Joy to the World … in March? - Pastor David Tsai

Joy to the World … in March?
37 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: 38 “Blessed is the King who comes in the Name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples!” 40 “I tell you,” He replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” (Luke 19:37-40)
 
Today is Palm Sunday, the day when Christians remember the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem five days before His crucifixion. When Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a colt, the multitude of His disciples welcome Him with shouts of praise, “Blessed is the king who comes in the Name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest!” But not everyone was pleased. Some Pharisees, apparently not all of the Pharisees, said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples!” Jesus, however, did not do what they had asked, answering, “I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
That was certainly a bold claim. Jesus was saying that the celebration of His Kingship and God’s glory is so necessary, so right, so inevitable that silencing the disciples wouldn’t stop the praise. Nature itself would continue the celebration.
The notion of nature praising God and the coming of God’s justice was not original to Jesus. It can be found at various places in the Hebrew Scriptures. For example, Isaiah 44:23 and 55:12. Psalm 98 is one of the most familiar Old Testament passages in which nature celebrates the coming of God. The whole earth is invited to “Shout for joy to the Lord” (Psalm 98:4). More specifically, the psalm writer says, “Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; let them sing before the Lord, for He comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity.” (Psalm 98:7-9). So, when Jesus comes to Jerusalem to complete the work of salvation, he echoes Psalm 98 in recognizing that praise is mandatory, if not from people, then from nature itself.
 
We are acquainted with the themes of Psalm 98 because they are engraved in our hearts through the words of the beloved Christmas carol “Joy to the World.” Isaac Watts wrote this song as a Christ-inspired interpretation of Psalm 98, adding it to a collection of Psalm-based hymns. Notice how praise from nature appears in these familiar lines:
Joy to the world! The Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.
Joy to the world! The Savior reigns;
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

So, it is appropriate to sing “Joy to the World” in Lent, especially on Palm Sunday. Whether or not we actually sing “Joy to the World” in this season of the year, we do welcome the coming King, indeed the King of kings and Lord of lords. We join with fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains, to repeat the joy of Jesus’s coming.
Yet we also recognize that His entry into Jerusalem set in motion the events that led to His crucifixion. In a few days, His Kingship will be mocked by “King of the Jews” posted on the cross above His head. So, our celebration on Palm Sunday is tempered by what lies ahead for Jesus, even as it will be surpassed by the joyous celebration yet to come on Easter.
In a season of Lenten reflection, our worship is often quiet as we acknowledge our mortality and our need for a Savior. But we still rejoice because of the goodness and grace of God in Christ. We can’t be silent, allowing the rocks to praise in our place. Rather, we join all creation in celebrating the coming of King Jesus. He came to Jerusalem to die for us that we might live now and forever in His Kingdom.