PREVAILING VOICES
Luke 23:18-25 NKJV
18 And they all cried out at once, saying, “Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas”— 19 who had been thrown into prison for a certain rebellion made in the city, and for murder.
20 Pilate, therefore, wishing to release Jesus, again called out to them. 21 But they shouted, saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!”
22 Then he said to them the third time, “Why, what evil has He done? I have found no reason for death in Him. I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go.”
23 But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices that He be crucified. And the voices of these men and of the chief priests prevailed. 24 So Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested. 25 And he released to them the one they requested, who for rebellion and murder had been thrown into prison; but he delivered Jesus to their will.
Pilate did everything he could to release Jesus. He knew the Jews had delivered Jesus up because they were envious of His popularity and angry at His opposition to their ways. Religious anger seems to be one of the worst kinds. Pilate, who really had no agenda outside of peace in his district, could not fathom crucifying Jesus. Three times, Pilate asked the crowd what evil Jesus had done. Pilate knew in his heart there was nothing evil about Jesus. He did not want to crucify Jesus. Pilate wanted to release Him. Pilate even sent Jesus to Herod, hoping maybe Herod would either find more information or come to the same conclusion that there was nothing wrong. And Herod agreed with Pilate. Jesus was not worthy of death.
So why did Pilate give in? We know the scriptures had to be fulfilled, and this was God’s plan all along. But there was another reason: people pressure and fear. The chief priests and rulers were insistent. They kept pressuring Pilate with loud voices, and “the voices of these men and of the chief priests prevailed.”
Mark’s gospel tells us that Pilate wanted to gratify the crowd, so he had Jesus crucified. Matthew’s account says that Pilate realized that a tumult, a problem, was arising so he gave in to the demand of the people. So combining all these accounts we see Pilate gave in because of fear and the need to please the people.
APPLICATION
I can’t be too hard on Pilate. He went against what he knew to be true about Jesus because the prevailing voices won over the voice in his heart. Those voices have not disappeared. To become a devoted follower of the Lord Jesus, we will have those same voices come our way. You can’t serve the Lord fully; everyone will think you are weird. You don’t want to be a serious follower of Jesus because all the fun in your life will be over. Now that you are serving Jesus, you are better than the rest of us? No one in your family lives this way.
The fear of rejection and not pleasing people is very real. I can’t say that I have always stood up for my decision to serve the Lord. There have been times those voices of fear and pressure prevailed. Maybe you have experienced the same thing. Just don’t quit, don’t give up thinking you can never really live this life. Start allowing God’s Word and the promptings of the Holy Spirit to be the prevailing voices in your life.
And one more thing. Can we ever please all the people? The mob that turned on Jesus is no different today. People have their own agendas. So, sticking with pleasing the only One who is true and consistent is the safest long-term strategy. I heard a pastor once say, “Play to the audience of One.” That’s a great plan and the most effective way to diminish the negative voices and allow the voice of the Lord to prevail.
PRAYER
Lord, my goal is to please You, not people. You are the only one who is a true and righteous judge. Your voice is the prevailing voice in my life.