THE MAD, MAD CROWD
Are you part of the crowd? I mean, do you form part of the mad crowd ? Hope in God you do not. You have read the Gospel narrative, and you have noticed the great euphoria Jesus was welcomed with, entering Jerusalem. He was welcomed as a king as He actually was, for He IS the King of the Universe. But did that crowd realise this fact? Were they conscious of their behaviour?
They did cut branches of trees, including the olive and the palm trees. They were doing what their ancestors used to do to welcome their king. But did they actually proclaim Him their king or was it ‘mass hysteria’. They sang out ‘Hosanna’, which actually means ‘Come and save us, now.’This was the cry uttered by the crowd along the paths of History to their king when they were invaded by the enemies.
They spread their mantles or cloaks on the ground. This was the historical custom to welcome a king. It would have been an honour for me if my cloak was torn or soiled. They shouted out the honourable title: “Son of David”. That is the greatest honour one could give to a Rabbi or Prophet, meaning he was descended, a direct lineage from their great king, David.
What an atmosphere! What excitement! What a climax! What madness!!! Why, some might ask, I say madness? For a simple reason. I believe that some persons might change their opinion within days, within a week. But for almost the whole ‘crowd’ to change the gear from ‘first’ to ‘reverse’, I must say, something must be very wrong. Those same shrill voices of the self-same people who on the Sabbath joyfully shouted: ‘Hosanna’, ‘Son of David’… a few days later screamed hysterically like mad: ‘Crucify Him’, ‘”Cricify Him’. That is the mad, mad mob.
No wonder the dying Christ pleaded with His merciful Father: “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” The mob, the crowd always behaves like the sea; the waves are formed according to the direction of the wind. But that is nature, the laws of nature. BUT, with human beings, in this particular case, who was acting as the wind ? Who was instrumental to incite the mob, to encourage them to fill them with hatred?
There was only one agent at work … the devil himself, spurring on people in authority to take decision; the Scribes, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Priests, the Sanhedrin members … What great responsibility every Authority has in life, any Authority for that matter, Religious or Social, especially in a culture where people do not use their heads, their intelligence, who can’t see beyond their nose.
I firmly believe that every Christian, nowadays, who speaks out to defend his belief must be more courageous than the first Christians who faced death in the arena, in the Colosseum. Jesus died on the Cross, to save me, Tony, so, it is I who must stand on my two feet and declare my Faith. No, I never form part of the mob or the crowd. And that should be the reasoning of each and everyone.
We must be ‘believers’ of conviction, and never let public opinion, government policies or agendas blow on me to change my principles and beliefs. If not I would be behaving like a chameleon, I change according to the surrounding atmosphere, according to the wind.
Are you part of the crowd? I mean, do you form part of the mad crowd ? Hope in God you do not. You have read the Gospel narrative, and you have noticed the great euphoria Jesus was welcomed with, entering Jerusalem. He was welcomed as a king as He actually was, for He IS the King of the Universe. But did that crowd realise this fact? Were they conscious of their behaviour?
They did cut branches of trees, including the olive and the palm trees. They were doing what their ancestors used to do to welcome their king. But did they actually proclaim Him their king or was it ‘mass hysteria’. They sang out ‘Hosanna’, which actually means ‘Come and save us, now.’This was the cry uttered by the crowd along the paths of History to their king when they were invaded by the enemies.
They spread their mantles or cloaks on the ground. This was the historical custom to welcome a king. It would have been an honour for me if my cloak was torn or soiled. They shouted out the honourable title: “Son of David”. That is the greatest honour one could give to a Rabbi or Prophet, meaning he was descended, a direct lineage from their great king, David.
What an atmosphere! What excitement! What a climax! What madness!!! Why, some might ask, I say madness? For a simple reason. I believe that some persons might change their opinion within days, within a week. But for almost the whole ‘crowd’ to change the gear from ‘first’ to ‘reverse’, I must say, something must be very wrong. Those same shrill voices of the self-same people who on the Sabbath joyfully shouted: ‘Hosanna’, ‘Son of David’… a few days later screamed hysterically like mad: ‘Crucify Him’, ‘”Cricify Him’. That is the mad, mad mob.
No wonder the dying Christ pleaded with His merciful Father: “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” The mob, the crowd always behaves like the sea; the waves are formed according to the direction of the wind. But that is nature, the laws of nature. BUT, with human beings, in this particular case, who was acting as the wind ? Who was instrumental to incite the mob, to encourage them to fill them with hatred?
There was only one agent at work … the devil himself, spurring on people in authority to take decision; the Scribes, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Priests, the Sanhedrin members … What great responsibility every Authority has in life, any Authority for that matter, Religious or Social, especially in a culture where people do not use their heads, their intelligence, who can’t see beyond their nose.
I firmly believe that every Christian, nowadays, who speaks out to defend his belief must be more courageous than the first Christians who faced death in the arena, in the Colosseum. Jesus died on the Cross, to save me, Tony, so, it is I who must stand on my two feet and declare my Faith. No, I never form part of the mob or the crowd. And that should be the reasoning of each and everyone.
We must be ‘believers’ of conviction, and never let public opinion, government policies or agendas blow on me to change my principles and beliefs. If not I would be behaving like a chameleon, I change according to the surrounding atmosphere, according to the wind.
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