Mark 15:1-20

Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them.

There is little doubt that the desire to satisfy the crowd will virtually always lead to a bad decision. Had Moses wanted to satisfy the crowd Israel would not have entered the Promised Land. Had Jesus wanted to satisfy the crowd He would have let them make Him their “King,” and on their terms. (He wouldn’t let the devil do it and He didn’t let the crowd either.) Had Paul wanted to satisfy the crowd he would not have preached the gospel.

On the other side we have the matter of Aaron, the brother of Moses, making a Golden Calf because it was what the people wanted. And then there was Saul who was ordered by God through Samuel to completely destroy the Amalekites. Saul did not obey the Lord because, as Saul himself said, “I was afraid of the people and so I gave in to them.”

Finally, we see Pilate releasing Barabbas and condemning Jesus, even though he knew Jesus was innocent, because he wanted to satisfy the crowd. Did I say, “Finally?” I wish. The same story goes on and on and on to this very day. In fact, we now live in a culture here in the West where the desires of the crowd are viewed as being something grand.

Beware. What happened to Pilate can easily happen to you and me.