But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people” ~ Luke 2:10
“And do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.” ~ John the Baptist to the Pharisees and Sadducees, Matthew 3:8-9
Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” But Jesus answered, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!” ~ As Jesus enters Jerusalem, Luke 19:39-40
That seems like an odd collection of verses up there. What does the angel’s declaration to the shepherds have to do with rebuking Pharisees and God making stones have voices?
Truth be told, I have no clear “evidence,” except for one Greek myth and faith in an all-knowing God…
The Myth of Deucalion and Pyrrha
Deucalion was the son of Prometheus, and Pyrrha was the daughter of Pandora. The two married, and were living quite happily…
Until the flood came.
Fortunately, Prometheus told his son about the impending flood, and so Deucalion built a boat for himself and Pyrrha to escape on. When the flood ended, they landed on Mount Parnassus (where the Delphic Oracle is), and consulted the oracle of Themis on what they should do to repopulate the earth.
They were told to throw the bones of their mother over their shoulders.
They took their “mother” to be the earth, and her “bones” to be stones. The stones Deucalion threw over his shoulder became men, and the stones Pyrrha threw over her shoulder became women.[1]
In the mind of the ancients, stones became alive. Stones became the gentiles.
How This Applies to Us (and Them)
I have no idea whether John the Baptist, the Pharisees, or the Sadducees knew of this myth. It is highly plausible the latter two could have, seeing as how both groups were educated individuals. I do believe Jesus knew of the connection, but I don’t necessarily think he was calling the gentiles in Jerusalem “stones” (although he did call a Canaanite woman a dog once, so I guess it could have happened, Matt. 15:26).
What I do believe is that the Greco-Romans knew the myth of people coming from stones. Did they believe it? Maybe. Possibly not. But belief is irrelevant here; the point is, they knew the story.
At Jesus’ birth, the angels declared they had “good news of great joy” for “all the people.” All the people. Even those stone-people, those gentiles, who were so looked-down upon by the Jews.
For the gentiles who knew the Jews, who knew of their “clean and unclean” frame of mind, the angel’s message wouldn’t have seemed to be for them. To Jews, gentiles were decidedly “unclean.” Any message given to the Jews would not be given to those who were unclean.
But the angel said “all the people.” And then John says God can raise children of Abraham from the stones. Finally, Jesus says that if his disciples remain silent, the stones will cry out.
Stones could become children of the chosen family. Stones could develop voices to praise a Holy God.
And I do believe the minds of the ancients went straight to Deucalion and Pyrrha, who also made stone-people.
The Message for All
Yes, the message was for “all the people” – even those stone-people, with stone-hard hearts, and no claim to Israel or its salvation. It was those stone-people who would end up making the Messiah their own.
Stone-people, grafted into the loving family of a Holy God.
Do not dampen the extraordinary message of the angel this Christmas. For all the people. Even those who are difficult. Even those from “the wrong side of the tracks.” Even those “gentiles,” who don’t know right from wrong, clean from unclean.
Yes, Jesus was born for all the stone-people. He was born for this lowly stone-person, who still struggles with a stone-hard heart.
He came for me…and he came for you. So go unto all the world and proclaim the good news of great joy! Tell how Jesus came for all the people.
Sources
[1] Mark P. O. Morford, Robert J. Lenardon, and Michael Sham, Classical mythology, 9th ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011), 99-102.
