So Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested. - Luke 23:24
We often speak of the stunningly powerful effect of “peer pressure,” especially upon our young people. And as true as that may be, there is a much more insidious pressure we all (both young and old) face as Christians today - it is the insistent, demanding, and loud voice of the crowd. “But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices that He be crucified. And the voices of these men and of the chief priests prevailed.” - Luke 23:23.
To understand how powerful such pressure can be we must take a closer look at Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea. Pilate was appointed governor, despite historical allegations of incompetence, because his superiors saw qualifications in him that lent themselves to making him an effective leader. He was both articulate and a man of finely honed political skills, as well as being a skillful negotiator. “When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked if the Man were a Galilean. And as soon as he knew that He belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time. . . That very day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with each other.” - Luke 24:6-7; 12.
Pilate was no fool, yet he acquiesced to the “insistent, demanding, and loud voices” that cried out for Christ to be handed over to them for crucifixion. “So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified.”- Mark 15:15.
Allow me to pause for a moment to clarify that no insistent, demanding, or loud voice could ever overcome the will of God. Christ’s death upon the cross had been prophesied and that prophesy had to be fulfilled. Pilate was merely one of the human agents God used to accomplish His will.
So what we see here is a man of law and worldly honor being manipulated by the voice of the crowd in spite of his better judgment. “Then Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, said to them, ‘You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people. And indeed, having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him; no, neither did Herod, for I sent you back to him; and indeed nothing deserving of death has been done by Him.’” - Luke 23:13-15.
The question we must all ask ourselves is, “How often have we gone against our better judgment to pacify the insistent, demanding, and loud voice of the crowd?”
Pilate could easily have gathered a contingent of Roman troops and given Jesus and His disciples safe passage out of Jerusalem and refused to give in to the demands of the crowd, had he chosen to. He had the power to do so yet he balked, and he did so to appease the crowd! Despite what his conscience was telling him he chose the path of the least resistance which is often the path of cowardice rather than stand up for what his conscience was telling him. Even his wife warned him of giving in to the crowd. “While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, ‘Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him.’” - Matthew 27:19.
Our consciences should scream at us rather than allow us to give in to what we know is wrong in the eyes of God! Our consciences should beat us into holy submission rather than allow us to choose the way of the world! Our heavenly Father’s declared will should be firmly engraved in our hearts so that no matter how insistent, demanding, or loud the crowd becomes, we should always make the right decision, rather than go along with the madness. “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” - Romans 12:2.
Incidentally, according to the 4th Century historian, Eusebius, Pontus Pilate fell out of favor with Roman Emperor, Caligula, and committed suicide around 37/38 A.D. We see that despite both Judas Iscariot’s and Pilate’s role in helping to fulfill the Scriptures, God will not be mocked and we are still responsible for our own sinful behavior.
Let us vow to always follow God’s will within our Christian hearts regardless of the insistent, demanding, and loud demands of the crowd.
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