Crowds Can Be Fickle

Jesus was very popular in his day. Remember how his humble entrance into Jerusalem was met with an enthusiastic crowd? “A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’” (Matthew 21:8-9). These folks were so enthusiastic they actually took their cloaks off and put them on the ground for Jesus to walk on. They even acknowledged Jesus as the one “who comes in the name of the Lord (verse 8), and “the prophet from Nazareth” (verse 11).

A “crowd” is simply “a large number of people gathered together, typically in a disorganized way.” It is “a throng pressed closely together, united by a common characteristic.” All that can be said for sure is that a crowd is a large gathering of people at one time and place. A crowd is not a community, but it is impressively large.

Because a crowd involved a large number of human beings, Jesus often took advantage of such a gathering to teach about God’s Kingdom. “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). Because the crowd had no clear sense of direction, because they only gathered as a result of having been scattered, Jesus had compassion for them. He realized their need for a true shepherd if they were to find their way. “A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill” (Matthew 12:15; see also 14:14). Jesus saw the fundamental dysfunction of the crowd and he reached out to heal them. “Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them” (Matthew 15:30; see also 19:2). Jesus saw the brokenness in the crowd and he took the time to touch their lives.

There were other times when Jesus purposely avoided the crowd. “When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake” (Matthew 8:18). That seems like an odd strategy. Why walk away from the crowd? There were times when Jesus insisted on ministering to someone in need “away from the crowd” (Mark 7:33). At other times Jesus seemed to be intentionally driving a crowd away (or at least greatly reducing its size) by giving a difficult if not offensive teaching (Mark 8:34-35; Luke 11:29; John 6:24, 66). At times Jesus simply instructed his disciples to “send the crowd away” (Luke 9:12).

We love the sight of a crowd. It gives us a feeling of success when we see a crowd responding to our call to gather. Even though Jesus spoke about him being with “two or three” who gathered in his name, we feel like a failure when it is only a small number gathering. But the fact is, there may be a fairly high level of covenant relationship in the smaller group. It takes no commitment at all to be a part of a crowd. Jesus refused to be impressed by the crowd or to entrust his mission to the crowd. Instead, Jesus focused his primary ministry and teaching on the twelve. Jesus seemed to be more impressed by the level of personal connection with key individuals than he was with his ability to attract a large number of people at a certain time and place.

A tragic part of the Easter story is the fact that the very crowd that welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday was the same one calling for his crucifixion on Good Friday. “But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed” (Matthew 27:20). I’m sure they had been expecting Jesus to continue his conquest of Jerusalem that began on Palm Sunday. After all, he had demonstrated his Messianic mission the next day by cleansing the temple, announcing a new administration in the temple and the city. So why had he allowed himself to be arrested by the temple police? Why was he now standing on trial before the Roman governor? So when Pilate asked the crowd what to do with Jesus, they responded, “Crucify him” (Matthew 27:22). When Pilate asked for their reasons, “they shouted all the louder, ‘Crucify him!’” (verse 23). After Pilate insisted on some form of justice, the crowd replied, “His blood is on us and on our children” (verse 25). Crowds can be fickle!

It’s not uncommon for crowds to gather on Easter Sunday morning. It seems like the proper religious thing to do. But only one thing matters; what is the actual state of your soul? To what extent are you really serious about following Jesus at every point in your life? How committed are you to the Lordship of Jesus? Beyond that, how committed are you to a specific family of brothers and sisters? Or do you find comfort and anonymity by hiding in the crowd? Our prayer for you on this great Easter morning is that you find a real, permanent place on God’s family. Jesus died for you! Jesus has risen from the dead! And Jesus is coming again!