Step Away from the Crowd

There was a time during the teenage years when my mom and dad talked to me about the dangers of the “crowd.”  I definitely didn’t understand the value of this conversation at the time, but I do now!

Has anyone else ever had this type of conversation with their parents? Maybe you’re a parent that is having a similar discussion with the kids in the house today.

It originated from some pretty bad choices I had been making. I was running with a rough “crowd” and was far away from Jesus. Each decision made hinged upon their approval. I remember the biggest question my parents asked me during that conversation was:

“And if they tell you to jump off a bridge, should or would you do it?!”

That’s definitely a question that every parenting book out there should advise us to ask.  Despite answering this question with a resounding “NO”, I chose to continue living out this pattern through much of my high school years.

As you look at scripture during this Holy Week, you will indeed read about some “crowds” (in all four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). I have heard messages preached about the actual number of these crowds, or about defining the different types of people in the crowds. But I have been pondering the concept of “the crowd” itself.

You see, Jesus was no stranger to crowds. Everywhere Jesus went, he was preaching, teaching, healing, and helping. The “crowd” was normal to Him. And yes, the crowd did include all different types of people: religious leaders, disciples and followers, the curious, the critical, the lonely, and the desperate.

Jesus was coming to the end of the 3-year timeline of his ministry on earth, and he had his eye set on Jerusalem.  Mark 11 describes a crowd that was ready for Jesus as they shouted:

 “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” Mark 11:9b-10(NIV)

Later on in Mark 15:9-15, Jesus is faced with the shouts of this crowd:

 “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. “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!”  Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.”

 Just days apart, these people are singing two very different tunes.

A parade of praise followed by a declaration of death. The “crowd’” is approving two very different things in these passages.  It sounds a lot like today where nothing is new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9b).

After all, crowds are made up of human beings who are fickle, indifferent, and disloyal. But Jesus knew.

Jesus knew because he came for the “crowd”.  In Luke’s account of the triumphal entry, Jesus has an emotional moment (Luke 19:41-42) and is weeping for the city of Jerusalem. He knew the rejection of the “crowd” was coming. Jesus longed for them to choose the peace that only he could offer.

He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is our shalom; our peace. The “crowd” couldn’t even make up their minds completely about Him.

How much weight does the “crowd”  hold with you?

Even a well-meaning crowd of believers is no substitute for the approval of Jesus.  His time with the crowds would always come to a close as he would withdraw to a secluded place to pray and be with the Father (Luke 5:16).

Are you lingering on the words of the crowd or on the words of  the Father?

Paul writes this to the Galatian church about the “crowd”:

Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. 

Galatians 1:10

I encourage you to be thoughtful today about the following truths—

*The approval rating of your life is given by the king of Kings, not the crowd.

*The applause or disapproval of the crowd means little in the light of eternity.

*Tune out the noise of the crowd and linger on the promises that our heavenly Father gives in his Word.

*Retreat to replenish in the company of the One, instead of the company of many.

*It’s time to step away from the crowd and give the authority of your life fully and completely to Jesus.

I’m stepping away with you!

Your sister in Christ,

—Lindsey