Transcript:
It is human nature to go along with the crowd. If a majority of people have a certain belief, very few people are willing to espouse a contrary belief. If the masses become passionate about a certain idea, it is even less likely that anyone will oppose them. This is why peer pressure is effective. It is also why “keeping up with the Joneses” is a real temptation.
The Bible contains many examples of the majority being wrong. For example, after Moses sent twelve spies to spy out the land of Canaan, most Israelites concluded they should not enter and conquer the promised land. Caleb and Joshua were the only two who still wanted to obey Yahweh. Caleb and Joshua were right. The rest of the Israelite nation was wrong and Yahweh punished them for their failure to obey Him.
Many Old Testament prophets like Elijah and Jeremiah were vastly outnumbered. Their convictions went against those held by most people. However, in their case the minority was right and the majority was wrong.
The account of Jesus on trial before Pilate teaches us something else about crowds. Crowds are very easy to manipulate. This might explain why the majority is often wrong. When a massive number of people hold a certain position, it is possible they are doing so because someone behind the scenes is manipulating them into believing something that is not true. This reinforces the idea that true Christians should not go along with the masses.
We read in the 14th chapter of Mark that when Jesus and His disciples were eating the Passover, Jesus warned His disciples they would all fall away. Peter declared he would never fall away. Jesus went further and said Peter would deny Jesus three times.
Later that night, Judas betrayed Jesus and Jesus was arrested. All the disciples fled, but Peter followed Jesus at a distance. Peter even went into the courtyard of the high priest as Jesus was on trial.
Mark 14:66 ¶ And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest came,
Mark 14:67 and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus.”
Mark 14:68 But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are talking about.” And he went out into the entryway.
Unlike today when there are hundreds of pictures proving who hangs out with celebrities, there was no photographic evidence Peter was a follower of Jesus. All they had was eyewitness testimony and the ability of the eyewitnesses to recognize Peter.
Mark 14:69 And when the servant-girl saw him, she began once more to say to the bystanders, “This is one of them!”
Mark 14:70 But again he was denying it. And after a little while the bystanders were again saying to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, for you are also a Galilean.”
Mark 14:71 But he began to curse and swear, “I do not know this man you are talking about!”
The words “curse” and “swear” are significant. In their culture cursing and swearing was not using bad words. Instead, this was how they made statements and agreements legally binding. When Peter swore, he was essentially testifying under oath, meaning he could be legally prosecuted if he lied.
Mark 14:72 And immediately a rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said the statement to him, “Before a rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And throwing himself down, he began to cry.
This was probably the lowest point of Peter’s life. He had spent several years following Jesus. He knew who Jesus was. He probably truly meant it when he insisted he would die rather than abandon Jesus. However, when the pressure was on, Peter failed.
Do we do the same thing? Do we tell ourselves we will be bold for Christ, but then when we face opposition, we are not nearly as bold as we imagine we are?
Mark 15:1 ¶ And early in the morning the chief priests with the elders and scribes and the whole Sanhedrin, immediately held council; and binding Jesus, led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate.
Mark 15:2 And Pilate questioned Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And He answered him and said, “You yourself say it.”
Mark 15:3 And the chief priests began to accuse Him of many things.
Mark 15:4 Then Pilate was questioning Him again, saying, “You answer nothing? See how many accusations they bring against You!”
Mark 15:5 But Jesus made no further answer; so Pilate marveled.
Jesus exercised a lot of self-control. He is God, the Creator. He could have killed all His accusers instantly, but He didn’t.
Mark 15:6 ¶ Now at the feast he used to release for them any one prisoner whom they requested.
Mark 15:7 And the man named Barabbas had been imprisoned with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the insurrection.
Barabbas was truly a bad man and deserved to be in prison.
Mark 15:8 And the crowd went up and began asking him to do as he had been accustomed to do for them.
Mark 15:9 And Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?”
Mark 15:10 For he was aware that the chief priests had delivered Him over because of envy.
This verse reveals Pilate knew exactly what was going on. Pilate knew Jesus was innocent. Pilate knew the religious leaders were simply jealous of Jesus and were manufacturing accusations in order to get rid of an innocent man who was speaking the truth.
This happens today. Many powerful people in our world are telling a lot of lies. Those who call out the lies and speak the truth are attacked, hounded, and falsely charged in courts of law. This lawfare is simply an attempt by the powerful to silence those who are holding them accountable.
Mark 15:11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to ask him to release Barabbas for them instead.
Notice the chief priests were influencing the crowd to go along with their nefarious plan.
Mark 15:12 And answering again, Pilate was saying to them, “Then what shall I do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?”
Mark 15:13 And they shouted again, “Crucify Him!”
Mark 15:14 But Pilate was saying to them, “Why? What evil did He do?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify Him!”
This happened less than a week after Jesus triumphantly rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. On that occasion, the crowd loved Jesus and hailed Him as a hero. However, within days the leaders had managed to sway the crowd into condemning Jesus and calling for His crucifixion.
This teaches us that crowds are very fickle and vulnerable to manipulation. This happens today. Mass media is very successful at molding public opinion and leading the majority of people to hold opinions that are wrong, destructive, and against their best interests.
Since it is easy to exploit the general public and deceive them into accepting bad ideas, it is unwise to blindly follow the crowd. True Christians need to be very discerning. We need to be willing to go against the conventional wisdom because oftentimes the conventional wisdom is wrong.
Mark 15:15 And wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them, and after having Jesus scourged, he delivered Him over to be crucified.
Pilate did not have the courage to do the right thing because he feared the crowd. How many political leaders today go along with things they know are wrong because they fear public opinion?
Mark 15:16 ¶ So the soldiers took Him away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium), and they called together the whole Roman cohort.
Mark 15:17 And they dressed Him up in purple, and after twisting a crown of thorns, they put it on Him;
Mark 15:18 and they began to greet Him, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
Mark 15:19 And they kept beating His head with a reed, and spitting on Him; and kneeling, they were bowing down before Him.
The all-powerful Creator of the universe allowed lowly, ignorant men to mock Him.
It is human nature to go along with the crowd. If a majority of people have a certain belief, very few people are willing to espouse a contrary belief. This is why peer pressure is effective.
The account of Jesus on trial before Pilate teaches us that crowds are very easy to manipulate. This explains why the majority is often wrong. When a massive number of people hold a certain position, it is possible they are doing so because someone behind the scenes is manipulating them into believing something that is not true.
Since it is easy to exploit the general public and deceive them into accepting bad ideas, it is unwise to blindly follow the crowd. True Christians need to be very discerning. We need to be willing to go against the conventional wisdom because oftentimes the conventional wisdom is wrong.
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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”
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