When we lived overseas I developed a local habit. If I came upon a group of people, a crowd, I wanted to see what was going on. Usually something exciting was happening in the center along the lines of an argument or a performance of some sort. I much preferred the spectator role than the center role.

Being the center of the crowd, the thing to be looked at, was not my jam. As our family increased, we often became the center of the circle, the spectacle. Our children provided the show. No amount of directing the crowds to disperse worked, in fact trying to drive the crowds away only increased the novelty of watching us. I had no authority over these crowds.

I’m pondering crowds right now as I make my way through the account of Jesus’ life in the book of Mark. Y’all, I’ve got to say reading the Bible need never get dry or old. There’s always something new to see and this time for me, it’s the crowds.

The crowds often gather around Jesus. He is a spectacle. Initially, He heals a few people and crowds flock to Him to receive more. I imagine it as quite the scene. Numerous sick, diseased, and demon possessed people draw here to Jesus wherever He goes. They press in on Him and take great effort to be very, very close to Him and then…miracles happen.

I don’t know about you, but that’s would be worth traveling some distance to see. And people did travel far to see what was going on. In a day before cell phones and internet, word of mouth proved a very effective means to pass along information.

And more and more people drew near…

Jesus constantly extended compassion to the crowds. When he saw the crowds when he was tired, he still extended his compassion and fed them, taught them, healed them. He refused to send the crowds away hungry for concern they might faint on the way. He knew their circumstances and how far they came to be near him. He asked his disciples to pray for the crowds and tried to help them really see the crowds.

Pretty quickly, though, the religious leaders show up and their response to the crowds is a stark contrast.

The religious leaders needed the following of the crowds as a way to hold power and command respect. They laid heavy burdens on the crowds that extended beyond what God intended in the Law and tried to enslave the crowds to themselves. Ever seeking more righteousness, they placed barriers that the crowds struggled to overcome and led away from God rather than toward Him. To reveal weakness or be honest about brokenness was not an option for the religious leaders as they seemed to thrive on the power and respect they gained with their self-righteous distance.

When the crowds delighted in Jesus’ condemnation of the religious leaders teachings, the leaders weren’t just frustrated. They became furious. They watched the crowds and the following Jesus drew very closely. The crowds loved to listen to Jesus expose them.

The religious leaders plotted and struck back with riddles and traps rather than actually listening and investigating. Most religious leaders revealed no curiosity in their questions. Instead, each question or situation brought before Jesus was a plot to trip him up. As Jesus met each situation with searing truth the crowds delighted in the show. The religious leaders’ fury and fear increased. They plotted to kill Jesus secretly to avoid the backlash of the crowds in their ploy to retain authority.

The Roman occupying forces also had their take on the crowds. It seems the thrust of how the Roman authorities dealt with the crowds revolved around appeasement. Just avoid a riot or an uprising. Keep the peace. Most of the time, this was an effective tactic for their end goal of occupying the world.

But then Jesus, someone truly revolutionary on a universal scale, came. Roman authorities pandered to the mercurial crowds and the religious leaders, revealing their true authority. Pilate wanted to act on what he heard Jesus say, but he put himself at the mercy of many other forces. Truth could not matter to Pilate because he was under the thumb of other authorities, one of which was the crowds.

In our day and age, crowds are still around, often physically unseen in social media followings. The crowds are still unpredictable and mercurial, flocking around anything gory or any promise of hope to relieve pain and suffering. One minute they’re going this way, one minute going that way. Sheep without a shepherd.

Like any flock, the behavior of crowds can be mystifying until something comes to herd or direct them. Right now I find myself mystified by the crowds, but also distressed and saddened. I can’t keep up with which way the crowds are moving and why. I see the crowds driven and herded but usually the crowds seem harassed and helpless under some form of manipulation.

Sadly, most that seek to hold authority over crowds seem to be motivated largely by personal ambition.

Who has compassion? Who actually leads with an authority not extracted from who follows them? Who is not trying to gain power for themselves but wants to serve?

Even as I lament our situation, I can recognize that there are many who have compassion and they are often overlooked because they are among us as those who serve. And it must be this way, the way of Jesus, the way of servitude if I am truly to follow Him. It cannot be the way of personal ambition or manipulation, it must not be that way among the followers of Jesus.

And so I am thankful to receive Jesus’ compassion, teaching, and inherent authority because He is the One who saw the crowds, never pandered to them, never manipulated them, but gave His life for them as they demanded His death…for us…the crowds…the roiling mob of sheep without a shepherd.

The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.