We are continuing our series of the crucifixion of Christ from 6 different angles. And one thing that is becoming abundantly clear is that each group of people sinned in ways we commonly do. But these sins directly led to Jesus being killed brutally. In a sense, the sins we commit today are the very ones that led to Jesus' death on the cross.
Another observation is that these people had to sin the way they did, so that Jesus would die like it was predicted in Scripture. What a grand design! What a clear picture of evil coming in contact with pure good; of human failing being judged mightily through the frailty of Christ; of the problem of God's righteous judgment and eternal love coming together so perfectly.
Well, not to get too off track, last week, we looked at the problem of the crowds. Crowds are typically fickle. They are easily persuaded by popular opinions or rhetorical tricks. We looked at these passages:
- Luke 4:14-15 and 22-30
- What caused the crowd to move from delight to hatred so quickly?
- John 6:1-2 and 60-66
- Why do you believe the crowd changed their mind about Jesus?
- Luke 19:29-40
- Crowds praise Jesus. (Why are they doing this? See Zechariah 9:9)
- Luke 23:13-25
- Now this same crowd demand his death, because their leaders demand it.
- Why do people do this? Why are crowds so easily swayed?
- How does Exodus 23:1-3 inform us about how to think about crowd behavior. (Remember, crowds are made up of individuals. And individuals will be held accountable, not just leaders.)
- We must think for ourselves, lest we fall into the crowd trap.
- If we think for ourselves, we will often not agree with the crowds.
- It is difficult taking a stand, but each of us will be held accountable to God for our choices.
