You Don’t Have To Go With The Flow.

I feel we live in a world where people seem to have this inbuilt tendency to follow the crowd. During recent riots, one news reporter was picking people at random, and asking them what they were protesting about. It turned out that a large number of them didn’t even know why they were rioting. They said everyone else seemed to be doing it, so they just joined in. Likewise, if you were to ask a group of brawling men in a pub or club why they’re fighting, I wonder how many of them would actually know.

While preparing to share a word on Palm Sunday, I started thinking about the huge crowd of people we read about in all 4 gospels who came to see Jesus make what’s called his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. In Matthew, chapter 21, verses 8-11, we are told: “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!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!” When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

What had made this large group of people gather? John’s gospel gives us a possible answer. John 12, verses 17-18 says: “Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him.”

This wasn’t the first time people had gone out seeking Jesus because of his miraculous signs. Clearly, there were some in this crowd who wanted Jesus simply for what he could do for them, or maybe out of a sense of curiosity, the sort that makes people watch magicians on TV today. What’s he going to do next? There were definitely those who put Jesus in the magician category. After all, he raised people from the dead, healed the blind and the mute, and could maybe give them what they wanted.

Meanwhile, those who had a knowledge of the old testament scriptures saw Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem as a fulfilment of prophecy. They were waiting for a Messiah who was going to come and rescue them from the tyranny of Rome, so perhaps this was their man. We know these people were right. Jesus was their messiah, but we also know they misunderstood the scriptures. They had read Zechariah 9: 9, which says: “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” And now here was Jesus, entering Jerusalem riding a donkey, so surely all the rumours about him must be true!

Disappointment came when rather than throwing out the Romans, Jesus went into the temple, and threw out the money changers, and those who were exploiting his house of prayer and turning it into a den of robbers. They totally missed the fact that this wasn’t Jesus’ time to conquer Rome. It was his time to conquer sin and hell instead, and to give them the promise of eternal life. They knew they needed a Saviour, for they cried out: “Hosanna”, which means save, please! But they didn’t understand what they needed saving from.

There are still a lot of people in this world today in the same situation. They want to be saved, but they don’t realise what they need saving from. They give long lists of everything that is wrong in the world, but they won’t acknowledge that it all comes down to sin, and that therefore, we are all sinners in need of a Saviour. If they want a saviour at all, they want him on their terms. They’re not ready to surrender their whole lives to him.

As we have seen, there are a few reasons why this crowd might have gathered on what we call Palm Sunday. I imagine there were those who just got carried away by the drama and excitement of it all, with no real clue as to why they were there. However, the sad fact is that just days later, another large crowd gathered. Only this time, they weren’t crying out “Save please”, but “crucify him!” They were pointing the finger at the same man who’s triumphal entry they’d celebrated just days before.

It seems crazy, doesn’t it? How can public opinion change so quickly? For me, it shows how fickle we humans are. We only have to look to the world of sport. Your favourite team wins a game, and the coach is the best ever. The manager is so astute to buy in the best players, and the players themselves are awesome. Then, the following week, they lose. It’s all the manager’s fault. He needs to hire better players. Or maybe the coach needs replacing, because clearly he’s not training them well enough. Or the players themselves are lazy, and can’t be bothered. They’ve lost their desire to win, so they should be replaced, right?

This is a trivial example, but what we’re dealing with here is much more serious. It only takes one or 2 strong characters to turn before the whole mob is sucked in.

In acts 21, the apostle Paul is ambushed at the temple, and falsely accused of defiling it and bringing in a non-Jewish person. As we read the account, we can imagine the loud voices as the accusations fly. Predictably, a crowd of innocent onlookers is soon sucked into the drama. Those who can shout the loudest have an amazing ability to control crowds and make their accusations sound like proven facts. The chaos in the temple spreads further, and soon the whole city is aroused. Paul is seized, and attempts are made to take his life. Thankfully, the Romans turn up before Paul is killed, but when they try and find out what’s caused the mayhem, verses 34-36 say: “Some in the crowd shouted one thing and some another, and since the commander could not get at the truth because of the uproar, he ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks. When Paul reached the steps, the violence of the mob was so great he had to be carried by the soldiers. The crowd that followed kept shouting, “Get rid of him!” They were shouting get rid of him, and yet, half of them didn’t really know why. The ringleaders wanted him killed because of false suppositions, and there were probably other reasons why Paul was unpopular, but basically, it was all just one huge mess.

As we have seen, when we follow the crowd, they may lead us astray. I feel as though a lot of people in the world today have lost their ability to discern things for themselves. I’ve been around teenagers who grew up in the church, and yet have walked away because it’s not cool to be a Christian. Their friends aren’t Christians, so they couldn’t possibly risk standing out in the crowd. WE seem to be living in a society that says if everyone else is doing it, then it must be the right thing to do. But what happens when deep down inside, we know it’s not?

When the crowd pressurises us to turn on the one we were asking to save us, what will we do? will we be like those in the palm Sunday gang who were only following Jesus for what he could do for them? If he doesn’t perform the miracles, or if we have to suffer for his name, will we back away because it’s too hard, and our faith was too shallow? Or will we be willing to stand up, stand out, and make a stand for what we believe in? There may be a time in the future when the crowd are following a false Christ. The Bible calls him the antichrist. The order might be given for us to bow down and worship him, like in Daniel chapter 3, when the king of Babylon ordered that everyone should bow down before his image of gold. Will we be like the majority of the crowd, who follow like sheep, and bow down out of fear for their lives and the lives of the people they care about? Or, will we be like the 3 Hebrew boys who refused to bow down, declaring they would worship God alone. It takes courage to stand out in a crowd. It’s always easier to go with the flow, but Jesus didn’t, and he’s our example. He said: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” (John 5 verse 19.)

Let’s ask the lord to help us be willing to make a stand when we need to, and to also make a commitment to only desire to do what the Father wants us to, especially if that means going against the flow. Let’s learn from that Palm Sunday mob who were praising him one minute, and condemning him a few days later. Let’s not be fickle, wanting Jesus simply for what he does, but rather, desire him for who he is. He is our Saviour, our redeemer, and the only one who can save us from spending eternity separated from our heavenly Father.