Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified. Mark 15:15 NIV
Far too many bad decisions have been made in an effort to please the crowd, but this one outweighs them all! How could Pilate hand Jesus over to be crucified when he clearly understood he had done nothing wrong.
“Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead. Mark 14:9-11 NIV
“What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them. “Crucify him!” they shouted. “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!” Mark 15:12-14 NIV
While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.” Matthew 27:19 NIV
Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. Luke 23:13-15 NIV
Pilate realized that Jesus had done nothing to deserve the sentence the crowd was calling for, but in an effort to appease them, he sentenced him to death anyway. This is an extreme example, but one that teaches us a valuable lesson. Action based on popular opinion alone is never a good idea. Peer pressure may be difficult to navigate but a man of integrity will stand strong despite the roar of the crowd.
We find another tragic example of poor decision making in Mark 6.
For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married. For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. Mark 6:17-20a NIV
Herodias found her opportunity at Herod’s birthday celebration when her daughter danced for John and his dinner guests, who included his high officials, military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. Pleased with her dancing, Herod promised the girl anything she wanted and was appalled when she asked for the head of John the Baptist. Herod had to make a quick decision in front of the large gathering of “important people.” He knew John was a righteous man and had already unfairly locked him in prison. Would he go so far as to have him beheaded too?
The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. Mark 6:26-28 NIV
Herod didn’t want to lose face in front of his guests so he had John killed! Can you think of a time in your life when you did something you wish you hadn’t simply because others were watching? Or maybe the opinion of the crowd kept you from doing something you wanted to do. Such was the case for some of the leaders in Jesus’ day.
Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved human praise more than praise from God. John 12:42-43 NIV
Here’s the bottom line. We all have to decide who we want to impress, people or God. If being popular is more important than being right with God our actions will always cater to the roar of the crowd.
Photo by Ryoji Iwata on Unsplash