Luke 23:23

New King James Version

But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices that He be crucified. And the voices of these men and of the chief priests prevailed.

For Meditation

He had the opportunity to do the right thing. The accused had done nothing to deserve punishment, let alone the death sentence. Pilate knew that. As the sitting judge, he had the authority to dismiss the case and set Jesus free (Lk. 23:1-25). 

I find no basis for a charge against this man, he said.

Yet, they doubled down and pressed more ridiculous charges (5). The Governor tried a baton change or pass the buck when he learned Jesus was a Galilean, but Herod found no basis for charging Jesus (8-12).

His wife warned him to have nothing to do with the man Jesus (Matt 27:19), but the chief priests had instigated the crowd so much that their chant for His blood grew louder. Pilate suggested substituting Jesus with Barabbas, the insurrectionist, but they kept shouting for His crucifixion (18-20). Now, the matter was in the hands of the Governor to make the last call with the authority of the Roman government behind him. What would it be? To release or not to release the innocent man before him? Have you been there before—making a critical decision in front of a hostile crowd?

Pilate made his last declaration on Jesus.

I found in Him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore, I will have Him punished and then release Him (22).

Is that not what judges do and then act on it by the authority vested in them by the appointing authority? In whose court does public opinion rule, and since when?

That is where the world has come to now. We live in a world where popular opinion rules in the public space. The voice of the crowd grows louder every day to overwhelm the truth. Christian principles and values get shot down in civic discussions. Morality has become intolerable in public discourse these days. Public opinion and special interests ride high on the strong current of misguided and manipulated individual and civil rights. The voice of the genuine child of God is drowning in this massive sea, and our only hope is the example of courage the saints of old exhibited in the name of Jesus and suffered for it. 

But with loud shouts (the crowd) insistently demanded that (Jesus) be crucified, and their shouts prevailed (23).

Do we have the will and courage of Joseph, Daniel, and his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, anymore? Where do you stand in this moral assault on our faith?

Are the shouts of popular opinion prevailing in your life?