“As Jesus approached the road leading down from the Mount of Olives, the whole throng of his disciples began rejoicing. They praised God with a loud voice because of all the mighty things they had seen. They said,

“Blessings on the king who comes in the name of the Lord.
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heavens.”
‘Blessed is he who comes as king in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven, glory in highest heaven!’

Some of the Pharisees from the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, scold your disciples! Tell them to stop!”
He answered, “I tell you, if they were silent, the stones would shout.” Luke 19:37-40

Jesus’ disciples and friends broke into songs of joy, on that first Palm Sunday, as he rode a colt into Jerusalem.  They sang, Luke tells us, “For all,the great things they had seen.”

Ask anyone, who has experienced a significant and powerful event in their lives, why it is, that they cannot stop talking about it? Sports fans will tell and retell an unbelievable play. After my youngest daughter, spent her first three months in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, I could not stop talking about her miraculous survival. Intense experiences touch deep in the center of our being. Our only release, is to tell our stories.

The disciples have seen what Jesus could do, and what he had done. Entering the city, their excitement is contagious. The very air breathes hopes, dreams, and possibilities of what might happen.

For how could any deny the good works that Jesus was doing? How could anyone ignore the healings,  miraculous changes,  or those whose long-lasting infirmities were gone? How could any disregard his wisdom and insight into the ways of God? Those who sang his praises,  may not have fully known all  who Jesus was, but they knew him, for who they had seen him be.

Understandably, Pharisees are worried and anxious, when Jesus’ disciples begin to call out, “Blessed is he who comes as king in the name of the Lord!” Luke 19:38

Dangerous and provocative words in an Occupied Land. Who among them would want to bring down  Rome’s wrath on their community? They tell Jesus to silence them, but Jesus can only say, “If my disciples are silent the stones will shout out. “

This is the beginning of a week, which will challenge everything people knew or thought they knew about Jesus. Was he prophet or king? Rabbi or fool? Wise seer or false prophet? Messiah and deliver from Rome, or fraudulent shyster, conning the good people that followed him?

One understands why Jerusalem’s religious leaders were anxious. If word got out some were claiming Jesus is king, what would Herod do to them, for allowing it?

I suspect all of us have our fears, and faced with a choice of following Jesus into a risky place, or keeping silent, lest we provoke a negative response, we have chosen silence.

Palm Sunday comes with its pageantry and its joy. We who know the end of the week, can find it difficult to celebrate. And yet, what joy there is in a Savior’s coming, transforming our world and our lives!