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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.\xa0 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: \u201cBlessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!\u201d \xa0\u201cPeace in heaven and glory in the highest!\u201d\xa0Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, \u201cTeacher, rebuke your disciples!\u201d \u201cI tell you,\u201d he replied, \u201cif they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.\u201d (Luke 19:35-40) \xa0

Jesus, the Prince of Peace enters Jerusalem\u2014the \u201cCity of Peace\u201d\u2014to the shouts of Peace, Glory, and Blessing from Jesus\u2019 disciples.\xa0

Jesus\u2019 presence in Jerusalem would stir up all sorts of passions: shouts of praise, opposition, betrayal, and clandestine assassination plots.\xa0 His presence would reveal the motivations of many hearts: many for good and many for ill.\xa0 But this stirring of passions would not bring peace.\xa0 Just conflict.\xa0

And that conflict begins here with the Pharisees demanding that Jesus rebuke his disciples for such a ruckus display.\xa0 Especially because such a display smacked of messiah-ship and king-ship that seemed utterly out of place for a mere rabbi.

Jesus\u2019 reply, far from calming things down, actually ups the ante.\xa0 Firstly, as Pastor Michael said yesterday, Jesus is clearly not keeping his messiah-ship a secret anymore.\xa0 It\u2019s out there now, loud and proud.\xa0 But secondly, why would the disciples silence cause the rocks to cry out?\xa0 That would only be the case if Jesus was more than a Rabbi, more than a King, more even than a Messiah.\xa0 The rocks would only cry out if Jesus was God himself.\xa0

Way back in the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy, Moses calls the heavens and the earth to serve as witnesses of the covenant between God and his people.\xa0 It may be that Jesus had these texts in mind as he responded to the Pharisees. \xa0To deny the coming of God to his people would surely give the earth cause to cry out in protest!\xa0 In Matthew\u2019s gospel, the rocks do cry out at Jesus\u2019 crucifixion as an earth quake shakes Jerusalem.\xa0 \xa0\xa0

So, here in Jerusalem\u2014the city of peace\u2014everything finally comes to a head.\xa0 The temperature rises and the conflict heats up.\xa0 This stirring of passions would not bring Jesus to a throne.\xa0 Nor would it bring peace\u2014only death.\xa0 Jesus\u2019 death.\xa0

But then again\u2014perhaps there is more here that meets the eye.\xa0 Because ultimately, Jesus\u2019 death did bring peace.\xa0 And a throne.\xa0 Just perhaps not the kind anyone was expecting.\xa0 Perhaps still not the kind of peace or rule that we expect.\xa0 \xa0\xa0

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