

I want to talk to you this morning about the stones crying out.

We were talking in Sunday School hour this morning about, as I said, the first 10 verses of this chapter. We’re not going to go through verses 11 to 27, not because it isn’t important, it is. But we had a guest speaker recently, brother Steve Sanders, who spoke on this same story from Matthew. And then not too long before that, I also covered the same story from Matthew. So, I think we’ll not go to verses 11 to 27 this morning. You’re welcome to read it and I’d encourage you to do so, but we’re going to start at verse 28. Before we get that far let me give you a little bit of backdrop.

Lazarus, a Testimony of Christ

In John chapter 12, verses 1 and 2, and then verses 10 and 11, we find these words:

John 12:1: “Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead.”

John 12:2: “There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him.”

Now, I want you to think about that. This is six days before Passover, and they have this great supper, and that gives us a time frame. But I want you to think about the fact that they make this supper, a big dinner in honor of the Lord Jesus. But sitting at the table with Jesus is Lazarus. Lazarus had become ill. Lazarus had passed away. Lazarus had been buried. And four days after the funeral, four days after he was buried, Jesus went and called him up out of the grave.

There were other people whom Jesus raised from the dead. Before Jesus came, there are at least two stories in the Old Testament of prophets bringing people back from the dead. After Jesus left the earth, we read of Paul and Peter bringing people back from the dead. But nobody other than this one case ever went to the cemetery and called somebody up out of the grave as far as we know in recorded history. This is the only time that’s ever happened.

And there’s Lazarus sitting at the dinner table with Jesus. That must have been some dinner. Can you imagine being there? People came, and why did they come? Yes, they wanted to see Jesus, but they wanted to see Lazarus.

That’s verses 1 and 2 of John 12. Verses 10 11, say this: “But the chief priest consulted that they might” rejoice with him. No, that’s not what it says, it’s not what it says. You’d think they would. You’d think if anybody would, the priest would say what a wonderful miracle this is. How wonderful it is that Jesus brought this man up out of the grave. It’s not what it says. Here’s what it says:

John 12:10: “But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death;”

Can you imagine that? Here this man’s been brought up from the grave. He’s been brought up. He died, he’d been brought up the grave, he’s alive again, he’s sitting at the dinner table. People are there to celebrate, people are there to rejoice, and they want to kill him. He was dead, he’s been resurrected, let’s make him dead again. Why did they want to do that? Why did they think in such a strange way? Well, it tells us. Let me read it to you again:

John 12:10: “But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death;”

Did you catch the word “also”? “What do you mean ‘put Lazarus also to death’?” Because they had a plot out to kill Jesus. The term is not used in the Bible, and I want you to know that. But if you’ve watched a lot of television or movies, you know this term, they “put a hit out on him” or “they put a contract out on his life” and if you could find him and kill him, great. If you can’t kill him, bring him to us we’ll do it. They didn’t really. And stop, who was this? Well, this was the organized crime group in the area. No. Well, these were some political tyrants. No. Who were these people who wanted to commit double murder? The chief priest, the religious leaders. Again verse 10, John 12:

John 12:10: “But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death;”

John 12:11: “Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus.”

Can you imagine? Because Lazarus was a testimony. We just heard a testimony given here of salvation. Lazarus was a testimony to Jesus and who He is. They want to kill him for that because many people are coming to believe in Jesus. Can I share something with you? These men had evil intentions there’s no question about that. Well, why? What motivated them?

We could spend a long time talking about that. Let me just try to state it succinctly. They were in positions of power and many of them were in positions of rulership, not political rulership, but religious rulership and they didn’t want Jesus to mess up their good situation. They knew from prophecy that it was time for the Messiah to come. They knew from the miracles and this miracle in particular that Jesus almost positively was the Messiah. But as far as they were concerned, He came at the wrong time.

They had a good thing going and they didn’t want Him changing it. People were following Him and not listening to them. They held tradition above the Word of God. He preached the Word of God and minimized their traditions. Too many people were believing in Jesus. Too many people were having their lives changed. Old rotten sinners were becoming good members of society. They couldn’t have that. This man Lazarus was brought up from the dead, he was influencing way too many people to believe in Jesus.

Now, this we know from the Bible. The rest of what I’m going to tell you is not from the Bible and I can tell you therefore, it is not part of God’s Word. I can’t tell you that it’s absolutely 100% fact, but I’ll tell you what little I know. My source for this was a man, a godly man, who served the Lord well. He’s with the Lord now, but he said he went to the island of Cyprus and that on the island of Cyprus, there’s a tomb. And the inscription on the tomb reads “Lazarus, the man who died twice.”

The story behind that tomb is that Lazarus – because he’s not mentioned after John 12, what did he do? After the Lord’s resurrection, he went to Cyprus and was a pastor there. He lived out the rest of his life there and what happened then? Well, later on, he did die again. Now, again, that’s not from the Bible. Is that 100% true I don’t know. I told it to you the way it was told to me.

Ascending Up to Jerusalem

But then at the beginning of this chapter, we have another man who’s a great testimony for Jesus, Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was a man who was hated, a man who was dishonest, and a man who had become very rich but not by legitimate means. And yet he wanted to know the Lord and he came to know the Lord, Jesus saved him.

In the tenth verse of Luke chapter 19, we’re given the reason that Jesus came to this earth. We talked about this in the Sunday School hour. He didn’t come to be the great teacher – He’s the greatest of all teachers. He didn’t come to be a great example – He’s the greatest of all examples. He came to seek and to save that which was lost. He came to save lost people, people whose sins had separated them from God. That’s why He came for people like me and people like you.

So, let’s take a look beginning at verse 28. It says:

Luke 19:28: “And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem.”

“Thus spoken” refers to this parable that he gave about the ten pounds.

Luke 19:28: “And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem.”

Now, let me just give you a little pointer to help in your Bible study. In the Bible, whenever anybody’s going to Jerusalem they’re always going up to Jerusalem and whenever they’re leaving Jerusalem they’re always coming down from Jerusalem. Well, why is that true? It is the holy city, and it is the place where God chose to put his name. But there’s an even more practical reason than that. Jerusalem is up on a plateau, as it were, in the mountain and you have to go up physically to get there and you have to come down to leave there. That’s why they’re always going up to Jerusalem, always coming down. So, He’s ascending up to Jerusalem. In 29, it says:

Luke 19:29: “And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples,”

Luke 19:30: “Saying, Go ye into the village over against you; in the which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring him hither.”

Luke 19:31: “And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him.”

Luke 19:32: “And they that were sent went their way, and found even as he had said unto them.”

Luke 19:33: “And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt?

Luke 19:34: “And they said, The Lord hath need of him.”

Luke 19:35: “And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon.”

That is such a simple passage and it’s one of those things you might just read through and not give a lot of thought to. Well, that’s okay, they did what He said, and it worked out well. But notice the prophetic fulfillment here. Jesus told him to go into this town and find this colt. He knew right where it’d be. He told him where to find it. He said if anybody says to you why are you taking the colt, tell him the Lord has need of it and it’ll be okay. Now, had He gone there by himself and set up with the owner of that colt and made arrangements, said, “Listen I’m going to send a couple of guys.” Well, that’s possible but I don’t think so. “What are you saying?” I’m saying I think the Lord spoke a prophecy here and it played out exactly the way He said it would. Why did that man let the colt go? Because the Lord had need of him.

I don’t know if anybody in this room has had the same thought that I’ve had about this, but they went and got that little donkey. The other Gospel writers say they took his mother with him, but Jesus wrote on the colt. I don’t know if anybody else had this thought but whenever I read this story you know what I think? I think if the Lord can use a donkey maybe He can use me. If the Lord has need of a simple little donkey colt maybe I’m useful too.

So, they put garments on the colt. It didn’t have a saddle. They put garments on him to make it a cushioned ride as it were. Notice they set Jesus thereupon, so evidently, He didn’t climb up on the colt. They picked Him up and put Him on the colt. Why? They’re honoring Him. In verse 36 it says:

Luke 19:36: “And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way.”

Why would they do that? To make a softer ride for him, to cushion the road.

Luke 19:37: “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;”

“And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives,” – the Mount of Olives is just out the Eastern side of Jerusalem. You can see from the Mount of Olives the Eastern Gate of Jerusalem. It’s walled up, it has been walled up for centuries. But there’s a prophecy in the Old Testament that says when the Messiah comes, He’s going to pass through that gate.

In Jesus’ time, that gate wasn’t walled up and, actually, the one that is walled up now isn’t the same gate He went through. It’s the same location but the Jerusalem wall had been destroyed during Ezra’s, and Nehemiah’s time, and had been rebuilt. So, it’s not the same wall. That was the wall Jesus went through, the rebuilt one. They’ve had to restore it again, but it’s closed up. And yet, there’s a prophecy that when the Messiah comes, He’ll pass through that. Jesus did go through that on what we call Palm Sunday.

The First Day of the Week

You’ll know in a moment why they call it Palm Sunday. But this was Sunday, the first day of the week. You never find the term “Sunday” in the Bible, nor will you find Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, or Saturday. Why? Those are pagan terms. I think it’s interesting.

I’ve had people who say to me, “Well, I can’t celebrate December 25th, Jesus’ birth, because that’s a pagan holiday.” Okay, and I’ve had people say, “I can’t celebrate Easter because that’s a pagan holiday.” Okay, can you celebrate any day because all the days of the week are named for pagan holidays? Sunday’s the day of the Sun, Monday’s the day of the moon, Tuesday’s the god, Tyr, Wednesday’s the god, Woden, Thursday you know is the god, Thor, Friday is the god, Freya, and Saturday is for Saturn.

So, I guess you can’t celebrate any day for anything. Can you now see that that doesn’t even play into it? It doesn’t even enter into it. So, this Sunday, we would call it the first day of the week. That’s the Bible term “first day of the week.”

Jesus is entering Jerusalem and that begins the events that lead up to his crucifixion which is why we have a Good Friday service. Again, “Good Friday” is not a Bible term, but we are celebrating and recognizing it because the Lord told us to do that. Why did He tell us to do that? Well, you come Friday night, we’ll talk about it. We’re celebrating, recognizing the Lord being crucified.

Now, before I go a step further, and there may not be anybody in the room thinking about this, but there could be one or two or maybe somebody who’s listening electronically, “Well, I don’t think Jesus was crucified on Friday because you have three days to the resurrection, and you can’t from Friday get 72 hours till Sunday, and it doesn’t work. So, I think Jesus was crucified on Wednesday.” Well, if you think Jesus was crucified on Wednesday, fine. R.A. Torry, a great preacher of old times, thought that, and you can think that, and I’ll still be your friend. I hope you’ll still be mine. I don’t think that makes sense. Why? Because you have the opposite problem. If He’s crucified on Wednesday, you have more than 72 hours. So, what do you say? Maybe He was crucified on Thursday. If you have to have the full 72 hours, then you could say He was crucified on Thursday, then you get your 72 hours.

I’m going to say you don’t have to have 72 full hours. Why? In the Bible, any part of a day is counted as a whole day, and in addition to that, in the Book of Esther, Esther said she was going in to see the King after three days, but it says she went in on the third day. Oh, she got off schedule, she went early. No, any part of the day is counted as a whole day.

Also, in the New Testament, you’re going to find this: Jesus rose after three days but you’re also going to find that He rose on the third day. “How can that be right? That’s one of those famous contradictions in the Bible.” No, any part of the day is counted as the whole day. You do not have to have 72 full hours between the crucifixion and the resurrection. Okay, you’re welcome, that’s free, all right?

The Eastern Gate

Now, that wall, that Eastern Gate to Jerusalem with the prophecy that the Messiah would ride through it, Jesus fulfilled that on that traditional name Palm Sunday. But the prophecy extends beyond that. When He comes again, He’s going to come to the Mount of Olives – that mountain outside Jerusalem on the east side where the Garden of Gethsemane is to this day – where He went to pray and then was arrested and taken into Jerusalem for the crucifixion.

But on the Sunday prior to that, He’s been at the Mount of Olives and He’s coming down and there’s a road there. Today, you can walk on it, I have. You can walk on it. It’s called the Way of the Messiah, and prophetically they believe that’s the way the Messiah will come. He will come to the Mount of Olives. He will follow that path that takes you down across the Kidron Valley, the little valley that separates the Mount of Olives from Jerusalem, and then up the other side and go in that Eastern Gate.

Now, let me share something with you about that. As I’ve said at least two or three times already, that Gate’s walled up. It was walled up for other purposes but one of the reasons, and this isn’t the only reason it’s walled up, I want you to understand that, but one of the reasons is the Messiah can’t come through that gate, therefore the prophecy is null and void.

But it doesn’t stop there. Muslim people believe that Jesus is real, they believe Jesus is coming again, but they do not believe that Jesus is God. You need to know and understand that. They believe He was real, and they believe He’s coming again. So, to prevent Him from coming as the Messiah of Israel, they placed a cemetery right in front of that gate. What’s that got to do with it? Well, they believe that He is a priest, and that’s true. He’s a prophet, priest, and king. A priest cannot enter into the temple if he comes in contact with the dead. He’s defiled, therefore, by having a cemetery in front of the gate, Jesus can come, but He will not be able to enter through the gate. He will not be able to go on to the temple and He will not be able to fulfill the role of the Messiah.

What do you think about that? I think that Jesus can open a walled-up gate if He chooses to. And what about the cemetery? I don’t know what the Lord will do, but I’ll tell you, if He has the power, if He wanted to, He could resurrect all the people in the cemetery and then it wouldn’t be an issue at all, would it? I don’t know what He’s going to do. I’m not saying He’s going to do that. I don’t know what He’s going to do. I’m going to tell you He’s got it figured out, He knows. It won’t be a problem for him. But you can walk down that way of Messiah you can’t cross the cemetery, but you can walk down that way of Messiah, just the path that Jesus took on this day from the Mount of Olives through that Eastern Gate in Jerusalem.

Mighty Works That They Saw

Verse 37 again:

Luke 19:37: “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;”

“The whole multitude of disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice.” Why? “For all the mighty works that they had seen.” What mighty works had they seen? They had seen Him take people who are blind and give them their eyesight, they had seen Him heal the deaf, they had seen Him cure leprosy, an incurable disease, they had seen Him feed five thousand on one occasion and seven thousand on another occasion with just a few loaves of bread and a few fish.

Now, when we say loaves of bread, not like you buy at the store, have you noticed this? Maybe I’m the only one who noticed. We used to buy a loaf of bread at the stores like this, and now it’s like this [smaller]. Have you noticed, and it costs more? Anyway, that’s not part of the message. I just wondered if you’d notice that.

But the fact of the matter is, when He talks about loaves of bread that’s not what it’s talking about, okay? It’s not the kind of bread they had. These loaves of bread were probably flatbread, and they were much smaller than what you’re thinking about. But with a few loaves of bread and a few fish, He fed thousands of people. Some of them, not everybody, saw this, but some of them had seen Him walk on water, some of them, only a few, only three of the people present that day, but some of them had seen Him transfigured and talking with Moses and Elijah. But they had seen wonderful works that He’d done.

Some of them had seen Him turn water into wine and some of them had seen Him raise the dead. There was Jairus, the daughter who had died and He walked in, took her by the hand, said “Damsel, I say unto thee, arise,” and she got up. There was Peter’s mother was sick. She hadn’t died but she was sick. He walked in and spoke to her and she got up and made dinner. There was a young man, we don’t know his name, he was in the city of Nain. Jesus stopped his funeral just outside the city touch the bier upon which he laid, and he got up, and He restored him to his mother.

He had raised the dead, but again, these were people who had recently died. That little 12-year-old girl, Jairus, daughter, she hadn’t been dead more than a half hour, if it had been that long. That young man in the city of Nain, had been dead longer. They had the funeral, they were carrying him out to bury him, but they hadn’t buried him yet.

Then there’s Lazarus, who got sick and passed away, they had the funeral, and they buried him, and it’s four days later. When they get to the grave, Jesus says to take away the stone and Martha speaks up and says, “You don’t want to do that, he’s been in there four days. It’s not going to be pleasant it’s going to stink. They open the tomb and Jesus said, “Lazarus come forth.” And Lazarus got up and walked out of the tomb.

I’ve heard people say, and I don’t know the situation, I don’t know this is true. It may have been that where Lazarus was buried, the family seems to have been wealthy and a family of notoriety, they may have had a private garden tomb, such as we find that Joseph of Arimathea had where Jesus would be buried not long after this story.

But somebody said if He hadn’t said, “Lazarus come forth.” Everybody in the cemetery would have gotten up. Now, that might be true, I don’t know if that’s true, but it sounds good. But He called Lazarus out of the grave, and he came out. Jesus said to loose him and let him go. Why? He was still bound in the grave clothes, the burial garments, the same kind of burial garments Jesus himself would be wrapped in. You read about that, and we’ll talk about it, Lord willing, next Sunday – but all these marvelous works.

Messiah Has Finally Come

Then they had the dinner that we talked about earlier, and after all that, as He’s coming to Jerusalem, there are a lot of people who are convinced that this is the Messiah. Nobody else had ever done the miracles that He did. Nobody else had taught the things that He taught.

They sent some men out to arrest Him a little bit before this, and somebody said to them, “Why haven’t you brought Him?” And they said, “Never man spake like this man,” – never heard anybody talk like Him.

So, these people, look at verse 37 again:

Luke 19:37: “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;”

Luke 19:38: “Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.”

“Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord,” – they are quoting Zechariah 9:9. “Blessed be the king,” – Blessed be the Messiah, the Mashiach, the Messiah, the Savior. Blessed be the Son of David because the Messiah has to be a descendant of David. Blessed is the king – they were looking for Him to come and be king in Jerusalem.

They hadn’t had a king for a long time. “Well, what about King Herod?” He wasn’t one of them. He wasn’t a descendant of David. He wasn’t even an Israeli. He was from Ijumaa. “Where is that?” It’s across the river where we would call Jordan today. “Well, how do you get to be king?” The Romans placed him there. They hadn’t had a king for a long time. They had been conquered and conquered and conquered, first by one group and then another, and then another.

“Blessed be the king.” The king is here, and this isn’t just any king, this is the king, the long-promised Messiah. How long? The prophecies of the Messiah began more than 4,000 years before Jesus came and now, He’s here.

Luke 9:38: “Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.”

Isn’t that wonderful? And Mark’s account says they cried out, “Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna.” What is that? Well, I knew in elementary school there was a little girl in school named Hosanna, but that’s not a person’s name. It’s okay to name your child that if you want to, don’t misunderstand me, I’m not criticizing that. But the word means “Oh, save us.”

“Oh, save us,” – they were calling on Him to save them. “Well, you mean to save them spiritually.” Yes. “Well, did they want Him to save them from the Romans?” Of course. “Did they want Him to save them from all their troubles?” Yes. It’s not what He came to do. He didn’t come to save them from the Romans. He didn’t come to take away all their troubles. He had taken away a lot of people’s troubles and He still does that. But He never promised to take away all your troubles. As a matter of fact, He said in the world you will have tribulation. You’re going to have trouble. He said, “But be of good cheer I’ve overcome the world, trust me.”

Verse 10 of this same chapter says:

Luke 19:10: “For the son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

“Who do you come to save?” Sinners, sinners like Zacchaeus.

In verse 38, “Glory to God in the highest.” Isn’t that interesting? They said, Glory to God in the highest.” Isn’t that the same thing the angel said when He was born? It is Luke chapter 2; you can look it up. And you’d think everybody would be rejoicing. You think everybody would be so happy with all of this. The long-promised Messiah has finally come.

Rejecting Messiah

We already told you about the plot. So, verse 39 says:

Luke 19:39: “And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples.”

You know what they’re saying? Tell these people to be quiet. Tell them to stop it. You know what? They didn’t stop it. As a matter of fact, they kept doing it all the way up to the temple. It doesn’t tell us that here in Matthew, but other writers tell us that all the way up into the temple they kept saying, “Hosanna, praise to the Lord. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Our King has come.” It’s a great day of celebration.

What did the Lord do? He went into the temple. Now, before He went into the temple He stopped and looked over Jerusalem and He wept. He wept over Jerusalem but let’s get back to those men who told Him to tell the people to be quiet, tell Him, “Stop saying that. Don’t let them call you Messiah. Don’t let them call you the Son of David. Don’t let them call you the Savior. Tell them to be quiet.”

Can I interject something here? And it doesn’t tell us this. This passage, you’ll see in the Book of Acts but you won’t see it here, at least not stated, I should say. But you know you can talk about any deity or any religion you want to, I dare say, if you want to go on the radio or television or if you want to go down in the streets of the city here. If you want to talk about Buddha, everybody’s fine with that. They’re fine if you want to go down there and talk Taoism. People are going to say how wise you are. If you want to go down there and talk about Shintoism, people say, “Well isn’t that interesting? That’s an interesting way of looking at life and death.” If you’d like to go down there and you’d like to talk about the Indian gods, the Hindu gods, you can do that. You can record songs about them and sing them, and you may sell millions of records. “Nobody’s done that.” We certainly have.

But don’t talk about Jesus. Don’t talk about Jesus. You know, I’ve gone to places, more than once, and I could tell you about my experiences. But I’ve gone to places where they’ve said to me, “Reverend.” And first of all, nobody who’s close to me calls me reverend, okay? They just don’t, alright, and I’m okay with that. It is a title that I have been given or could be given as an ordained minister. But I’m not really reverend, only God himself is Reverend. I’m not but that’s not the point. The point is, I’ve gone to places and people say to me, “Reverend, we’d like you to have a prayer.” I’m happy to pray with people when they want to.

Not long ago, I was in a drugstore, the one over here at the corner of Atlantic and Congress. As I came out of the drugstore, I had a shirt on that said “pastor” on it. Two ladies stopped me and said, “Are you a pastor?” I said, “Yes, I am.” They said, “Would you pray with us?” I said, “I’d be glad to. You know, I’m happy to pray with people.” But they’ll say to me, “We want you to come and pray.” Be happy to come and pray. “But would you please not mention Jesus.”

I said to one lady who asked me, and I wasn’t trying to be ugly to her. I wasn’t trying to insult her or pick an argument with her. She said that to me, and says, “We’d like you to pray. Would you please not mention Jesus?” And I said, “Why? Did Jesus do something wrong? Why are we not supposed to talk about Him? Has He done something wrong?” And she just got real quiet, she never really answered that.

Why? Did He do something wrong? Why can’t we talk about Him? Why can’t we talk about Jesus? Why is He the only one we can’t talk about? Well, we got to have separation of church and state. You don’t say that to the Hindu priest. You don’t say that to the Buddhist. You don’t say that to the Muslim imam. You don’t say that. You only say that to the Christian. You don’t say it to the rabbi. You want to say it to the Christian. “Well, what are you getting at, preacher?” I’m not trying to condemn other people, I’m trying to tell you that these men didn’t want them to call Jesus, the Savior.

Stones Crying Out

Look at Jesus’ answer in verse 40:

Luke 19:40: “And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.”

I’ve thought about that, and I did some research on it. There is a theory about sound, and I’ve done a little study on this. I didn’t take a full college course or anything but did a little research on it. You know sound can be captured and reproduced.

The earliest evidence that we have of that happening is in 1860. It was in Europe, and a fellow actually captured sound on paper. As strange as it sounds, you can look it up. He didn’t know that he had. He knew he’d caught sound, but he didn’t know he could play it back. And not too long ago, some scientists took that paper, and they actually used modern technology and recovered the sound. It’s a woman singing. They recovered the sound of her voice from the paper.

Not too many years after that, Thomas Edison recorded sound on wax, on wax cylinders, and those wax cylinders became a big selling item. Thomas Edison made a lot of money from that and many of his other inventions. Oh, there’s a money-grabbing guy. Why shouldn’t he make money on it?

And then as time went on, they began to make, and record sound on hard plastic. Then later on vinyl because it was more flexible, it wouldn’t break as easily. But you can take those wax cylinders from back in Edison’s day, the late 1800s, and you can put a needle in there and hook it to a speaker. You can crank the cylinder and you can hear the voice of somebody who’s been dead since the late 1800s, or early 1900s. Or you can take a hard plastic record and you can do the same thing, or a vinyl record can do the same thing.

And then sounds have been recorded on magnetic tapes and all of this can be played back. I’ve listened to recordings. I said to my wife one day, we were driving the car and I had a CD playing in the car, and that’s digital recording. “Let’s listen to that.” And I said, “You know what’s amazing?” She said, “What?” I said, “We’re listening to somebody singing 35 years ago. Isn’t that something? They’re not singing there. They sang 35 years ago, and we’re listening to it.” You can listen to people who sang over a hundred years ago.

“Where are you going with this?” I did some research. There is a theory that this could happen, but it’s a theory. It’s not proven. But there’s a theory that even in stone and concrete, the sound could be stored if you had a way to retrieve it.

Let me give you one example of it. You ever go to a canyon or a cave or even an empty building and talk? You get what? An echo. Do you know what that is? That’s the sound of your voice going out and bouncing back. What if it didn’t bounce back? What if it got absorbed into the substance and then it could be retrieved?

I heard a story about that years ago. This is a preacher story so stay with me. I heard about a preacher who went to a canyon called Echo Canyon. They said that if you shouted in the canyon, you’d get an echo back. The preacher went to the edge of the canyon, and he yelled out into the canyon. He said, “Baloney,” and there was no echo. He said, “Well, it must not work.” So, he tried to yell a little louder. He says, “Baloney,” and there was no sound. He thought he’d try one more time. He said, “I’m the greatest preacher in the world.” And the echo came back, “Baloney.” That’s a preacher joke folks.

What if what Jesus is saying is the stones could actually get back the sound? That doesn’t have to be that, but theoretically, people believe that may be possible. You know what? It doesn’t have to be that way. If Jesus wanted the stones to open a mouth and cry out, they could do it. That’s what He said, “If these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.”

Jesus Wept for Jerusalem

Verse 41:

Luke 19:41: “And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,”

He had wept at the grave of Lazarus. I’ve heard many people say, and a few weeks ago, I heard a preacher on the radio say, “Jesus wept because Lazarus had died.” You read the 11th chapter of John, and if you read it carefully, you’ll know He did not weep because Lazarus died. You read that whole chapter.

He knew Lazarus was sick, He knew everything that was going to happen, and He purposely didn’t go when He first heard that Lazarus was sick. He said this is to God’s glory, and it was. He didn’t cry because Lazarus was dead. I’ve heard people say even Jesus was touched by the grief of the death of His friend. He was not. I’ll tell you why He cried or else, better yet, let’s let Him tell you.

Look here, in verse 41 again:

Luke 19:41: “And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,”

Luke 19:42: “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.

“In this thy day.” Why was it Jerusalem’s day? Because the Messiah had come, because I had come.

Luke 19:42: “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.

Luke 19:43: “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,”

Luke 19:44: “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.”

You didn’t know who it was who was here. Some of the people did. They were the ones crying out, “Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” But there were those who didn’t. They didn’t realize who was there. They didn’t realize their Savior had come. They didn’t realize their King had come. Just about like people today who don’t realize that their Savior has come.

Jesus’ words and while weeping, are recorded for us by the other writers who say He said:

Matthew 23:37: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!”

He’s saying I would have received you all this day, but you didn’t receive me. He is the Messiah, He is Emmanuel, God With Us, He is the Savior, He is the way the truth, and the life, no man comes unto the Father but by Him.

The Lord’s prophecy of the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem would happen about 37 years after this day. The people who received Jesus on that day were saved. The people who received Jesus today are saved. The people who rejected Jesus that day were lost. The people who reject Jesus today are lost.

Duty to Share the Gospel

I want to help you to think about that just a little bit. You’re here today and you’ve been born again, thank God. Rejoice in your salvation. There are many who have not been. Some because they have never heard, some because they’ve heard but did not understand. “Oh, preacher, you really think that’s possible? Somebody hears the Gospel and does not understand?” I know it’s possible. “How do you know?” I was that person. Now, some because they heard, and they refused.

We trust Jesus to save us, we trust Him to forgive us, and we trust Him to give us everlasting life. If you haven’t already done that, my plea is that you will do that. If you have done that, what I want to encourage you to do is, tell others about Him.

Paul writes later, he says:

Romans 10:14: “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?”

“Well, preacher, then that’s your job.” It is my job, but yours too as a believer. It’s your job also to tell people so that they can hear and be saved. “Well, what if I don’t do it?” Well, if you don’t do it maybe the stones will cry out.

We were talking in Sunday School, and I firmly believe this. In Matthew Chapter 5, when Jesus said, “Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled.” I think somebody really seeks after God, really wants to know God, He’ll open a way, He’ll make a way for them to know Him. That does not relieve you and me of the responsibility of telling people about Him. It does not relieve the responsibility of sending missionaries out to tell this lost world. The Lord commanded us to do that. It is the reason that He came.

“Well, preacher, I think there’s more to life than that. There is. There is more to life than that. There are more things in your life that you need to deal with and more things you need to take care of. There’s more to life than that, but I want to tell you there’s nothing in life more important than that. “How can you say that?” Here’s how I can say that. People who don’t trust Jesus are lost, and they’re lost forever.

I remember years ago, I can’t tell you what year it was, but some of you might remember the story. It stays with me because of the child’s name, probably a relative, but a very distant one, not anybody I know. There’s a little girl out in Texas, her name was Jessica McClure, and she fell down a well and was trapped down there. They launched a massive rescue effort to get her up out of the well, and they did. They got her up, but all the time that she was in the well, it was national news.

People were saying, “Are they going to make it? Are they going to get her out?” You all know other stories like that haven’t turned out so well. But they got her up and when they got her up, people celebrated all over the country. Now, there are a few of you here that say, “I never heard about that.” You weren’t born. But the truth is we all rejoiced. Why? Because this little child had been rescued from the well. Do you know what Jesus said? He said when a soul is saved, the angels in Heaven celebrate. Isn’t that something? Wouldn’t it be great if you and I could cause some of those celebrations?

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Let’s pray. Father, thank you so much that we can look into your Word. It is my earnest prayer that you would help us to be faithful servants of yours, faithful in all that we do each and every day of our life. Forgive us our faults, forgive us our failures, forgive us our sins. Cleanse us and use us, we pray.

Lord, it may be that everybody this morning in this room and everybody who’s listening has already trusted you as their Savior, and if that is true then I thank you and praise you. But there may be one person, either here in person or listening electronically, who does not know for sure when their final day comes, when they take their last breath, when they close their eyes for the last time, that they’re going to step into Heaven and be there at home forever.

If there’s even one person listening like that, my prayer is that right now, they would open their heart. And they would call on the name of the Lord and be saved, and pray and say, “Lord Jesus, I believe. I believe that you love me. I believe that you died on the cross to pay for my sins. And right here right where I am right now, I’m trusting you as my living Savior to forgive my sins, to save my soul, and to give me everlasting life. Thank you, Lord Jesus.”

Now, if you prayed that prayer, even if you didn’t, you need help, you say, “Well, preacher, I’d like to be saved. I’d like to go to Heaven, but I’m not sure I understand.” We’re going to sing a hymn of invitation in a moment. I’m going to leave the platform and stand down in the front. Don’t wait if God’s spoken to your heart about that. You come. We’ll have somebody help you take the Bible and show you how you can be saved. You come when we sing.

But if the majority of people, I imagine, have already trusted you as Savior Lord, perhaps there’s something in their heart, there’s something that you’ve been speaking to them about. There’s a decision they need to make, or maybe there’s a burden in their heart, and they need prayer. Lord, help them at this time to take this opportunity to make that decision or to come and pray or have someone pray with them. Lord, bring people who need to come. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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