Tisha B Av WEEPING STONES! Lk. 19:39 And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master,

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Jonah Baldwin
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1 Tisha B Av WEEPING STONES! Lk. 19:39 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. These are very sombre words that resonated with those who heard them and they are very appropriate to this present time of the year for in the Jewish calendar we have recently entered a period known as The Three Weeks (Bein Metzarim). This year The Three Weeks culminate in the twenty-five hours from the evening of Saturday 13 th August to the evening of Sunday 14 th August, and it is known in Judaism as Tisha B Av (The Fast of the 9 th of Av). This period is a time of mourning when the Jews look back and remember with great grief the darkest days of their history, especially to when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon destroyed their first temple in 586 BC, and the Roman General Titus destroyed their second temple in 70 AD. As they remember, they sit on the floor, - draped in black, tears running down their faces, lamenting, howling with loud wails, - as they read the Book of Lamentations which begins, Lam. 1:1 How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! how is she become as a widow! she that was great among the nations, and princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary! 2 She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks. The problem their ancestors had was they would not listen to the warnings from God through the prophets to set aside their idolatry and disobedience. God commanded them to repent and return to Him but they would not, so He promised, Micah 3:12 Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest. It is a dangerous thing to ignore the warnings of God, and yet that is how the Pharisees were leading their people. The Lord Jesus had travelled from Galilee, and down through Perea along the territory east of the River Jordan He then crossed the river again at Jericho and walked up to Jerusalem for the Passover. An increasing crowd of people had been gathering with Him the nearer He approached His destination. Previousl0y, He had frowned upon open public display but He permitted it now because He was about to fulfil the purpose for why He came into this world. The growing attention, obviously, attracted particular opposition from the Pharisees. However, this was all part of God s plan leading up to the cross. The enemy was being given ample opportunity to confront Jesus.

2 2 Apparently, there could have been anything up to two million people in Jerusalem at the Passover. In records dating to about 40 AD, there were 260,000 Passover lambs slaughtered usually, one lamb for each ten people! So, all the people were waiting for Jesus, - He was a major attraction. They heard He was coming - and they were all standing at the gate in anticipation. He had recently raised Lazarus from the tomb. Also, seventeen miles down the road, He had healed the blind Bartimaeus. In the highly-charged religious atmosphere of Passover time the crowds were all wondering what He was going to do next. Hopes were running high that He could be the Messiah! In John 12:1, He arrived in the village of Bethany six days before the Passover, - that would mean He arrived on the Saturday, since the Passover was on the following Friday. On that Saturday when He arrived in Bethany, a supper was given in His honour. In the same evening, He had only six days left before His crucifixion, and so, He sought the comfort of familiar friends, - the disciples and Mary, Martha and Lazarus who lived in Bethany. On the next day, the Sunday, the word had circulated all around the area, including into the city of Jerusalem, that Jesus was at the house of Lazarus. And so John (12:9-11) informs us the crowd came flowing out to the eastern gate of Jerusalem, the two miles down from Bethany to see both Jesus and Lazarus. So, the next day is Monday and that is when He rode into the city on the donkey, as prophesied by the prophet Zechariah (Zech. 9:9). Let s read from Lk. 19, 28 And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem. 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, 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. 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. 32 And they that were sent went their way, and found even as he had said unto them. 33 And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt? 34 And they said, The Lord hath need of him. 35 And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. 36 And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way. 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. This adulation were words taken from Ps. 118:25, and they were initiated by the disciples (v.37) for, - no doubt, - they thought this was the beginning of the long-awaited promised

3 3 Messianic age a new era when the Messiah would be King, and they would be seated beside Him. It just takes a few to start and then the whole crowd erupts. Their worship is all about Jesus taken from the Old Testament. And it is all about the new hope for God s people who were presently under the domination of the Roman Caesar. On previous occasions Jesus would have clamped down on anything like this, but the time was right for Him to accept it. However, some of the Pharisees from among the multitude (v.39) considered it to be very misplaced! 39 And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. Now, here is something encouraging It is only some of the Pharisees that confronted Jesus here. We know from the Gospels there were at least two, - maybe three, - who would not have taken part in the confrontation. There was Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea and possibly Gamaliel. We also read in Acts 6:6, And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith. The point is that God always has His people in the most unlikely of places... Remember how He also had in the court of King Ahab, Obadiah [who] feared the LORD greatly (I Kings 18:3), and Joseph in Egypt, and Daniel, Shadrach, Meschech, and Abednego in Babylon, and Esther and Mordecai also in Babylon. So the devil could not claim he had all the Pharisees in his clutches for he only had some of them, as described here. Another interesting fact is that this is the last you ll read about the Pharisees in Luke s Gospel, and this is their final comment, Master, rebuke thy disciples. They said this because they didn t reckon Jesus deserved the adulation of the people. The crowds were giving Him far too much attention. Yes, they knew the people were usually hyper round this time of year but this was far too much! And there was no point appealing to the disciples, - they wouldn t listen, - so therefore, they charged Jesus directly Tighten up on your followers! Stop them making these presumptuous claims and allegations! Aye, but it was alright for them, - the Pharisees, - to have previously presumed to accuse Jesus of being in league with Beelzebub and it was alright for them to go round spreading lies about Him! The rules had changed they could say whatever they liked but Jesus disciples had to be silenced for claiming He was the Messiah! The devil s people are unfair! They talk about freedom of speech and equality but even here in Jerusalem, it was one-sided!

4 4 Aye, the crowd was getting out of control, - they were overdoing the praise and adoration and the Pharisees told Jesus rebuke/reprove/admonish Your disciples! Here and now, - in front of all these people, - make a whole show and tell them off! Obviously, if Jesus had done that it would have completely ruined His entrance into Jerusalem and of course that is what the Pharisees wanted. Basically, if He would chastise His disciples in front of everyone He would be saying to the multitude, I m not the Messiah, - you ve got it all wrong! It would have made Him out to be so disorganised and His followers nothing better than an uncontrollable rabble but that is how devious these religious serpents were! They simply would not believe in Jesus as the Messiah, and therefore, they let it be known, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And now we come to the Saviour s reply, - this was the turning-point. This flabbergasted the Pharisees! They were boiling over at what Jesus said to them next, 40 And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out. This was red rag to a bull time! Jesus was pronouncing judgment!! This was unforgiveable, what He was insinuating! Who did He think He was?!! He, - this upstart from Galilee, - had come all the down to their city and was prophesying judgment against them the cheek! He was casting threats at Jerusalem, - that s how they saw it! He was claiming to possess the authority to pronounce judgment and also to know the future! This was getting worse and worse!! You see, they didn t like the Roman invaders in their land but they had learned to thole (tolerate) them. Keep on side with the Romans for a quiet life! There s peace, - it s not perfect, - but it s better than anything this Jesus had come to present to the people. But, take your eyes off the Pharisees and look at the crowds Jesus not only accepted their worship, but He also vindicated Himself as the Messiah for He accepted their praise. Yes, He is God. He is fulfilling Old Testament prophecy. He knows the future. But now He is bringing judgment from this point on for the scene is about to move from happiness to horror, from jubilation to affliction. They are crying peace, but He speaks of destruction. The crowds pronounce on Him glory, but He pronounces on them doom. Nothing could have been further from the euphoria of the people than what Christ was prophesying, for He said, I tell you that, if these [people] should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.

5 5 Yes, Jesus emphasises, If these people keep quiet, - be silent, hold their peace, - if they cease from praising Me, and turn and do the opposite There was a foreboding air as He looked them straight in the eye. He was telling these Pharisees that if they manipulated and influenced these people to reject Him, dire judgment lay ahead for Jerusalem, its people, and the nation! Sadly, this is the last occasion we read about the crowds worshipping Jesus. That is because the Pharisees succeeded in polluting them against the Saviour. There was no more praise, - not on the Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday! In fact, the next time you hear them making a noise about Jesus here is how Luke recorded it, Lk. 23:18 And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas What a turnaround! Instead of cheering Jesus, they were condemning Him! This is what they told Pilate when he asked them the question, Mt. 27:17 Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ? Barabbas, of course, was the murdering robber on death row But Barabbas or Jesus, - that was the choice! And they chose the murderer over the Master, and condemned the Prince of Peace to die! Lk. 23:21 Crucify him, crucify him Mt. 27:23 they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified Lk. 19:14 We will not have this man to reign over us And then the more devastating words that fell from their lips, Mt. 27:25 Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children. They did not realise the foolish thing they had said! The very people who were praising Him on His way into the city were the same people who renounced Him, Is. 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. You see, Jesus knew these people would become silent regarding Him. He knew, - for He is God, - they would turn and be completely in opposition to Him. Yes, on the Monday they were greeting Him, but by the Friday they would be rejecting Him. How fickle! They did a complete turnaround and what they did on that day continues to this present day for Israel because the nation still rejects Christ as their Messiah. They re saying it two thousand years later, - we don t want Jesus. But it is also the same message as everyone who rejects Christ, - we don t want Him! We ll choose everything and everyone else but we ll not have Jesus!

6 What eventually did happen in Jerusalem? The stones did cry out, in fact, they screamed (kra,zw). When you visit that city today and stand at the Western Wall of the old temple, the stones are continuing to wail. That city is not free yet. Why? It s not free yet because they continue to reject their Messiah. Please turn over to Habakkuk 2, where we find these same words used. In the first chapter of this prophecy God relates how He will judge and chastise His people by using the wicked Chaldeans. Then when His purpose against Israel is concluded, He points Habakkuk to how He is going to judge the Chaldeans, 2:5 Yea also, because he [i.e. the Babylonians] transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people: 6 Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay! 7 Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them? 8 Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein. 9 Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil! 10 Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul. He [i.e. the Babylonians] has come in among My people and ransacked my House, and took away what wasn t his, and I am going to punish him, 11 For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it. And then, verse twelve, 12 Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity [injustice, lawlessness, unrighteousness]! The stones in the walls of their houses and the timbers of their roofs plundered from others gained by bloodshed and usury, scream of their wickedness, scream of their guilt. And Jesus is saying the same will happen here. You are going to be like the Chaldeans. They were cruel wicked people and that is what you are going be to Jesus. These stones in the walls of Jerusalem will cry out against you as the stones in the past cried out against the guilt of the Chaldeans. And the stones cried out of the judgment of God upon them, and these stones are going to do the same in your case. And that was the explanation for why He did what He did at the start of the next verse, 41 And 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 6

7 7 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. Almost forty years later, in 70 AD, the Roman General Titus came in and ransacked their city. He pulled down their beloved temple. He murdered their people and chased the survivors out of their land. He would surround that whole area with rubble and destruction. The land on which the glorious temple stood is today occupied by a blasphemous building that never should be there! But no-one else is to blame but the people of Israel to whom the Saviour came, for they rejected Him and the stones are a testimony against them! They are crying out! You can see them today ancient stones, lying on top of each other. No order. They are not anything They are just lying there, as a testimony against a people who reject the Saviour. So sad! The siege of Titus lasted for five harrowing months. They overpowered the starving hopeless Jews. The enjoyed the fun of rampaging through the city slaughtering men, women, and children. The entire city was razed to the ground and the stones cried out. They had brought it upon themselves. It would have been completely unnecessary but for the fact they had rejected Christ. Is there any hope for them? Is there any hope for Jerusalem and the nation? Oh yes, indeed there is! In a similar passage Jesus cried over the city, Mt. 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! 38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. 39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. What was it they had declared when Jesus rode in triumph through the gate and into the city? Lk. 19:38 Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord They are going to say it again, but the next time they say it, the words will be coming from the very depths of their heart, - they will say it and mean it, - for they will realise their Messiah is coming. How do we draw our study to a conclusion? It has two applications. First of all, within the context of these words of Jesus being a warning to the Jewish nation It is a warning to make the right decision, that is, not to reject Christ. The Pharisees rejected Him and, and so did their people, and as a consequence, the Roman enemy destroyed their beloved city. The most important possession we have is the soul, and it will live eternally in either one of two places, - Heaven or Hell. It is only as we are in this life we have the opportunity to

8 8 believe in Christ and be saved, therefore, today is the day of salvation, - it is the day of opportunity to call out to the Saviour to be saved. The second application is to us as believers and that is, to ensure Jesus Christ is Lord and King in our personal lives and also in our congregations otherwise, He will allow the armies of the ungodly to turn us into spiritual rubble and the stones will cry out against us in judgment. If we do not stand up for Him, we shall fall, - that is the simple but powerful lesson for God s people today. Therefore, I trust the stones of this building will not be crying out against us, but that they will demonstrate us as being faithful to our King, - the Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour. Amen.

Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem

http://www.biblestudyworkshop.org 1 Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem April 9, 29 A.D. Matthew 21:1-11 Mark 11:1-11 Luke 29:29-44 John 12:12-19 http://www.biblestudyworkshop.org 2 Texts: Matthew 21:1-11 Triumphal