37 As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that 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 in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” (Luke 19:37-40 ESV)
In order to address the stone-cold hearts of some of the Pharisees, Jesus points to stones. The image, however, is far richer than we may have imagined. I. Howard Marshall notes that Jesus’ phrase in v. 40 has been read by Christians in four different ways (NIGTC, Luke, 716-717). Each reading opens up fresh ways of looking at our spiritual lives through the unexpected lens of rocks. Using Marshall’s list, I’ve added my own twist in this four-part series.
#1 Rock as Manual
Some Christians have read v. 40 in this way: “It would be easier to make rocks speak up than it would be to get these disciples to shut up.”
Heard like this, rocks become a kind of anti-owner’s manual for the human being. Jesus’ point is that rocks do not come equipped to do what the disciples are doing: rejoicing and praising God with a loud voice.
Earlier, Jesus noted that God has the miraculous power to make children of Abraham out of rocks (Lk. 3:8). But only God could do something like that! The statement is based on the reality that rocks do not come equipped with the ability to reproduce their own kind, much less humankind. Similarly, Jesus notes here that stones do not come standard with the heart, mind, will, hands and voices necessary to do what the disciples are doing. In other words, the disciples, in rejoicing and praising God, are doing exactly what they’ve been designed to do. And it would be easier to get stones to start doing something they weren’t designed to do (cry out) than it would be to get the disciples to stop doing something they were designed to do (rejoice and praise).
What we don’t see when we look at a rock (heart, mind, will, hands and voices) reminds us of what we do see when we look at ourselves. Rocks are created to silently sit. Humans are created to enthusiastically exult. Rocks inspire us to recall the way in which we are fully equipped with all the bells and whistles needed for one thing: living lives of abundant and expressive joy. Our standard equipment allows us to naturally do what rocks could only miraculously do: live lives of abundant and expressive joy.
Because they cannot literally rejoice and praise, rocks remind us that we can.
I have two Toyotas: a Rav4 and a Prius. If I read the owner’s manual for the Rav4, I am reminded of all the things the Rav4 can do that the Prius can’t do: hold a weekend’s worth of camping equipment, travel off-road easily, etc. But I am also reminded of the things the Prius can do that the Rav4 can’t do: travel 500 miles on one 10 gallon tank of gas, sneak up on unsuspecting family members with its electric engine, etc.
Similarly, when I contemplate the rocks, I am reminded of what I can uniquely do that they cannot: live a life of abundant and expressive joy.
That is the life we were made for.
- Using the word “rejoice” from v. 37, Luke pictures Zacchaeus receiving Jesus “joyfully” (19:6).
- Using the word “rejoice” from v. 37, Paul paints the Christian life as one in which we “rejoice” “always” (2 Cor. 6:10; Phil. 4:4).
- Using the word “praise” from v. 37, Luke paints the shepherds “glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen” (2:20).
Life with the Lord is not trouble-free or pain-free. But it can be joy-filled and praise-worthy. In her book Fight Back with Joy (6-7) Margaret Feinberg writes this:
Joy is one of those words that has been overused, distorted into a cliche. Plastered on coffee mugs, necklaces, T-shirts, decorative pillows–even dish soap, this critical quality has been transformed into a trinket we rarely notice and almost never take seriously. Many people live joyless lives because they don’t understand what joy is, what joy does, how to discover joy, and what to do with it once they find it. C. S Lewis once described joy as “serious business,” yet I assumed I could take joy lightly, capturing it in my free time like fireflies in a mason jar. I learned that you need much more than an experiment to unleash the power of joy. You need chutzpah, you need backbone, you need intentionality–and sometimes you need a crisis.
Her crisis was cancer. Yet even in that valley, she learned “we are created for joy” (21). Her book is her testimony of the way in which not even cancer could rob her of pure, abundant and abiding joy. Because we are made for joy.
Every rock we see reminds us of that.
So, incorporate a rock into your spiritual disciplines. Spend a moment meditating on it. Allow God to help you remember that for which you are made: joy.
