The Cross or the Crowd?
This week we hit "Jesus, Barrabas, and Pilate" in our 24 Hours That Changed the World study, and I'll tell you, it's tough stuff.
The verse that wacked me upside the head (and the "saddest verse in Scripture" according to Adam Hamilton, the author) is Mark 15.15:
"And wanting to satisfy the crowd (despite KNOWING that Jesus was there because the religious types were jealous and Jesus was innocent), Pilate released Barrabas to them. He then ordered Jesus flogged and handed him over to be crucified."
Jesus wasn't condemned to die because of anything He did or a compelling case against Him (however adventurously fabricated!), but because Pilate wanted to "satisfy" the crowd. That made me begin to consider myself: how many times have I done something because someone else would think positively of me or like me for it? And not just past tense, but present as in the times I say yes to something knowing I shouldn't or any number of other things.
Perhaps this is the hardest pill for me to swallow: given the chance to make the choice, I'd like to say I'd order Jesus let go so He could continue His ministry and change the world, but more likely than not, facing the pressure of the crowd yelling and screaming I would probably wash my hands and go on as well...
But, the other side of this is the crowd: they went along with their trusted religious leaders, despite appearances to the contrary. I mean, theses are the same people who adoringly welcomed Jesus in a week prior! Are they simply fickle (short answer: yes, but...) or is there more? Because I would place good money on the fact that not everyone in that crowd believed in, or even wanted to, ask for Jesus' crucifixion. Instead, those who knew better were silent in the face of those who were more popular or who had more influence or who were more threatening. The same thing happened in Nazi Germany: those who could have stopped the atrocities were silent, outside of a few (who ultimately either died trying or were captured trying to stop it, like Bonheffer). Thus, Edmond Burke's famous line: "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is good men to do nothing."
To put it into a modern cultural context, think about the Fox tv show "Glee" (not an ideal place for moral help or upstanding content, as some sound like the old dirty magazine subscriber: "I only watch it for the music!"). Let me set the stage: Finn, the popular quarterback has been "coerced" into joining the glee club, which has various misfits and unpopular bullying fodder types in it, including Artie, a boy in a wheelchair. Finn was exposed as being part of the club and his "friends" corner him with paintball guns, blasting away because he had strayed from their fold. The next day, Finn's best friend Puck and a bunch of the "guys" see Finn as he walks past a row of porta-potty's and make him an offer: they've got someone trapped in there and he can have the honor of tipping it first to rejoin their group. However, Finn recognizes Artie's voice screaming out inside the porta-pot and makes a very unlikely decision: he saves Artie from the humiliating, nasty, and very dangerous situation. Finn, bucked the crowd by choosing compassion for a "nerd" over the acceptance of his "friends." That's a hard thing to do in most of our lives, whether adult, student, or otherwise. We say yes to things we shouldn't, we do things we know we ought not do, and we overall pander to those around us (as I told the girls at JumpStart this morning: if a guy ever says anything resembling "If you love me you'll..." they have my permission to totally kick him in the junk in Jesus' name).
Taking that scenario and playing it out as myself, I know I wouldn't have done that, but I've done plenty of things for the same reason. Which brings me to the final thought: Jesus gave us a really clear picture of what it means to be "loved" by those around us and where it leads versus what we are called to do and be. Take a look at what Jesus said in John 15.18-20:
“If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you."
Sounds harsh, but it is the truth. We can barter away the hatred by being like them, but then who are we really? Just like Finn in Glee, we have to choose where we are going to stand and who we are going to be. That's why Paul gives us some good advice: "Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think." This is what we need to do, live, and be. So today as you face the world, what are you going to choose: compassion or apathy? love or hatred? integrity or approval? the crowd or the cross?
I pray you choose the cross...
The verse that wacked me upside the head (and the "saddest verse in Scripture" according to Adam Hamilton, the author) is Mark 15.15:
"And wanting to satisfy the crowd (despite KNOWING that Jesus was there because the religious types were jealous and Jesus was innocent), Pilate released Barrabas to them. He then ordered Jesus flogged and handed him over to be crucified."
Jesus wasn't condemned to die because of anything He did or a compelling case against Him (however adventurously fabricated!), but because Pilate wanted to "satisfy" the crowd. That made me begin to consider myself: how many times have I done something because someone else would think positively of me or like me for it? And not just past tense, but present as in the times I say yes to something knowing I shouldn't or any number of other things.
Perhaps this is the hardest pill for me to swallow: given the chance to make the choice, I'd like to say I'd order Jesus let go so He could continue His ministry and change the world, but more likely than not, facing the pressure of the crowd yelling and screaming I would probably wash my hands and go on as well...
But, the other side of this is the crowd: they went along with their trusted religious leaders, despite appearances to the contrary. I mean, theses are the same people who adoringly welcomed Jesus in a week prior! Are they simply fickle (short answer: yes, but...) or is there more? Because I would place good money on the fact that not everyone in that crowd believed in, or even wanted to, ask for Jesus' crucifixion. Instead, those who knew better were silent in the face of those who were more popular or who had more influence or who were more threatening. The same thing happened in Nazi Germany: those who could have stopped the atrocities were silent, outside of a few (who ultimately either died trying or were captured trying to stop it, like Bonheffer). Thus, Edmond Burke's famous line: "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is good men to do nothing."
To put it into a modern cultural context, think about the Fox tv show "Glee" (not an ideal place for moral help or upstanding content, as some sound like the old dirty magazine subscriber: "I only watch it for the music!"). Let me set the stage: Finn, the popular quarterback has been "coerced" into joining the glee club, which has various misfits and unpopular bullying fodder types in it, including Artie, a boy in a wheelchair. Finn was exposed as being part of the club and his "friends" corner him with paintball guns, blasting away because he had strayed from their fold. The next day, Finn's best friend Puck and a bunch of the "guys" see Finn as he walks past a row of porta-potty's and make him an offer: they've got someone trapped in there and he can have the honor of tipping it first to rejoin their group. However, Finn recognizes Artie's voice screaming out inside the porta-pot and makes a very unlikely decision: he saves Artie from the humiliating, nasty, and very dangerous situation. Finn, bucked the crowd by choosing compassion for a "nerd" over the acceptance of his "friends." That's a hard thing to do in most of our lives, whether adult, student, or otherwise. We say yes to things we shouldn't, we do things we know we ought not do, and we overall pander to those around us (as I told the girls at JumpStart this morning: if a guy ever says anything resembling "If you love me you'll..." they have my permission to totally kick him in the junk in Jesus' name).
Taking that scenario and playing it out as myself, I know I wouldn't have done that, but I've done plenty of things for the same reason. Which brings me to the final thought: Jesus gave us a really clear picture of what it means to be "loved" by those around us and where it leads versus what we are called to do and be. Take a look at what Jesus said in John 15.18-20:
“If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you."
Sounds harsh, but it is the truth. We can barter away the hatred by being like them, but then who are we really? Just like Finn in Glee, we have to choose where we are going to stand and who we are going to be. That's why Paul gives us some good advice: "Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think." This is what we need to do, live, and be. So today as you face the world, what are you going to choose: compassion or apathy? love or hatred? integrity or approval? the crowd or the cross?
I pray you choose the cross...
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