Jesus Rocked

What Did Jesus Do?

And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.
Matthew 27.51

World Series winners, Super Bowl champs, and an endless succession of overblown celebrities can inspire parades and pandemonium nowadays. It may be that fifteen minutes of fame are reserved for everyone, but more of the infamous and, in the big scheme of things, irrelevant, seem to be taking advantage of the public’s low threshold for being impressed these days. It seems that pretty much anybody nowadays can rock the world, and ridiculous (Even blasphemous?) shows like American Idol reveal how desperately some seek acclaim, and how desperately many wish to acclaim, well, idols.

In the ancient world there were many idols, but instead of rocking the world most of those idols were simply rocks. But there was a day when the arrival of someone who definitely did not want to be anyone’s idol, set off such a spontaneous commotion in Jerusalem (Matthew 21.1-11) that the “PFD” (Pharisaical Fire Department) tried to squash the crowd’s enthusiasm before the whole city became enflamed. (Luke19.39) But Jesus told them that if the crowds were silenced on that day the rocks themselves would give voice to His praises. (Luke 19.40)

Well the Pharisees let the crowd have free reign that day, but a few days later they so stirred another crowd into a senseless frenzy that the people cried out for the death of an innocent man, and so intimidated the Roman governor (Pilate) that he submitted to the will of the mob. (Matthew 27.15-23) So Jesus was crucified and buried in a borrowed tomb which was sealed with a great rock, but not before His very death rocked the world as noted in the verse captioned at the top. Then everything quieted down, for three days. (Matthew 27.57-60)

But early on the first day of the week Jesus started “rocking” the world, and He hasn’t stopped since. First the earth itself shook and one of God’s angels joined in the rocking, removing the stone from the tomb where Jesus had been laid. (Matthew 28.2) Addressing some women who were faithful disciples of the Lord, the angel rocked them with the news that Jesus was risen, and, all but bowled over by this report of the angel, the women ran to tell the other disciples. (Matthew 28.5-8) But before the women made it back they were rocked again when they ran into Jesus himself. (Matthew 28.9)

And, from the women to the disciples, to those whom the apostles would witness to, right on down to today, Jesus rocks the lives of all He encounters, making them, by the power of the Holy Spirit, “rockers” who in turn keep rocking the world with the Gospel. Yes, there are still plenty of idols who would seek to rock the world, and they stir up plenty of commotion for their fifteen minutes or so. But there is only one Rock of Ages who has kept on rocking the world for nearly two thousand years now, and who will continue to “rock” until the day when the world itself will pass away. So, rock on! That’s what Jesus did.

S.D.G.

Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4