Now at the feast he was accustomed to releasing one prisoner to them, whomever they requested. And there was one named Barabbas, who was chained with his fellow rebels; they had committed murder in the rebellion. Then the multitude, crying aloud, began to ask him to do just as he had always done for them. But Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them. Pilate answered and said to them again, “What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?” So they cried out again, “Crucify Him!” Then Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has He done?”
But they cried out all the more, “Crucify Him!” So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified. Mark 15:6-15
When Jesus was arrested, it was the voice of the majority that pressured Pilate to order Him to be crucified, and the same voice demanded for a criminal to be released! The scripture tells us that Pilate tried to gratify the crowd. Does that make any sense!? To punish an innocent man and to release a criminal!? Gratifying the crowd has a high cost associated with it.
The voice of majority can be loud and intimidating! If we try to gratify the people around us, we will lose our God given voice to stand for truth and righteousness. If we desire to walk and live in truth, we can’t be influenced by the pressure of the multitudes.
Jesus told us that following Him includes entering through the “narrow gate”. You will not find many people headed towards the “narrow gate” because it is hard and lonely. It is easier to follow the crowd on the broad path by trying to fit in rather than taking a stand alone.
How can we try not to be influenced by the majority?
1. Hear God for ourselves
We are ultimately accountable for the decisions we make. We need to learn to be confident in hearing God even if what we hear is different from what others are hearing.
2. Understand the cost
To be in minority in a given situation means that we will be criticized. Sometimes we will lose some of the privileges of not following the crowd. Count the cost and be willing to pay the cost if and when needed.
3. Remember your first priority
From time to time, we need to remind ourselves that our jobs and any open doors ultimately come from God not man! Jesus didn’t look to man to give him a favor or open any doors of ministry. He was not part of the religious crowd but God always gave him the opportunity to teach those who were hungry and thirsty for the truth. He didn’t compromise in order to be accepted in the synagogues.
4. Recognize the peer pressure
Many of us complain about our children having peer pressure at school, but adults have the same if not more peer pressure surrounding them. It is harder to say, “no”, to our coworkers than for our children to say, “no” to their friends because the stakes are higher.
Is the majority always wrong? Not necessarily. There are times that they can be right. We just can’t assume they are right because they are louder and there is more of them. If we are able to do our own evaluation of a situation and still find that the majority has the right position then that’s great. We then choose to follow it with our eyes and ears open because we have investigated and sought the truth.