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. 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 shouldhold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.(NIV)
During this time of year and season our focus intensifies more on the last days of Christ before His crucifixion. Our focus should not shift there as Christians we ought always to remember the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our intensity may increase to see even greater detail to the accounts of these most important events so that we may grow even closer to God. This particular passage comes from John’s account of we have come to know of His triumphant entry into Jerusalem. However, I want to focus on the praise and acknowledgement that was given to Him by the multitude of disciples during this journey and its effects on the Pharisees along with Jesus’ response. The multitude began to rejoice and praise God for the mighty works they had seen and in doing so they also acknowledged Him as King.
Too often we modern-day Christian/disciples do not praise God enough for the mighty works that we have seen. I often get people who will tell me that they have not really seen any mighty works, but I always say what about the work done in you. God’s greatest and mightiest work was what He did in Jesus Christ and His second was what He has done in the life of each Christian. What God wants us all to see is that while there are so many testimonies of His mighty acts in the world and some of us have been privy to many in our own lives and in the lives of others there is nothing that compares to sending a Savior and saving a sinner. For these alone there is not enough time to give God due His name or His deeds.
However, for some reason many find it difficult to praise God for His mighty acts and what He has done in their life, this is a dangerous thing to do because God is going to receive praise whether it is from us or from a rock/stone. Christ tells the Pharisees that “I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.” We ought to view it as a privilege to worship and praise God rather than being too ashamed to do so. Jesus says in Luke 9:26 “26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels.” If there is a rock/stone with our name on it then that means that we did not rejoice and praise Him for the great and mighty acts that we have seen.
I pray that no one who reads this will ever have a rock or stone with their name on it because they refused to rejoice and praise Him for the things that they have seen Him do, especially for what He has done in and for you. The other component that we should not miss is that rejoicing and praising disrupts and disturbs those who are opposed to Christ. It did it back then and it still does it today. Do not allow anything or anyone to stop you from not only rejoicing and praising God but sharing His mighty works, deeds and acts with others because they too need to know that God is still doing mighty things in the earth. After all, your testimony, your rejoicing and your praise might be the thing that God uses to activate someone else’s rejoicing and praise of His mighty deeds.
During this time of year and season our focus intensifies more on the last days of Christ before His crucifixion. Our focus should not shift there as Christians we ought always to remember the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our intensity may increase to see even greater detail to the accounts of these most important events so that we may grow even closer to God. This particular passage comes from John’s account of we have come to know of His triumphant entry into Jerusalem. However, I want to focus on the praise and acknowledgement that was given to Him by the multitude of disciples during this journey and its effects on the Pharisees along with Jesus’ response. The multitude began to rejoice and praise God for the mighty works they had seen and in doing so they also acknowledged Him as King.