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."

Luke 19:37-40

This story took place at the end of Jesus' ministry as He entered Jerusalem, not long before His death and resurrection. It is a beautiful picture as the disciples cannot hold back their excitement and joy, believing that Jesus had come to take His place as their King. They boldly and unashamedly praise Him at the top of their voices!

Not out of character, the Pharisees quickly have something to say about this infectious joy that is overcoming the crowd and tell Jesus to rebuke His disciples, eliciting those powerful few little words....

if they keep quiet the stones will cry out.

I wonder what it would sound like if a stone were to cry out in praise to God ... That's something I'm sure we'll get to experience in heaven but for now, what we can hear through Jesus' statement is a message of a powerful God. We worship a God who cannot be silenced! We worship a God who is so great that His creation cannot be silenced in praising Him!

How great is our God!

Like the disciples, lets us join with creation and proclaim with an infectious joy how great He is to our world. "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord" Psalm 150:6