“Their Voices Won Out”

Pilate was ready to release Jesus, but the crowd shouted him down. “Their voices won out.” How do we avoid being led astray by the voices of the crowd?

Scripture:       

Exodus, chapters 6-8; Luke, chapter 23

Luke 23:13-25 (CEB):

Then Pilate called together the chief priests and the rulers of the people. He said to them, “You brought this man before me as one who was misleading the people. I have questioned him in your presence and found nothing in this man’s conduct that provides a legal basis for the charges you have brought against him. Neither did Herod, because Herod returned him to us. He’s done nothing that deserves death. Therefore, I’ll have him whipped, then let him go.”

But with one voice they shouted, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us.” (Barabbas had been thrown into prison because of a riot that had occurred in the city, and for murder.) Pilate addressed them again because he wanted to release Jesus. They kept shouting out, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”

For the third time, Pilate said to them, “Why? What wrong has he done? I’ve found no legal basis for the death penalty in his case. Therefore, I will have him whipped, then let him go.” But they were adamant, shouting their demand that Jesus be crucified. Their voices won out. Pilate issued his decision to grant their request. He released the one they asked for, who had been thrown into prison because of a riot and murder. But he handed Jesus over to their will.

Observations: Their Voices Won Out

As I read this passage today, one phrase stood out: their voices won out. It’s a reminder to us that mob mentality often overrides justice and truth. Neither Pilate nor Herod found any basis to crucify Jesus. Pilate was ready to release Jesus. “But with one voice they shouted, ‘Away with this man!’” Three times Pilate offered to release Jesus; three times the people rejected Jesus. Finally, their voices won out, and Pilate granted their request.

Pilate didn’t believe that Jesus deserved to die, but he wasn’t willing to risk his position on Jesus’s behalf. The people centurion who supervised the crucifixion recognized that Jesus didn’t deserve to die (verse 47), but by that time there was nothing he could do. The crowds – presumably the people who had shouted “Crucify him!” a few hours before – “returned to their homes beating their chests after seeing what had happened” (verse 48). Apparently, most of the people of Jerusalem recognized that what had happened wasn’t “right” – but their voices won out.

Application – Their Voices Won Out

We’re all familiar with the phenomenon of “mob mentality.” People acting as part of a mob do things that they would never do individually. Why does this happen? Their voices won out. We need to remember that going along with the crowd is never an excuse to do what is wrong.

The problem is that our culture has moved further and further toward that mob mentality. It doesn’t matter whether the mob in question is on the “right” or the “left.” We cannot abandon our understanding of what is right and wrong based on the volume of the voices around us. Also, we cannot justify “going along with the crowd” just because someone says the alternative would be worse. Those of us who follow Jesus have to resist the voices of the crowd. We cannot give in to the fears those voices seek to provoke.

And we cannot excuse our refusal to stand against the crowd by shifting responsibility back to God. “This must be what God wanted” is both factually incorrect and morally wrong. God neither “needs” nor “wants” his people to act contrary to His standards. God doesn’t need to do that for His will to be done. He certainly doesn’t need us to adopt the world’s methods to achieve His purposes. In the end, their voices will NOT win out. God will!

Prayer:

Father, we confess that it is tempting for us to use the world’s methods against it. When we pray, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done,” help us to recognize what Your will is. Guard us against the temptation to assume that our will is Your will! There is a huge difference between your ultimate will and the ways you sometimes work in spite of human rebellion. Remind us that You are holy, and You call Your people to be holy.

Help us today to stop and listen to You. As the noise of a political campaign grows louder and louder in our country, remind us to listen for Your still, small voice (1 Kings 19:12, NIV). May the verdict on our day NOT be that “their voices won out.” Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as in heaven. Amen.