As we approach the start of Holy Week, it’s worth thinking about the kind of “good news” Jesus actually brought. One person described it as the “law of inversion”. This law has a profound influence for those who understood Jesus’s good news. As Jesus moves toward Jerusalem, crowds celebrate, stories collide, and hopes rise, Jesus is quietly challenging the way the world normally works. This good news is real and life‑giving, but it isn’t always comfortable. It gently presses us to ask: is this good news the kind we truly want?
sermon: When Singing Stones Disrupt the World (Luke 19:37-40) with Rev. Alvin Lau
FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS
- In the parables Jesus tells (Luke 19:11-27), who is the king Jesus is referring to?
- Where do you feel tension between the way success or power works in the world and the way Jesus describes life in God’s kingdom?
- What is one small, practical way you could live out this “backwards” kingdom this week—especially in how you use money, time, or influence?
- Who will you invite to the combined Good Friday service (at Cornerstone Christian Fellowship) and Easter Sunday service?
When God’s Kingdom Works Backwards (and Why That’s Good News)
Sometimes it feels like the world rewards the loudest, richest or most powerful. But is that the way God meant it to be?
Jesus often described this upside-down way of living. He called it good news. Others later called it a kind of reversal. Dallas Willard uses the phrase “the law of inversion”.
The Upside-Down Kingdom
In Luke 19, Jesus is in Jericho (before returning to Jerusalem for the Passover). Big things are about to happen. People are watching closely, expecting God to finally fix everything in a dramatic way.
But instead of promising power and victory, Jesus tells stories that challenge those expectations.
One famous moment happens in Jericho, where a man named Zacchaeus meets Jesus (Luke 19:1–10).
Zacchaeus was a tax collector. In those days, tax collectors worked with Rome and often took more money than required. That made them rich, but deeply hated. That hatred ran deeper when it was a fellow Jew collecting from other Jews.
Yet when Zacchaeus, who likely heard about Jesus and his teaching before arriving in Jericho, meets Jesus, something changes.
“Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”
(Luke 19:8)
Jesus then says:
“Today salvation has come to this house.”
(Luke 19:9)
Notice something important:
Salvation isn’t only about saying the right words. It shows up in changed actions, reflecting what God’s kingdom is meant to look like. In God’s kingdom, it’s now about looking out for our own best interest; it’s looking for God’s best interest in others.
A Story That Isn’t What It Seems
Right after this, Jesus tells a puzzling story (Luke 19:11–27).
It’s about a ruler who leaves to expand his authority (with a delegation going to oppose him), gives money to his servants, and later rewards those who made more money while punishing the one who didn’t. He also kills the delegation that opposed him.
Often, this parable is related to the topic of stewardship, of being productive for God’s kingdom.
But there’s a twist.
During Jesus’s time, there are two factors to consider: 1. Making money often meant taking land from poorer people. The richest gained wealth by pushing others deeper into debt. 2. The history of Archelaus seemed to be the parallel Jesus was referencing in his parable.
So when one servant refuses to grow the money, he isn’t lazy — he may be refusing to take advantage of others. In other words, the “successful” servants grow rich by harming people, while the one who refuses chooses conscience instead of profit.
Jesus is warning his listeners: God’s kingdom will not look like the kingdoms they already know.
The King Who Didn’t Fit the Script
Soon after, Jesus enters Jerusalem riding on a donkey. People shout:
“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”
(Luke 19:38)
They are quoting Psalm 118:26, a song about God saving the oppressed.
This same psalm also says:
“The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”
(Psalm 118:22)
Jesus is that stone ,the rejected one, and his kingdom doesn’t come through violence or domination. It comes through humility, sacrifice and love. That’s why some people are uncomfortable. An upside-down kingdom threatens the way things usually work.
Jesus even says that if the people stopped celebrating, the stones would cry out (Luke 19:40) to celebrate the cornerstone God established (Psalm 118:22). When God’s kingdom breaks in, it can’t be ignored.
Why This Still Matters
The “law of inversion” — where the last are first and the first are last — means:
- Power doesn’t equal greatness
- Wealth isn’t the same as blessing
- Love is stronger than force
- Losing your life can be the way to find it
That kind of good news is hopeful… but also risky.
Following Jesus means living differently. It may cost comfort, status or approval. But it also brings freedom, healing and real life.
Jesus didn’t come to play the same game better.
He came to change the game entirely.