John 2: 23-25

It is impressive to me how Jesus understood the crowds. The crowds followed Him, but He was never led away or confused by crowds. Some people get carried away by crowds. They are obsessed with crowd sizes. For them it’s all about the crowd and counting numbers. Having large crowds signifies that they are popular and in demand. It makes them feel like superstars, bigger than life. It really massages their ego. They thrive on the applause and plaudits of the people and many times become addicted to the praise of men, which if not careful can cause one to lose one’s way and cause you to become untrue to yourself and to your values.

I always keep in mind Jesus’ soul-stirring message to us when reporting the popularity of the early days of His public ministry in the environs of Jerusalem. John informs “Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men. And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man” (John 2:23-25). It is accurately interpreted in the Message Bible that “Jesus did not entrust his life to them. He knew them inside out, knew how untrustworthy they were. He didn’t need any help in seeing right through them.”

May the Almighty help us today not to simply seek after crowds or to be crowd seekers or crowd-pleasers. It is so true that crowds are fickle, and people can be unprincipled and unpredictable. They will stand with you today and coldly kick you to the curb the next day. They will sing your praises today and quickly change their minds and turn on you the next.

Honestly, it’s nice to be liked by the people and hear the applause, but it is so much better to have the approval of God and to receive divine affirmation. In fact, this is what Jesus seemed to seek after and yearn for more than anything else. This is what they heard at His baptism – a voice from heaven affirming and validating his sonship and ministry stating, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). It reverberated again from glory at His transfiguration as all the synoptic gospel narratives testify – (Luke 9:35, Mark 9:7, Matthew 17:5).

As followers of the Christ let’s seek His approval and applause more than that of the masses and the crowds. When we are praised and applauded by the people, let it never go to our heads. Let us never entrust our lives to people, for people are untrustworthy. Let’s always look to our Heavenly Father for real approbation and elevation. The people and their praise are fickle, but our God is unchanging and unchangeable in His love, support and gracious kindness to us. He will never turn his back on us and stop cheering for us. I would rather have the acclaim of Jesus.