FACES IN THE CROWD

25
Mar

Depending upon which historian you cite, the number of people in Jerusalem the year Jesus was crucified is estimated from hundreds of thousands to over a million.

I wonder if I was one of those faces in the crowd, how would I have responded to all that transpired in that one week?

I’m sure I would have been cheering for the superstar that rode in on the donkey. I can’t help but wonder, would I have been yelling “Crucify Him” on Friday?

I also reflect on how I would have answered, if asked, in the crowd on that Palm Sunday, “Who is that?”

Answers could include: “Oh just some small-town teacher trying to hit the big time.” “He’s the Messiah, son of God come to save us.” “He’s a rabble rouser trying to stir up trouble with the Jews and the Romans.”

All the signs were there: the fulfilled prophecies, His words, His actions. It is clear from the hints given in the Old Testament that Jesus is the one they longed for. So, if the evidence that lined up showed it was true, why did so many people go from “Praise Him” to “Crucify Him”?

Let me give you two answers from my experience. He wasn’t what they expected, nor what they wanted. We also tend to overlook the stuff we don’t like and make up something/someone that fits our taste. So, who is this from Nazareth?