Caught Up With The Crowd
When I first began working with college students at the University of Pittsburgh, I sought all kinds of opportunities to spend time with them. I figured some of the best ministry I could do would happen around those moments when we were together, either discussing the things of the Lord, or just hanging out. In an attempt to spend lots of time with the students, I went with them to various college activities including attending sporting events. Having gone to college at a school where sports was not stressed, it was fun to get caught up in the “college sports atmosphere.”
I think the first event I went to was the Pitt-Penn State football game. Of course, the game was exciting, the stadium packed, and the fans, well, fanatical! One particular fan-favorite “cheer” for the crowd was when the band played a certain ditty, and the entire stadium screamed out, “Penn State stinks!” (they didn’t actually say, “stinks”). It was really something to hear tens of thousands of folks all screaming the same thing!
What really stood out, however, and made me laugh, was the next week, when Pitt played some other team, and the fans responded to the ditty with the same “cheer” about Penn State! I turned in some confusion to my friends and asked why we were screaming about Penn State when we were playing some other team? While there might be some good psychological reasons, the basic answer I got was… “well, that’s just what we do.” And, I must confess, caught up in the moment, I joined in!
Not really sure what we were doing, but doing it anyway! Why? Cause we were caught up in the spirit of the crowd. Have you ever found yourself with a silly grin on your face, part of a crowd, doing something fun? Ever caught yourself singing the National Anthem louder than normal because the whole stadium is singing? Joining in with the cheers during a parade? In the Scriptures, during a near-riot in Ephesus, the Bible says of the crowd: “most of them did not know why they had come together” (Acts 19:32). They all just got caught up in the crowd!
When I think of the Triumphal Entry, when Jesus entered Jerusalem, riding on a donkey, just days before His trial and execution, I wonder about “being caught up in the crowd.” We are told that “a great crowd” and a “multitude” gathered to welcome Jesus as Savior into the city (Mark 11, John 12). The people thronged about Jesus, spreading their garments in praise before Him, cheering at the top of their lungs, waving hands, clothing and branches. And, I wonder… how much of this was just folks getting “caught up in the crowd”? How many people actually believed they were welcoming in “the one who comes in the name of the Lord” (Matthew 21:9)? How many were intentionally saying, “God, save us, we pray!” (the meaning of “Hosanna”)? Now, I’m not doubting it; I don’t want to call into question what the crowd was thinking… but, it’s a short step from Sunday’s triumphal entry to Thursday’s Gethsemane. Is it not possible that some (many?) in the crowd simply got caught up in the moment, and were cheering without knowing about what? And, would Thursday have been different if they had taken the time to figure it out? Which leads me to wonder: How much of our Christian life is simply being “caught up in the crowd”?
This Sunday, we’ll be exploring the crowd’s response to the
entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Read Psalm 118, and come ready to praise
together!
