Column by Rev. Clay Smith: Jesus and the mobs ...
Jesus had to deal with mobs of people frequently.
When Jesus went back to his hometown, everybody crowded into the synagogue to hear him. They had heard about his healing and teaching in Capernaum and wanted him to do something spectacular in their town. But Jesus was more in a preaching mood that day and reminded them that God did not do miracles on demand to satisfy a crowd. Then he got radical and reminded them God sometimes favored foreigners over his own people. The crowd turned into a murderous mob in a hurry. They drove him out of town, took him to a cliff and meant to throw him over it. Luke cryptically tells us, "But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way." How did he do that? He would not let the mob sin by murdering him.
When Jesus cleared out the Temple of moneychangers and livestock salesmen, people admired his boldness. They saw his miracles. The crowd kept coming back for more. But Jesus did not trust the crowds. He knew what was in human beings: a sinful selfishness that demands; a self-righteousness that refuses to see truth; and a resistance to submission to the will of God. He knew every crowd is just a few steps from a mob.
Once when Jesus was teaching a large crowd (5,000 men plus women and children), it grew late and stomachs were rumbling. He told the disciples to plan a meal, and they told him they only had five loaves and two fish. Jesus miraculously stretched that to feed everyone present, and there were leftovers aplenty. But the crowd turned into a mob. They decided to make him King, whether he wanted to be a King or not. It's easy to see why they wanted him to be their King: food they didn't have to work for and miracles for all. Jesus escaped the mob and went to the mountains to pray. Prayer was more important than the mob agenda.
As Jesus' popularity grew, mobs became a way of life. A mob kept Zacchaeus from seeing Jesus, so he climbed a sycamore tree. Jesus saw him and invited himself over for dinner at Zacchaeus' place. The woman with the bleeding issue fought her way through the mob to touch the hem of his garment. She wanted to be healed, and she was. The mob told blind Bartimaeus to stop his cries for mercy, Jesus was too busy for him. Instead, Jesus stopped, told him to come over, and he healed him. Each time the crowd tries to shush the individual, Jesus seeks out the one and meets the person's need.
In the last week of Jesus' life, it was a mob that came to the garden to arrest him. It was a mob that cried out to Pilate, "Crucify him." It was a mob that stood around his cross, waiting to see if God would rescue him. All of these mobs had been orchestrated by leaders intent on discrediting Jesus, manipulating public opinion and making sure their power stayed intact.
When I think about Jesus and mobs, I realize he never participated in a mob agenda, he never trusted a mob with his mission, and he never incited people to violence. Never. Not once. The mobs Jesus met were not pursuing his mission; they were trying to force their mission onto him. Jesus understood there is no such thing as a righteous mob.
If Jesus had been at the Capitol building when the mob attacked, what would he have done? Would he have tried to teach them? Would he have moved through the crowd doing miracles? I know for certain he would not have broken windows, assaulted police officers, nor posed for a selfie.
I don't know for sure what Jesus would have done. Maybe he would have wept. Maybe he would have said, "All they like sheep have gone astray." Maybe he would have left the mob and gone to pray.
I do know for sure what Jesus did for the mob that stormed the Capitol. He died for them. He gave his life so their sins - all of them - could be forgiven. He rose from the dead to give them a power greater than the power of the mob, the power of God flowing in their lives.
Stop and consider the wideness of his grace. Jesus loves everyone who was at the Capitol that day. He loves the people of the mob, the congressmen (Republicans and Democrats) and the Capitol police. He wants good for them all.
If you are a Jesus follower, truly a Jesus follower, then you must take seriously His words: "By this shall all men know you are my disciples: That you love one another as I have loved you." Was there anybody on Capitol Hill that you need to love as Jesus loves them?
The Rev. Dr. Clay Smith is the lead pastor of Alice Drive Bapist Church in Sumter. Email him at claysmith@adbc.org.