Text: LUKE 19: 37-40, “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."
Introduction: In 1990, C. Eric Lincoln wrote his landmark book entitled "The Black Church in the African American Experience" wherein he described many of the characteristics that contribute to the uniqueness of the Black Religious Experience.
Lincoln notes that Black churches are filled with passion and emotion and that the fervor of our religious experience is oft times expressed with volume. I suppose that is a polite way of saying that we are a noisy crowd. But saints I am glad that I am in a church that won’t keep quiet. And yet, when I look in the Bible I see that we are in some pretty good company because in our text today we find another church that would not keep quiet.
In light of what this particular Sunday represents upon our Christian calendar, permit me to take you back across the chasm of time to the waning moments in the life Jesus. Fresh from his visit to Bethany where he raised Lazarus from the grave comes Luke’s description of his triumphant entry into the city of Jerusalem.
Down the sloping mountains that separated Bethany from the Holy City spirals a caravan of converts led by Jesus. As he approaches the city, masses of people line the streets and blanket his path with palm leaves, an act that in ancient time was reserved for royalty.
To the shouts of hallelujah and praise comes Jesus on his way to a city that destiny would not permit him to leave.
Then comes Jesus amongst the enormous adoration of the crowds that salute him as the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
Then comes Jesus with his disciples in tow and the glaring countenances of the religious hierarchy fixed upon him.
Then comes Jesus with the feeding of the 5000 and the healing of Blind Bartimaeus having been recently added to his profile and portfolio.
Then comes Jesus riding upon donkey but with the carriage and gait of being the King of Kings and the Lord of Lord.
It is here that the author of the gospel of Luke picks up the story and by doing so alerts us to reality that all is not as it seems in this picture.
Despite an enthusiastic crowd,
Despite chants of adoration,
Despite the overflowing optimism and joy, something is not quite right. It is in the 39th verse that we get a hint of the discord and possible negative undercurrent that accompanies this grand occasion.
Note if you will that the Lukan writer say that "some of the Pharisees" from among the multitude suggest to Jesus that he quiet the crowd because they are making too much noise. Now don’t miss this, those who attempt to silence the saints are not a group of casual observers who stationed off to the side somewhere watching in a somewhat detached way.
The Bible says that they were part of the multitude. The same multitude that the Bible says "the whole multitude of disciples" began to rejoice. Ah, this means that just a few minutes earlier the same people who are asking that the crowd be quiet were part the crowd that was making the noise. Isn’t it funny how you can be sitting next to somebody who is praising the Lord with you one minute and the next minute they have sour on their face and nothing can make them move.
Everybody who comes to church does not come to get their praise on. Some people do just enough praise so that they can get close enough to:
Stop your praise,
Stifle your joy,
Sour your spirit,
Sabotage your smile,
Stiffen your overflow
Soften your volume.
When I look at these Pharisees that were mixed in the multitudes I cannot help but to nickname them praise police. A Self appointed spiritual Gestapo who feel that it is their job to monitor and measure just how much praise should go forth.
Let me hasten to add that all of the praise police are not confined to the year and day of this text. Listen, You have some praise police that may be sitting next to you right now:
Some praise police may have ridden to church in your car with you this morning,
Some praise police who are trying to make eye contact with you right now,
Some praise police who are trying to get your attention,
Some praise police can’t sit still and are moving as a distraction.
But if by chance you find yourself sitting next to a praise police let them know with your smile and your amen’s that this joy that I have the world didn’t give it to me and the world, nor you, can’t take it away.
What was it that could have caused a sudden change of heart? What was it that caused these Pharisees to do a sudden about face? What happen that those who were saying amen one minute were saying be quiet the next minute.
I. They Had Not Given Permission
Well let me offer you just a few possibilities. It could be that when these Pharisees saw all of this praising going on it occurred to them that the people were praising the Lord and nobody had asked them for permission to praise him. Have you ever seen people sit staunch and stiff in church? I mean the choir can be singing the pastor can be preaching the people can be having a good time but they just sit there untouched by anything that is going on. And have you noticed that those kinds of people are always looking around to see whose attention they can get almost as if to say, " If I am not praising the Lord then you should not be praising him either".
But let me be real clear on this. Can’t nobody do you like Jesus.
Did that person wake you up this morning?
Did that bump on a log put food on your table?
Did that killjoy bring you to church this morning safe and sound and free from all hurt, harm and danger?
Well, if that person didn’t do any of those things then that person does not have the right or the authority to keep you from giving your God some praise.
II. They Did not Start Them so They Could not Stop Them
Well, let’s see, maybe they were upset because nobody had asked their permission. But the other reason that they could have been upset was because they did not start the praise; therefore they had to ask Jesus to intervene because they could not stop the praise.
Look closely at the text and it is clear when Jesus appeared, the Bible says that the multitude began to praise him. Now notice, the multitude did not start to praise the Lord when these Pharisees said to praise him, and since they did not start them they could not stop them.
If you are not careful you will find yourself around some people who feel that they have the keys to your praise and if they do not start you ought not to start. But the problem with that is if they can start you then they can stop you:
If they can turn you on then they can turn you off.
If they can light your fire, then they can blow your fire out.
If they can ignite your engine then they can kill your engine.
If they can get you up then they can bring you down.
But listen, I don’t know about you but I don’t want anyone with that much spiritual control over me that they can turn me up and down like a thermometer in their living room.
Listen, God has been too good to me for anybody to be able to raise a stop sign in front of me and expect me to settle down just because they say so. When I think of the goodness of Jesus and all that he’s done for me, my soul cries out Hallelujah, I thank God for saving me and nobody is going to push my buttons for me but the Holy Spirit.
III. They Were Praising Him and Not Praising Them
Finally, let me suggest to you that perhaps the final reason that these Pharisees were upset was because the people were praising Him and not praising Them. The text says that when Jesus appeared, nobody else, when Jesus appeared, praises went forth. The people were praising Him, not them.
Now I know this does not happen around here but I have been in some places where some people; while somebody else is up praising the Lord will just sit there like that person is getting on their nerves. No expression, no joy, no excitement, no enthusiasm nothing. But let them get up and go to the microphone. They want everybody to stand on their feet,
Jump up and down,
Do cartwheels,
Lift up holy hands,
Run around the church,
Jump over benches,
Hang from the chandeliers.
They want people to praise them but not Him. But I refuse to be that small and self-centered. I refuse to be that egocentric and narcisstic. When you are up praising the Lord I want to cheer you on because the same God that has done whatever you are talking about is able to do the same thing in my life. And if he has done something for you I know that he is on my street, in my neighborhood, on my side of town. And if I praise him I know that I am scheduled for a blessing. So I can praise God with you because I just may be next on his list.
Let me close with this observation. What I really take home from this text is what is found in the latter clause of verse 37. The Bible says that the real reason the people were shouting and praising Jesus was because of the mighty works that they had seen him do. They were praising God because of what they had seen. You see the Pharisees blew it because they were preoccupied with themselves. But the people were not paying them any mind the people were praising Him because what they had seen him do.
Listen when you have seen God do some things it will cause you to make some noise.
When you have seen God do some things, people around you can’t make you be quiet.
When you have seen God do some things in your life no self appointed praise police can make you sit down.
You will stand up and say you don’t know like I know what the Lord has done for me.
I believe that there are some people in this church here today who can say amen because they have seen God do some things.
There are some people here today who can shout Hallelujah because they have seen God do some things.
There are some people here today who can cry Hosanna because they have seen God do some things.
There are some people who can scream Shabach, because they have seen God do some things.
There are some people who can declare Thank You Jesus, because they have seen God do some things.
There are some people who can say Glory be to God, because they have seen God do some things. Some people have seen God:
Make a way out of no way
Unlock locked doors
Be a doctor in the sick room
Be a lawyer in the court room
Be a bridge over troubled water
Be as shelter in the time of a storm
Be a light in dark places
Balm in Gilead
Water in dry places
Make children behave
Bring husband back home
Cure cancer
Cause diabetes to disappear
Lower blood pressure
Ease arthritis
Runaway rheumatism
Put food on your table
Clothes in your closet
Get you off of drugs
Break your bad habits
Put the cap back on your bottle
Protect you from your enemies
Close!
