“Give us Barabbas”
Illustrations from volume 9 of The Bible and its Story Taught by One Thousand Picture Lessons, edited by Charles F. Horne and Julius A. Bewer, published in 1910.
What is it about a crowd that makes it persuasive? Why are individuals of a certain opinion willing to change it based on what the crowd tells them it should be?
- The crowd forced Aaron into making the golden calf
- The crowd was ready to hand David’s kingdom over to Absalom
- The crowd chose Barabbas
We can look throughout history to see how leaders were able to use the crowd to get their way. Just like the Jewish leadership convinced the crowd to crucify Jesus, (Matthew 27:15-23) change of any kind can be made by winning enough buy-in.
I’ve written before about the need for Christians stop being silent on social issues. If we use our voices, we can reverse some of the momentum they have achieved.
The power of the crowd works in both directions. Just like it was used to erode moral values, it can be used to teach (and in many cases – re-teach) the majority what is good and right in the site of God.
The “safety in numbers” that we usually feel is more often than not, a false sense of security.
February 12, 2014
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