“The Very Stones Would Cry Out”

Luke 19:39-40 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke you disciples.” He answered “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

Have you ever had a bit of news that if you did not share it you would explode.  Something of importance, on some level, that you just could not keep bottled up inside. There are those among us who have a problem with that. The real problem is, that if the news detracts from the character of someone that they feel more desire to share the ugly story. Often we all are placed in that situation. When deciding to share news, we ought to first look at whether someone is being elevated by what we have to share. If not, then what is the purpose in sharing the news. If it does not serve the Lord, why share it?

The passage from Luke 19 above is one which gives me pause to stop, contemplate, and pray. “The very stones would cry out” are powerful words.  These are perhaps, for me personally, some of the most powerful words in the Bible.  Do not get me wrong, there are others just as if not more powerful. But each of us will find inspiration and motivation in different parts and different words. That is just how we are “wired”. The Spirit works within us with different gifts for one purpose. We serve the Lord. That is our purpose, our mission, our focus. The crowd was letting anyone within hearing distance know that Jesus was the King.  This obviously did not sit well with the Pharisees. It was news they did not want to hear. It was news they were rejecting. It ran against what they were teaching and professing. And so they were doing what they felt was appropriate to silence the crowd. But, that just was not going to happen. When we today look back at the activities of the crowd in the Luke 19 passage above, how does it reflect on our world today and our ministry to others? We are surrounded by those who would silence us. They would have us whisper, or be silent about Jesus Christ being Lord. They would prefer we stay inside our church buildings and not be publicly proclaiming the Gospel.  And make no mistake, there is a deliberate and aggressive effort to do just that. Satan does not want the truth of the Gospel to be shared. He has no interest what so ever in saving lives through Christ. In fact just the opposite is the case. He will use whoever, and whatever means to silence you, and I, and anyone else that would share the love of Christ with those who need to hear the Good News. There is too much at stake to shrink from our calling. So ask yourself, will the stones have to speak for the truth to be know, or will you become a participant?  The world waits for you and I to do our part.

PRAYER: Lord and Giver of Life, You and You alone are God. There is no other like You. In You alone we place our trust. Give us words to speak. Show us where we need to be heard. Guide us with Your light, that light of Christ to be the strong witnesses You need us to be. Help us to remember the reason for sharing the love of Your Son is that we were first loved. We ask this boldy in the strong name of our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.