Jesus Trial Crowd Mentality
Psalm 2:1,2 Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings plot of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against His Anointed One.
Psalm 69:8 I am a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my own mother’s sons
Psalm 89:3,4 “I have made a covenant with My servant David: ‘Your seed I will establish forever, and build up your throne to all generations.'”
Psalm 118:22,23 The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
Isaiah 50:6 I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting
Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
Matthew 12:14 Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.
Matthew 21:42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read the Scriptures” the stone the builders rejected has become the capstone
Mark 11:1-10 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples; and He said to them, “Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat. Loose it and bring it….then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it. And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then those who followed cried out, saying “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD! Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that comes in the name of the LORD! Hosanna in the highest!”
Matthew 26:67 Then they spat in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him.
Luke 23:11 Then Herod with his men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate.
John 7:3-5 Jesus’ brothers said to Him, “Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing. For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” For even His own brothers did not believe in Him
John 7:42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?
Do you ever think about the few days before Jesus was crucified? He rode into town on a donkey colt, hailed by a large crowd or cheered Him, wanted to make Him king. People who were enthralled with the stories of His healing of lepers, casting out demons, healing the ill, feeding thousands, and with the possibility He truly was the Messiah. Some firmly believed and knew in their hearts He was. But within days they were possibly part of the crows yelling for His crucifixion. How did things change? How did their desire to see Him, touch, be with Him change to one where they were willing to demand His death. Were they stirred to excitement because of the miracles, the healings, the feeding of the thousands? Were they believing the hope had at last arrived to free them from the Romans? He rode in revered, honored; but within hours, things changed.
Crowds can be influenced by anger, others yelling about unfairness of something. Fear and anger together can stir up a crowd that can become violent. Anger is addictive, and also bad for your physical and mental health. There are several factors that can influence crowd behavior—and have the majority turn to dangerous confusion. Many of the factors are anxiety, anonymity, emotions, weather, and a few members yelling different things that can stir the crowd, influencing the ideas and the make-up of the crowd.
Any herd can be startled and cause the entire herd to flee. One animal starts, the others sense danger and they all run—the majority have no idea of what they run from; but they run.
This social contagion even happens with humans. A few can yell and cause doubt and anxiety in a crowd and soon the entire grouping is yelling and angry—maybe completely switching their mind on why or how they were initially in the group. Could that have happened, according to God’s plan, as His will needed to e carried out to save us as we are sinners who consistently and persistently sin—whether we want to or not. Romans 7:15-20
It is easy to prey on others’ fears and this will increase the unpredictability of a crowd, and fear can escalate behavior to strike out—and a crazed mob can be the result. Fear and anger from a few can lead to horde or mass unrest and it feeds, spreads and grows.
It happened while Moses led the Hebrews through the Wilderness. They had no water so they grumbled and then loudly proclaimed they would be better off returning to Egypt. I don’t believe Moses intended to be disobedient—I think he struck the rock twice in anger at these complaining people and the weight they were around his neck and shoulders. They complained earlier about bitter water. God told Moses to throw part of a tree into the water, and the water became fresh.
They complained of no bread, no meat—loudly and that caused more and more to find fault. A few that are unhappy can create more and more to find fault—crowd mentality. These people did the same when it was time to enter Canaan, the Promised Land, filled with lovely fruits, milk and honey, “large giant people. We will be doomed.” Those ten men caused fear to run rampant in the crowd, so they again went against God’s will for them, did their own, and then had to endure the consequences of that disobedience and stayed in the desert for 40 years instead of a much shorter time.
I think that is what happened with God’s permission and plan. The Pharisees stirred up the crowd, aggravated the people to cause Pilate to give them what they cried they wanted, and Jesus was sentenced to death.
Jesus was a hero to many, certainly not the Pharisees or Sadducees (they enjoyed their power and wealth too much), but they were able to verbally call out and say Jesus was not obeying the laws—God only initiated a few, buy the time these men had dictated laws to others, there were 630—and they did not even try to obey them; they were just quick to point out those who did not obey and call them out publicly. They cried out against His statements of being the Son of God. After seeing the miracles He performed, I am unsure how anyone could have doubted it. But the religious leaders did NOT want that and their “learned” arguments of His claims “were grounds for death; we must kill Him.”
I think that is in large part what happened a few days after people honored Him coming into Jerusalem to then screeching for His crucifixion. And of course, that was God’s plan ensuring the only sacrifice which could save us was an unblemished, sinless full man, full God, God’s only Son, Jesus.
Lord, You knew what was coming; You knew about those fickle crowds–adoration and honor one moment; then betrayal, lies, abuse, and torture. I am so sorry for all You went through during those hours. But without Your sacrifice, I would not have You in my life, blessing me and ‘mybellaviews.’
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