“The Stones Will Cry Out”

Rev. Mark C. Alvis, Union Congregational Church — Palm Sunday, April 1, 2007

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While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once. He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’

“But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’

“He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.

“The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’

“ ‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’

“The second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’

“His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.’

“Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’

“His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?’

“Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’

“‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’

“He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them — bring them here and kill them in front of me.”

After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it.’”

Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”

They replied, “The Lord needs it.”

They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.

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: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”

“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace — but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you” (Luke 19:11-44 NIV).

I have always been content to be the humble king of my house. Over the years however, I have observed that while Cindy and my children have quickly understood and embraced my humbleness, they have never been able to comprehend my kingship. Have any of you other men experienced this problem?

In a similar way, much of the world today has never understood that Jesus Christ is the King of kings. Many Christians believe that Jesus shall be king one day, but not now. Others believe that Christ has authority over the Church, but not civil government — which is supposedly out of bounds for King Jesus.

On Palm Sunday we celebrate the fact that Jesus entered Jerusalem being rightly proclaimed as king. We celebrate this event even though Jesus was betrayed and crucified a few days later. How can we celebrate Christ’s kingship on Sunday knowing He was to be crucified on Friday? Because the Bible tells us that Jesus came to earth for exactly that reason — to suffer and die for our sins and then rise again. The crucifixion of Christ is the greatest of all examples of God’s ability to make the wrath of men to praise His name.

Does the fact that it was God’s will for Christ to be crucified mean that the people responsible for it should not be punished for the horrible wrong they did? Not at all. The Scriptures surrounding the triumphal entry of Christ spell out the doom of those responsible for His death.

Who does the Bible blame for this great crime? All Christians realize that it was for our sins that Jesus died. Nevertheless, the New Testament lays the guilt of Christ’s crucifixion squarely on the shoulders of the last generation of Old Covenant Israel. There is no Old Covenant Israel today because there is no Old Covenant. King Jesus put an end to it and ushered in the even more glorious New Covenant.

This Palm Sunday morning we are going to listen to Christ’s own words regarding the activities He carries out from His kingly throne in heaven. Let me warn you ahead of time that there is a duty of kings that people don’t like to hear about today — a duty that has fallen out of favor.

The greatest act of wickedness recorded in world history was when God the Son came in the flesh and was rejected and crucified. The greatest condemnation recorded in the Bible was uttered by Christ against those who falsely accused Him, had Him put to death, and then went on to do the same to His apostles and prophets who testified that Christ rose from the dead. Christ’s frightening condemnation against His enemies appears in Luke 11:47-51:

“Woe to you [He was addressing the last generation of Old Covenant Jews], because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your forefathers who killed them. So you testify that you approve of what your forefathers did [How did that generation of Jews show that they were chips off the old block? By rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ, whom the Old Testament prophets pointed to] . . . Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world . . . I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.”

Would any of you like to receive that kind of condemnation? When Jesus spoke those words, it wasn’t too late for that generation to repent, and — praise God — many of them did. Unfortunately, most of them did not.

Let’s now look at Luke 19:11-27. Jesus taught this parable just before He rode into Jerusalem as king:

He went on to tell them a parable [a parable is a well-known earthly event or truth that illustrates an unknown spiritual truth], because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once [the Old Testament prophets foretold worldwide blessings that the Messiah would usher in. However, they were vague and mysterious about how the Messiah would accomplish these great benefits. Jesus is about to shed some light on this subject]. He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return . . .”

This is the well-known earthly truth that lays the foundation for this parable. In the days of the Roman Empire, a person of noble birth could not become the ruler of a country that belonged to Rome, until he traveled to Rome and was officially declared king by the Emperor of the Roman Empire. Jesus uses this well-known truth to inform His listeners about an unknown spiritual truth. In order for the Lord Jesus to become the official king of the earth — which He was born to be — He had to first go to the Emperor of heaven and earth — God the Father — where He would be officially declared king (see Psalm 2 and Psalm 110). One day our Lord Jesus will return to the earth and every knee shall bow before Him (Philippians 2:9-11). At present Christ is at the right hand of the Father and has officially been declared King of kings (Revelation 1:5). What is to happen here on earth while Jesus is at the Father’s right hand? Christ gives us the answer in this parable. Jesus explains that before the man of noble birth left his country:

“He called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas [equivalent to two and a half years of wages]. ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back’ [the king wished to bless his people even while he was away. He therefore commanded his servants to make wise investments which would promote the good of his kingdom. What a gracious king. His people must have loved him — Ha!]. But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’ He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it. The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more’ [which means this man worked hard to find ways to invest the money in projects that provided needed services]. ‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’ The second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’ His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.’ Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth [in other words he did nothing with it] . . . His master replied . . . ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’ ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten’ [that’s not fair]! He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing [because he wasn’t willing to work], even what he has will be taken away [if you don’t use it you lose it].”

How many of you were surprised and a little upset when the king took this man’s one mina and gave it to the man who had already had ten? Friends, the man who produced ten minas from one showed that he knew what to do with money. He had worked hard and helped many people with it. He is the kind of man King Jesus wants to entrust with resources because he is faithful in investing his time, talents and treasures for the welfare of others.

Let’s make application for today. I want businesses that make money honestly to prosper. Why? Because businesses make money by providing needed services to a community. Any community that punishes bright, hard working people by targeting them for heavy taxation is shooting itself in the foot. Productive people generate jobs for the poor, which helps the poor get out of poverty. Our Lord Jesus has no time for Robin Hood politicians who rob from the rich to give to the poor because they are incredibly short-sighted people.

Let’s bring Christ’s teaching in this parable even closer to home: Churches that do not work hard and take some risks in order to bless their communities, will not be entrusted with much by King Jesus. If a church wants to sit on its blessings, Jesus will take them away and find a church that knows what to do with them.

The next part of this parable is what will shock many of you because it addresses the issue of what the king did with the citizens who persistently hated him even though He was constantly investing in their welfare? Look at verse 27, “But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them — bring them here and kill them in front of me.” There can be no doubt that the king in the parable represents Jesus. Who are the original enemies Jesus had in view when He told this parable? It was the generation of Jews he had already condemned with the greatest condemnation ever enunciated in the Bible.

But doesn’t this parable teach that the king put them to death after he came back? Therefore isn’t this parable speaking about Christ’s Second Coming? Certainly Christ’s enemies throughout the ages will get their final punishment at His Second Coming; but we need to remember that the New Testament speaks about more than Christ’s coming in the flesh — His Incarnation — and His coming at the end of this New Covenant Age. For example, there was a coming of Christ in judgment that was imminent when the New Testament was written (Matthew 16:27-28). The fall of Jerusalem in AD 70 was a judgment by the ascended Lord Jesus recognized by Christians all through church history. It is only recently that we have lost sight of that judgment as being a biblical coming of Christ.

How do we know that Jesus was originally directing this parable against the Jews who rejected Him when He rode into Jerusalem? Look at Luke 19:41-44:

As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace — but now it is hidden from your eyes [referring to that generation of Jews, not all Jews from that time forward]. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another [Matthew 24:1-2)], because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you [this occurred in AD 70].”

Jesus was God the Son in the flesh. He was rejected and crucified by His enemies, but has risen from the dead and gone to the Father, who has officially crowned Him King. When His enemies who put Him to death, began to persecute and kill the workers He left to bless people and build His kingdom, then King Jesus had to administer punishment against them; that is what kings (civil leaders) are supposed to do (Romans 13:3-4). They restrain evil so righteousness can move forward.

I want to finish this morning by briefly explaining a statement Jesus made to His enemies when entering the city of Jerusalem. I am backing up to Luke 19:37-40:

When they 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: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” . . . Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” [They did not want Christ as their king, nor did they want others to follow Him] “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

It would be easy to overlook the significance of what Jesus meant when He spoke of the stones crying out. He lifted these words from Habakkuk 2:11. In the days of the prophet Habakkuk (about 600 BC), Judah had become overrun with wicked people in high places. Habakkuk longed to know when God was going to punish these evil doers who persecuted the righteous. God informed Habakkuk that, even as they spoke, He was preparing the nation of Babylon to come in and destroy the wicked of Judah. When Habakkuk leaned this he was then even more perplexed because the Babylonians were more wicked than the wicked of Judah. God then patiently explained that after He used the wicked Babylonians to carry out His plans, He was then going to turn around and punish the Babylonians. Habakkuk 2:11, explains that when Babylon’s judgment comes, “The stones of the wall will cry out . . . .” This is called personification. What were the stones going to cry out? This message: What Babylon had done to others — demolished and plundered their cities — has now been done to them.

When Jesus spoke these words to His enemies who did not want Him to be their king, God was about to use these enemies to put Christ to death and thus fulfill God’s plans of atonement. But after God used those wicked people, He was going to turn around and judge them for their wickedness — just as He judged Babylon of old.

I hope we have seen this morning that King Jesus was absolutely in charge on Palm Sunday. He was not a victim. After He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, He was crowned King of kings. His coronation guaranteed that judgment upon His unrepentant enemies would be sure and severe. Friends, God still judges unrepentant wickedness in this age of grace. But remember, one of the reasons Christ judges wickedness is so His gracious blessings can move forward. Let me close by quoting two verses which immediately follow Habakkuk 2:11: “Has not the LORD Almighty determined that the people’s labor [those who work against God and His plans] is only fuel for the fire, that the nations exhaust themselves for nothing? For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:13-14).

Let’s pray.

Sermon text ©2007 Mark C. Alvis
Bible text © as applicable