The Shouts Prevailed

Scripture:

Luke 23:13   Pilate then called together the chief priests, the leaders, and the people, ¹⁴ and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was perverting the people; and here I have examined him in your presence and have not found this man guilty of any of your charges against him. ¹⁵ Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us. Indeed, he has done nothing to deserve death. ¹⁶ I will therefore have him flogged and release him.”

Luke 23:18   Then they all shouted out together, “Away with this fellow! Release Barabbas for us!” ¹⁹ (This was a man who had been put in prison for an insurrection that had taken place in the city, and for murder.) ²⁰ Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them again; ²¹ but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!” ²² A third time he said to them, “Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no ground for the sentence of death; I will therefore have him flogged and then release him.” ²³ But they kept urgently demanding with loud shouts that he should be crucified; and their voices prevailed. ²⁴ So Pilate gave his verdict that their demand should be granted. ²⁵ He released the man they asked for, the one who had been put in prison for insurrection and murder, and he handed Jesus over as they wished.

Observation:

Previously we had seen how Jesus had kept silent at the injustice that he faced. Now we understand why. Although he had a trial, and was found not-guilty, he would still face death. Ultimately the leader of the day wanted the approval of the masses along with the accompanying power, and therefore he would not stand for justice. Even after trying to convince the crowd, he finally succumbed and the shouts prevailed. The man who had actually committed a crime was set free and Jesus was given over to the whims of the crowd. 

Application:

There are boisterous crowds these days on polarizing fronts. They are yelling at us from the right and the left, wanting us to go along with the crowd. The challenge for true followers of Jesus Christ is to stand your ground and not to allow the shouts to prevail. 

God chose to use the inaction of Pilate, having known his heart, to complete his plan. The freedom of the guilty party, Barabbas, was simply a foreshadowing of our own freedom which we could find in Christ. Not only did he pay for Barabbas’ sin, but he took upon himself the consequence of our sin. We are all set free because of what Christ has done, and for this we may be eternally grateful. 

But the shouts remain, and we, just like Pilate, have to determine how we will respond. Speaking truth in the midst of shouts is a difficult thing to do, and yet, Pilate would have been a much bigger man had he stood for justice and done the right thing. While we may condemn Pilate, we must recognize that we, too, can easily be swayed by the shouts of others. At some point, it just feels too hard to keep standing up and speaking out against injustice when no one wants to hear what you have to say. 

Jesus was never swayed by the crowd, but always remained firmly on mission. Even in the face of injustice, Jesus maintained his steely focus on what the Father had called him to do. We cannot allow the shouts to prevail, or to distract us from the mission of following Jesus.  The clamoring voices on the polar opposites of our world will continually seek our attention and therefore we intentionally focus on lives on Christ. 

Prayer:

Lord, please, give me strength for each day to follow you. Amen.