Crowds will gather everywhere today.

To worship

To spectate

To dine

To consume

To partake of entertainment

It’s Sunday, after all.

There will be crowds at churches, in football stadiums, restaurants and family dinner tables, malls, and movie theaters.

The crowds will gather

And they’ll judge.

Was it the right choice of worship music, did the preacher inspire or sedate, were the musicians appropriately attired and on key?

Did the coach make the right call, was the quarterback up to snuff, did the defense pull their weight?

Was the entre cooked to specifications, was the vegetable spiced properly, was the waitress attendant to our needs?

Are the sales sufficient, the merchandise relevant, and the cashier pleasant?

Did the flick live up to its trailer, did the hero deliver, were the graphics worth tweeting?

It’s Sunday after all and the crowd is the robed in black and seated at the bench – all rise, court is now in session.

Jesus never ignored the crowd.

The crowd was why He came.

I am in the crowd, watching Him, and deciding.

Is He for real?

I don’t need another preacher/teacher/reacher/star

I don’t need a show

I don’t need a sham

I need God – full of power, mercy, love, and grace

Capable of saving me from evil

And from myself.

If He is God, I’ll follow Him even for a stroll on the high seas.

So, Jesus never ignored the crowd and He was aware the crowd was deciding

But the crowd never dictated His agenda

He didn’t need their vote to be God

And didn’t fret when He knew He was a subject of debate.

The debate was important.

As they muttered among themselves.

Crowds mutter

And grumble

And divide.

And some chose to follow

While others scoffed

And some chose quickly

While others needed longer.

And the Bible says He had compassion on the crowd

And I am standing in that crowd

And He hears me muttering

But He has compassion on me

Even when I grumble my skepticism

Or doubt.

And so,

On the main stage of the Passion play

We see Jesus,

The Pharisees,

Mary, and the other Mary,

The twelve

And the rulers of the day.

But we stand with the crowd

And Jesus

Even when He was betrayed,

Even when He was arrested, mocked, beaten, and

Marched through the streets

Even when He was nailed to a tree

He never lost sight of the crowd

And I am in the crowd

And so are you.

He died for the crowd,

The huddled, unwashed masses

Who stand back and quietly decide.

He died knowing some would choose Him

And others would walk away

He’s never surprised by the crowd

And the actions of the crowd don’t dictate His.

He is King

And God

And human

And broken

And risen

And alive.

So, I write for the crowd.

Because they are still with us

Deciding.

And I write from the crowd because that’s where I stand.

And I love the crowd because they are my people.

There are still players on the stage

Politicians and preachers and celebrity believers and skeptics who write books and cons

And my writing isn’t for them

Because they have their own part to play

For the crowd.

And some in the crowd will be swayed by them and ignore Jesus

But some will hear my voice

Or yours

And they will decide to follow

And then their voices will join ours

And we will be a crowd within the crowd

Sheep of His pen

Sheep with pens.

If you spend time reading the gospel

You, too, will notice the crowd.

And if you switch your perspective,

You’ll see the players on the stage

Are not really what the show’s about

Because even Jesus

Joined the crowd

Turning the tables on Satan

Who covets the spotlight

And so,

He gave it to the old boy

All the while He was stealing the hearts of the crowd

Right out from under Lucifer’s arrogant nose.

And it cost Him everything

But that is what He came to give

Because God so loved the crowd

And I am in the crowd

And so are you.

What will you decide?

I rouse the rabble

because I am the rabble.

Who else should rouse them

to recognize God

when He

joins us where we stand?

“At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. Still, many in the crowd believed in him. They said, “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs than this man?”  The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.” John 7:30-32

(thoughts on John 7)