How Not to Follow the Crowd

How Not to Follow the Crowd

            Most of us are accustomed to the typical characters in the story of Jesus’ last week.  We see the donkey bringing in Jesus, the disciples at the last supper.  There is Judas betraying him with a kiss in the garden.  We remember Pilate and the religious leaders at the trial of Jesus. 

            But Matthew brings in an additional character to the story.  In fact, this character has been a part of his whole Gospel.  The character was there when he taught the Sermon on the Mount, there when he fed the five thousand, and there in a multitude of other places. 

            Matthew simply calls this character “the crowd” and it takes on a personality all its own.  Jesus never trusted this character.  Though he served them he never gave himself fully to them.  This weekend, “the crowd” shows up again.  They are there, welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem.  They are appropriately shouting words of praise and thanksgiving, cutting branches and putting cloaks in the road to welcome the king.  It is a scene of joy and praise.

            And yet in a foreboding way, for the rest of the week the crowd is silent, that is until Jesus is on trial.  Then, manipulated by the powers that be, they are yelling “Crucify him!” 

            How can this be?  How can a crowd be so excited about Jesus and his coming and then something like seven days later, yell “crucify”?  What is even more disconcerting is the recognition, that this could easily be us.  Every one of us has at one point or another felt that powerful force of the crowd pressing in on us.  The pressure so often turns into a stampede and it feels safer to run with the crowd than to try to step out, stop it, or slow it down.

            But this weekend, we will be reminded that it doesn’t have to be that way.  There are things we can do to avoid this predictable pattern.  Come join us in worship and we will talk more about it.  See you there!

In Christ,

Pastor Pete