Moo-ving Together

Mark 15: 12, 13 Pilate...said to them, “What do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews? So they cried out again, “Crucify Him!”

The crowds followed Jesus – everywhere He went. Thousands gathered at a time to hear Him preach and teach. He told them how to make their lives better. He healed sick people and fed the hungry, performing mighty miracles, and they loved it. They saw Him as the person who would lead them to fight and defeat the Romans and make them into a great nation again. Then one memorable day He sat on a donkey and rode into Jerusalem. Somebody reminded them that the Messiah would ride like that into Jerusalem so the crowd gathered around Him, shouting “Hosannah”, cheering and “bigging Him up” all the way. He was Messiah. Soon they would crown Him king.

Now only a matter of months later, the crowd was shouting again; but this time they were shouting, “Crucify Him!” Could they be talking about the same Jesus? Yup! Same one. But how could they change so drastically in such a short time? It’s not hard. Crowds are like that.

Psychologists speak about the “herd instinct” which makes a person in a crowd put away his own opinions and thoughts and think and behave like the crowd. Like cows in a herd, they tend to stick together and follow (almost blindly) the person who is leading. In a crowd, emotions tend to run high and to extremes. Persons often feel intimidated by the crowd and fearful of making “all those people” see them as different, or turn against them. They prefer to merge with the crowd, to fit in.

In Pilate’s Judgement Hall, there were people who had heard Jesus preach and teach; people who had eaten of the loaves and fishes; people He had healed of diseases; people who recently claimed Him as Messiah. Now no one had the courage to challenge the crowd, to tell them they were wrong. Those who disagreed were afraid and silent. Within a short while the whole crowd was shouting “crucify Him” and the noise and chaos of the mob took control of people. Afterwards some of them would wonder how they ever did that.

It is so important that we develop the courage to think independently and not let crowds or popular opinion control our minds. Only God can give us this courage and conviction.

Dear Lord, grant us the courage to stand for right, against the crowd if necessary, so that we may truly represent You, in Jesus’ name, amen.