Mark 15:1-15
"24 Hours that Changed the World: Jesus, Barabbas, and Pilate"
Have you ever thought you had something in common with birds and termites?
Well, market research experts argue that we do have something in common with birds and termites.
Because, without even knowing it, we're often controlled by peer pressure.
For instance, researchers note how many bird species "rise from a field in complete sychnocricity as though they are doing a choreographed dance."
Scientists say that the birds are "acting as if they shared one collective brain."
And termites also act like they all just have one enormous brain.
"In other words," researchers argue, "only by observing and mimicking the behavior of its neighbors can a termite figure out what it should be doing."
Researchers observe that we human beings act in much the same way.
Just like those birds and termites, we, too, have a collective consciousness in that we size up what those around us are doing and modify our actions and behaviors accordingly.
"There is ample research to show that we instinctively look to the behaviors of others to inform the decisions we make--everything from which way we should walk, to what music we should listen to, to which kind of car we should drive.
It seems, in short, that we instinctively believe that others know more about what we want than we do ourselves."
Psychologists have a name for this phenomenon.
It's called peer pressure...and peer pressure can be terribly damaging.
It has powers that we can hardly even imagine...
...just look at some of the atrocities committed by groups of humans throughout history; and things we have done due to peer pressure in our own lives.
In the Bible, Pilate had the inclination and the authority to set Jesus free.
After all his hesitation, after all his resistance to the idea of crucifying Jesus, though, we come to one of the saddest lines in Scripture.
In Mark 15:15 it says, "Pilate wanted to satisfy the crowd, so he released Barabbas to them.
He had Jesus whipped, then handed him over to be crucified."
Pilate "wanted to satisfy the crowd."
Pilate knew it was wrong.
He had the power to stop it.
But the pull of the crowd was too intense.
Pilate sent Jesus to the Cross to satisfy the clamor of the fickle and unruly mob in front of him.
Think about it.
Can you see yourself in Pontius Pilate?
From the time we were small we have been dealing with peer pressure or the pull of the crowd.
From the clothes we wear to the way we wear our hair--we are caving into peer pressure.
When I was a kid, in elementary school, all the children wore a brand of jeans called "Tough Skins."
Anybody remember those?
They were the Sears brand.
And that was the only place you could get them.
By the time I moved on to middle school everyone who was anyone wore Levis.
Sure there were other brands--Lee, Wrangler, to name a few...
...but Levis was the only brand you could wear without being "made fun of."
And, of course, Levis were more expensive than the other brands.
And as far as sneakers were concerned, they had better have had that authentic Nike "swoosh" on the side.
And what about the "popularity" contests that take place in middle schools and high schools all across the country?
It's all about peer pressure, is it not?
Bullying finds its roots in peer pressure.
And how many young kids try alcohol, cigarettes, drugs and sex for the first time for no other reason than--peer pressure?
And these are actions that can, and often do follow and haunt us long into adulthood.
Of course, kids, are not the only ones susceptible to peer pressure--not by a long shot!!!
As adults, we feel peer pressure in lots of ways.
We feel compelled to "keep up" with the Jones' and so we worry ourselves sick as we try and climb the career ladder.
We go into debt as we make it our life's ambition to have a big enough home, and luxurious car, and toys like boats, lake houses--you name it.
And so much of this is because of our desire for acceptance and our fear of ridicule and rejection.
Oftentimes, our inability to think for ourselves leaves us silent when we should speak, and leaves us doing or supporting things we know are wrong.
What happens when you are faced with doing something you believe is right but which will cause a large number of people to be upset with you, maybe even turn against you?
Peer pressure can entice us to betray God, even to lose our souls--if our primary objective is to satisfy the crowd.
As a matter of fact, if our primary objective is to satisfy the crowd--the crowd has become our god--our idol that we worship.
In an article for Psychology Today Magazine, Hara Marano writes about the constant pressure girls face concerning their image.
Deprived of an internal compass, girls compete to be the "hottest," turning colleges into incubators for eating disorders, depression, drinking and drug abuse, and attempts at suicide.
New York psychotherapist Steven Levenkron has been treating young women for three decades.
He contends that peer pressure is by far the number one reason for these problems.
Pilate knew that the chief priests were accusing Jesus out of envy--Jesus was becoming more popular than they were.
We are told that "The crowd pushed forward and asked Pilate to release someone, as he regularly did."
It was the custom for Pilate to release one prisoner to the Jewish people each year during Passover; it was a politically astute act of mercy meant to appease the multitudes and take some air out of their desire for rebellion.
And so, on this day, Pilate had two Prisoners before him: Jesus and Barabbas.
Both of them were charged with leading insurrections and with wishing to be king of the Jews.
In Matthew we are told that Pilate turned to the people and said, "Which of the two do you want me to release for you?"
Would it be Barabbas, who had robbed and murdered, or Jesus, Who had done nothing wrong--Jesus Who had loved the lost, taught people about the Kingdom of God, healed the sick and blessed so many?
Pilate, apparently thought the people would ask for Jesus, but they asked instead for Barabbas, and in the end it was Barabbas who was released.
Pilate sent Jesus off to be crucified even though he said himself in Luke 23, "You brought me this man as one who was inciting rebellion.
I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him...he has done nothing to deserve death."
In Mel Gibson's movie, The Passion of the Christ, as Barabbas was released, he looked back at Jesus; and a momentary look of understanding crossed his face.
For an instant, Barabbas seemed to comprehend that this innocent man would be nailed to the Cross in his place.
In reality, Barabbas was the first sinner that Jesus died for.
Jesus died and Barabbas was spared.
"Pilate wanted to satisfy the crowd, so he released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus whipped, then handed him over to be crucified."
In the verses which immediately follow our Gospel lesson for this morning we are told that "The soldiers led Jesus away into the courtyard of the palace known as the governor's headquarters..."
It was there that they dressed Jesus in royal clothes, like some play doll.
They put a purple robe over Him, stuck a reed in His hands to mock a royal scepter, and then they used that to bludgeon Jesus on the head.
They beat Jesus with their hands, fracturing his nasal bones.
They took turns spitting into the bloody cuts on His blindfolded face and they knelt before Him and taunted Him by saying, "Hail, King of the Jews."
Then they crushed that crown of thorns onto His head.
They beat Him with a whip until the blood ran down His back like a waterfall, marched Him 650 yards through the streets and made Him climb the Via Dolorosa, carrying a 150 pound Cross on which His wrists would later be nailed, treating Him like a beast being led to the slaughterhouse.
They stripped Him naked and nailed Him to the Cross, and then they took six-inch spikes and lacerated the nerves in His hands and feet; and lifted Him up on that Cross with all His bodily parts and functions exposed for the humiliating gaze of the public.
And why?
"Pilate wanted to satisfy the crowd..."
What have you and I done that we knew to be wrong simply because the "crowd" was clamoring for us to do it?
What might we be willing to do if the pressure was intense enough?
And who is your crowd?
Who is my crowd?
In an experiment conducted by researchers at Leeds University, groups of people were instructed to walk aimlessly around a large hall, without talking with one another.
But first the researchers gave just a few of the people detailed instructions on where, precisely, they should walk.
When the researchers observed the resulting behavior, they found that no matter how large or small the group, everyone in it blindly followed that handful of people who appeared to have some idea where they were going.
As one of the researchers put it: "The research suggests that humans flock like sheep and birds, subconsciously following a minority of individuals," and that it takes a mere 5 percent of "informed individuals" to influence the direction of a crowd of up to 200 people.
The other 95 percent trail along without even being aware of it.
There is ample research to show that we instinctively look to the behaviors of others to inform the decisions we make--this is called Peer Pressure.
Part of the reason gathering in this church building is so important is that for at least an hour a week we are surrounded by a group of folks who are desiring to follow Jesus!!!
And this is how we draw strength for the Christian journey, and learn by example what it means to be Christian.
Without the gathered Christian community--there would be no Christianity.
We can be swayed by a crowd for good or for evil.
It is absolutely imperative, if we are going to heed the call to follow Christ, that we surround ourselves with other Christians.
How high on our list of important things to do is regular attendance in worship?
How about Sunday school?
What about Bible study?
How about Youth group, women's groups, small groups?
Are we here not only for worship, but also for fellowship, to serve others and to learn?
Do we make friends with our brothers and sisters in Christ, and do we invite a lost and broken world to come and follow Jesus with us?
I don't think there can be much doubt that we are created with an instinct to follow.
Our whole culture is moving in one direction, doing things that are not right, things we know are against God's will.
What is our culture?
Which crowd do we put ourselves in?
Whom do we follow?
Amen.
