Who is being referred to as the stone in Luke 19:40?
To get a sense of the context of that verse, let’s read Luke 19:37-40, “And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.”
If you read verses 28-36, you will see this occurred while the Lord was traveling to Jerusalem. The Lord was now on his last journey to this city, where He was to shed his blood, and lay down His life for the salvation of sinners like you and me.
Verse 35 says, “And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon.” This is the only time we read of the Lord Jesus riding. As a poor man, He always walked to His destinations. This time is different. This time He was fulfilling the prophetic words of Zechariah 9:9, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.” It was a colt which “never man sat” (verse 30). This shows us how the most unruly and untamed creatures become obedient to Christ and render themselves usable to Him at His pleasure.
What a sight this must have been! As the Lord approached the Mount of Olives, where the city and the temple were now in view, “the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen.” Perhaps many of these people were traveling to Jerusalem for the upcoming Passover. Perhaps many came out of the city as they learned of the Lord’s approach. Many must have known Him; many must have heard of His marvelous works. They openly praised the Lord saying, “Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.” (verse 38).
Some of the Pharisees that were there in the crowd were upset that this crowd would praise the Lord with such zeal. They were upset that they would acknowledge the Lord Jesus as ‘king’. They asked the Lord to rebuke these people for their loudness and their ignorance.
“And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.” The Lord’s words remind me of what we read in Habakkuk 2:11, “For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.” The stone and the timber are all part of God’s creation. The Lord shall have His praise! If God’s greatest creation, man, should cease to praise Him, then His lesser creation would take up the refrain of praise to Him. We have just seen how the Lord instantly tamed the wild colt so that He might use him in His service. So, we can easily see how the Lord could raise up other parts of His creation to praise Him.
Perhaps the Lord’s words are a proverbial expression, as others have suggested, showing that silence in the presence of the Lord would simply not happen. In His presence there shall be continuous praise and adoration. It may be that the Lord’s words are simply an expression, but I have no problem believing that the Lord can raise up inanimate objects to praise Him. After all, “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: ALL THINGS WERE CREATED BY HIM, AND FOR HIM.” (Colossians 1:16). (409.6)