THE CROWD CAN BE SO WRONG
MARK 15:11-15
MARK 15:11-15 NKJV
11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them. 12 Pilate answered and said to them again, "What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?"
13 So they cried out again, "Crucify Him!"
14 Then Pilate said to them, "Why, what evil has He done?"
But they cried out all the more, "Crucify Him!"
15 So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified.
OBSERVATION:
Here is a great example of how a crowd can be totally off.
Jesus had been brought before Pilate who had been accustomed to releasing a prisoner to Israel every year at the Passover feast.
Pilate had already figured out the situation with Jesus. He could tell that the chief priests were envious of Jesus' popularity and had wanted Him killed. Pilate was not Jewish but knew enough to recognize that there was nothing evil about Jesus. Pilate knew this man standing before him was innocent.
But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to release Barabbas instead of Jesus.
Barabbas was a thief and had committed murder. Talk about a person who was the antithesis of Jesus. Barabbas had done no good. Jesus had done no wrong. Barabbas, when released back into society, was not going to be a blessing. He would not add good to the community, yet the crowd clamored for Barabbas, not Jesus, to be released.
Notice the chief priests stirred up the crowd. So the crowd was not stirred up until these influential men began to spread lies. The crowd listened to the lies and pressured Pilate to do the wrong thing.
Pilate gave in to pressure from the crowd and released Barabbas. Then Pilate continued to cave into the mob and crucified Jesus.
APPLICATION:
I am aware that Jesus had to be crucified to fulfill scripture and obtain our redemption.
But it is worth noting how a crowd can be so easily stirred up. And how a crowd can be so wrong.
Today we still see "the crowd" being stirred up to believe lies. We still see the crowd applying pressure for people to make wrong choices. Many crowd choices are the opposite of what God would desire. Many crowd choices ultimately do no good for our society.
We can be wiser than the crowd. We can follow God's word and His Holy Spirit who is living in us. We can refuse to give in to a 'woke' crowd that would once again seek to crucify Jesus. We are stronger in Christ than Pilate and can make the right choices in the face of a pressuring crowd.
PRAYER:
Lord, strengthen me to make choices that honor you. Help me stand strong against the crowd.