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Developing Your Crowd Consciousness
John 12:12-50 February 16, 1997
*Scripture: Unison Reading, Pew Bible, page #1671, John 12:12-16 and page #1684, John 19:12-15.*
* *
*Prayer:*
* *
*Introduction:*
Wherever he went, Jesus attracted crowds.
They flocked to him for various reasons.
He was a man of controversy.
Not that God is controversial, but that mankind is controversial about the things of God.
And so men came to see and marvel and wonder and decide about this man of God - Jesus.
We have been seeing in the messages over the past few weeks about the various reactions people took toward Jesus and the things he said and did.
This morning’s message continues in somewhat the same vein but with a different focus.
We make individual choices about the things of truth but our choices are sometimes colored by the company we keep because we affect one another.
But being part of a crowd does not excuse us from responsibility.
Nor does being part of a church excuse us from accountability as individuals before Almighty God.
/Alice Cary said, “Men and women in the crowd meet and mingle, yet within itself every soul stands single.”/
/ /
/And someone else once said, “Never follow the crowd if you want the crowd to follow you.”/
Actually, the company we keep is also a choice.
To be in good company, we must make good choices about our lives and relationships, even if it means standing alone for awhile.
Whatever decision we make will eventually put us in the company of others who have made similar choices.
It may very well be our proper choice that will influence the proper choice someone else will make to be a part of our crowd.
/Submit to pressure from peers and you move down to their level.
/
/ Speak up for your own beliefs and you invite them up to your level.
/
/ If you move with the crowd, you'll get no further than the crowd.
/
/ When 40 million people believe in a dumb idea, it's still a dumb idea.
/
/ Simply swimming with the tide leaves you nowhere.
/
/ So if you believe in something that's good, honest and bright -- stand up for it.
Maybe your peers will get smart and drift your way./
The decision we make and must keep is to be a part of the company of saints, the holy crowd of the great ‘cloud of witnesses’ as it says in Heb.
12:1-2, “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.”
That is the Jesus we must follow.
/Oswald Sanders has said, “The saints are always among the unofficial crowd, the crowd that is not noticed, and their one dominant note is Jesus Christ.”/
-----the news media-----
Other than this unofficial crowd of believers that no one really wants to notice but which is very real and viable none the less, a crowd is generally not very good company.
This morning’s message is about four different types of crowds that were attracted to Jesus in one way or another depending on who they thought he was.
We shall see ----
*I.
The Fickle Crowd (who desired a king): to which the implied message of Jesus was, “Come unto me.” (vv.
12-16)*
Zealots - palm branches
sports arena
hero
donkey message (gentle) acted out and implied
Are we only a part of the fickle crowd who plays well or cheers for Jesus only when it looks good or is to our preconceived advantage or gives us what we need at the time?
Have we taken the message of the cross for a free ticket to salvation only to say that hard obedience isn’t necessary when required?
Would you be willing to be a martyr for the faith?
Are we like those who are tossed and blown about (Eph.
4:14)?
Do we want a God who will serve us without the call to serve him?
Are we willing to be like the donkey and let him ride us?
If so, then we will get to where he is going, won’t we?
We must come unto Jesus like the donkey who didn’t object that he wasn’t a war horse, but in fact would one day see him upon such a mighty steed.
Faith is not always by first appearance.
Come unto me, says Jesus, the reality of God, not the image you think God ought to be.
“Come unto me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest (Mt.
11:28).
But they would remain restless who clamor after an earthly king.
*II.
The Faithful Crowd (who desired a savior): to which the message of Jesus was, “Come unto the life.”
(vv.
17-33)*
* *
life equals witness
Pharisees - us vs. him
seed definition of life
faith determines hearing
Here is the formation of the great crowd of the holy crowd of witnesses that we must desire to be a part of.
See how they are unafraid of proclaiming their faith.
See how they seek him out with whole hearts.
See how they seek him with deep and not just surface respect.
And Jesus gives them seeds of truth that assures them of eternal life.
But there is just one catch.
We must die in order to be changed.
And he would show us how through the serving of following his service for us.
And that life would be glorious.
Love for God leads to service leads to honor.
But did Jesus say it would be easy?
In his humanity, he didn’t want to die either.
But his faith in the Father took him through.
And are you a part of the crowd who hears God speak of him?
By ears of faith, unintelligible thunder was the voice of God to instruct the discerning to increase their faith.
God said that the glory of Jesus had already been accomplished and would continue to be accomplished.
And by faith, his glory will be accomplished in your life, by life or by death, but all for life and glory.
We shall, in a spiritual sense, join him on the cross in defeat of Satan.
He will draw all men to himself and we have the privilege of serving him in that attraction.
*III.
The Funeral Crowd (who desired a corpse): to which the message of Jesus was, “Come unto the light.”
(vv.
34-41)*
* *
Jesus had now predicted his death and resurrection and another part of the crowd speaks up in unbelief.
We know it was in unbelief because of John’s comments in vv.
37-41.
Their Jesus was dead already because to them, he never lived.
They have seen and heard and yet remained in darkness.
They were those who heard the thunder rather than the voice of God.
The storm was coming but they didn’t know enough to heed the warning sirens.
Jesus pronounces the cure.
They must come into the light before darkness of death overtakes them.
He offers them a storm shelter for the last time.
He has entered Jerusalem for only a week before he will be crucified.
He speaks to them and urges them to seek truth in him while there is yet time.
How often in life we have such brief windows of opportunity in which to act.
We must make the right choice or suffer the consequences.
They must decide whether to go with the crowd of skeptics or be skeptical of the crowd.
Jesus then hid himself from them because it was not yet time even though the time was so very close.
He hid himself from them but, in fact, it was they who hid themselves from him by unbelief.
Isaiah’s quote tells us that faith is in the heart.
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