Introduction

Luke 23:18-25 ESV  But they all cried out together, “Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas”—  (19)  a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city and for murder.  (20)  Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Jesus,  (21)  but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!”  (22)  A third time he said to them, “Why? What evil has he done? I have found in him no guilt deserving death. I will therefore punish and release him.”  (23)  But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified. And their voices prevailed.  (24)  So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted.  (25)  He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, but he delivered Jesus over to their will.

• So, Jesus was betrayed, arrested, and tried…
  • And the verdict for Christ has been past down… He was found innocent… That was His verdict…

Luke 23:22 ESV  A third time he said to them, “Why? What evil has he done? I have found in him no guilt deserving death. I will therefore punish and release him.”

• Jesus was found INOCENT. What evil has He done? That was Pilates verdict…
  • But we know the outcome of this story don’t we… Jesus was crucified.
  • So how do we go from “Being found innocent” to “Crucified”?
    • That’s the subject of todays message.

• Don’t Join the Mob church! DON’T JOIN IN WITH THE MOB! DON’T BE A PART OF MOB MENTALITY!
• Mob mentality killed Jesus.
  • MOB MENTALITY KILLED JESUS
    • Mob mentality killed Jesus… amongst many other things…
    • And I really mean amongst many other things… because it could be said that:
      • The roman legal system killed Jesus.
      • The Religious Scholars and Leaders killed Jesus.
      • Misunderstanding and disregard to scripture killed Jesus.
      • Greed and a love for money killed Jesus
    • There are many fact MANY factors that lead to Jesus death… if I had to chose one and only one to be the sole reason for why Jesus died… I would say this:
      • Why did Jesus die? Because of my sin. MY SIN KILLED JESUS.
  • So don’t get me wrong and take this sermon out of context. WE PREACH THE GOSPEL HERE. Christ crucified for the sins of mankind.
  • And we preach the Gospel every week.
  • This week is no different, I will conclude as I always do with the Gospel.
  • But before we get there, I want to spend the next half hour talking about Mob mentality.
    • Because it was, at least in part, Mob Mentality that Killed Jesus.

Point One – Don’t Join the Mob, Mobs Are Hypocrites

• My first point is this: Don’t join the mob… Mobs are HYPOCRITS!
  • Mobs are hypocrites… I have never seen an angry mob with an ounce of integrity.
    • Don’t join the mob… Mobs are HYPOCRITS!

Luke 23:18-19 ESV  But they all cried out together, “Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas”—  (19)  a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city and for murder.

• You know, this is the beauty of preaching through scripture book by book.
  • We got context that is sometimes missed…
    • And maybe you knew this context before, but I sure didn’t…
    • I caught something that blew my mind while preparing for this sermon…
      • You see, last week I studied and then preached on the Trial of Christ.
      • And we learned that the Jewish leaders trying to kill Christ needed to convince the Romans He had done something deserving of death.
      • So they lied about Jesus, and told the Romans that He wanted to make Himself King instead of Caesar…
      • And they said that Jesus was trying to get people to stop paying taxes to Caesar and instead pay them to Himself.
        • Church… there is a word for the Crime that they accused Jesus of… INSURECTION.
        • They charged Jesus with insurrection and demanded He be killed for it.
        • THEN! When He was found guilty… the instead demanded the release of Barabbas… what was Barabbas’ crime? INSURRECTION!
        • His crime was insurrection and murder!
• So which is it, Jewish leaders? Do you want people who are insurrectionists killed or not?! Pick a side!
  • Do you see, with the proper context here, MOBS ARE HYPOCRITS.
  • It was true in Jesus’ day and it is true today…
  • Just look at this news headline form Wednesday…

Surprise surprise, the mob were HYPOCRITS. Don’t join the mob.

You know as we go further and further down this Covid rabbit hole, we see even more so then ever, two mobs forming…

The Democrats and the Republicans.

And it seems like if you live in America, you are expected to Join one of these mobs…

MOBS ARE HYPOCRITS, Don’t join the mob.

So, let me take a moment to expose some hypocrisy in the Republican Mob.

And guys, I pick on Republicans a lot, because I am a conservative, and if I am not voting third party, I am voting for a republican.

So this comes out of a place of love for the Republican party and for the nation, but mostly it comes out of a love for you, the church.

I don’t really need to pick on Democrats, because I don’t think I need to convince anyone that democrats are hypocrits…

But Church, listen to me, just to be clear… DON’T VOTE FOR SOMEONE WHO IS OK WITH BABY MURDER.

Don’t vote for baby killers. PERIOD.

We are Christians, we cherish life. The Bible says God knew us before we were even in the womb… WE DON’T MURDER AND WE DON’T CONDONE MURDER.

That’s all I have to say about democrats, don’t vote for baby killers.

Now that I have offended the few democrats here, let me offend the rest of you.

The Republican party has become a mob… and mobs are hypocrites, don’t join the mob.

I am so SICK of hearing republicans talk about the National debt… I just got a three page mailer by the quote unquote “Christian Voter’s Society” to give a “Battle plan” defeat the democrats in 22…

Three pages front in back… for Christian Voters.

I read it… in the whole thing there was not one iota of anything Christian.

Nothing Christian about it.

It didn’t mention anything about abortion.

Or traditional Biblical marriage

It didn’t mention the shutdowns of churches across the nation.

It mentioned NOTHING that was remotely Christian.

It focused on four things:

First it focused on Gun Control, because we are so afraid of big bad Bidden taking our guns…

But trump illegally banned bump stocks.

Then it focused on illegal immigration “We have to stop the flood of immigrants the current administration is letting in”.

But Trump deported less than a third of the illegal immigrants Obama did in his first 4 years.

It focused on Spending and national debt…

But Trump spent more and grew the national debt more than Obama did… and Bush grew it more than Clinton…

And it focused on the supreme court…

Yet it was a conservative supreme court that found in favor of Abortion in the first place. Roe V Wade was tried in a CONSERVATIVE supreme court.

IT WAS A CONSERVITAVE SUPREME COURT THAT ALLOWED WOE V WADE TO PASS.

The Christian Voters Guide? It was just fuel for the republican mob mentality.

And I am sure democrats get stuff like this in the mail for them too, just more fuel for the democratic mob mentality.

Why do I share this… to make you feel bad for who you voted for? NO!

Do I share this because I don’t want you to vote Republican? No…

I just want you to be a Christlike individual who employees critical thinking in all areas.

Is this what the BIBLE says or what the mob says?

Am I doing what God wants or what the mob wants?

Am I justifying my actions based on mob mentality or am I critiquing my own actions to check to make sure they line up with Christ.

In short… you shouldn’t do things based on what the MOB tells you to do. You should do things based on what Christ tells you to do!

I am not telling you who to vote for…

I am simply saying “Don’t be a republican, don’t be a democrat… be a Christ follower.”

Don’t be a white person, don’t be black person, don’t be a Latino person, don’t be an Asian person… don’t be a whatever person. BE A CHRIST FOLLWER!

Don’t be American, or British, or African… Be a Christ follower.

Well that’s just what American people do… We celebrate evil holidays, and we do yoga, and we watch filthy TV shows and we sleep around… NOPE that’s not what Christians do.

But pastor that’s just what we do in my culture, we get drunk and party and whatever… NOPE that’s not what Christian do.

But my culture… Man are you a part of the Kingdom or not?! Then your culture ought to be Kingdom culture!

We as Christians should identify by our salvation and nothing else. JUST JESUS.

And don’t get me wrong, every culture has unique and beautiful aspects, and we can respect and even admire some of those cultural differences… but at the end of the day its Give me Jesus… YOU CAN HAVE THIS WHOLE WORLD… Just give me Jesus.

And this goes for the church too. The church is the WORST at mob mentality… Jesus Even call’s out the mob mentality of the church.

Matthew 23:13 ESV  “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.

• Scribes and pharisees… those are religious mobs…
  • But in todays culture you could replace that with:
  • Woe to you Methodists and Presbyterians.
  • Or Lutherans and Catholics
  • Or Baptists and Pentecostals
  • Or Non-denominationalists and Independents…
• These titles used to mean something… but they have all, including non-denominationalists like ourselves, become mobs.
  • Methodists just follow whatever the mob tells them to follow…
  • And so do the Lutherans… and Baptists… and non-denominational churches.
• No I am not going to sing that worship song that all the other non-denominational churches are singing… we sing songs that honor Jesus and His word… and if the song doesn’t do that then we aren’t singing it.
  • I am not going to recommend that book.
  • I am not going to share that post.
  • I am not going to preach that series…
  • Just because it seems like all the other charismatic churches are doing it.
  • WE ARE CHRIST FOLLOWERS, THAT IS WHAT DEFINES US.
    • And the moment that stops being our definition, the instant that becomes secondary… then we have lost our first love and we are on our way to being cast out of the Kingdom of God.
      • I don’t want that… so I am not going to join the mob.
• MOBS ARE HYPOCRITS… don’t join the mob.
  • Don’t join the political mob
  • Don’t join the religious mob
  • Don’t join the clique at work.
  • Don’t follow the group at school.
  • BE A CHRIST FOLLOWER.
• That brings me to point two this morning, mobs kill.

Point Two – Mobs Kill

Luke 23:22-25 ESV  A third time he said to them, “Why? What evil has he done? I have found in him no guilt deserving death. I will therefore punish and release him.”  (23)  But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified. And their voices prevailed.  (24)  So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted.  (25)  He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, but he delivered Jesus over to their will.

• Mobs kill…
  • We know this…
    • We have read about the antifa and BLM mobs rioting and people getting killed in the process.
    • We know about the mob storming Capital, and people being killed.
  • And of course we know that it was a mob that convinced Pilate to kill Jesus.
  • So let me EARNESTLY plead with you, stay away from mobs.
    • I don’t think anyone was going to the capital that morning thinking “You know, I think I will be involved in the murder of a police officer today”.
    • But stuff get’s crazy, and agitators get in there and start stirring up the mob…
    • And emotions get out of control..
    • AND THEN BEFORE YOU KNOW IT THE MOB YOU ARE IN HAS KILLED SOMEONE.
• But it’s not just others mobs kill… mobs will kill your spirit. They will kill your faith. They will kill you relationship with Jesus Christ.
  • Have you ever noticed the Mask issue has become a mob issue…
    • And I know I am talking a lot of politics today, but it is the driving issue of the day… and the fact that MEDICAL MASKS have become political baffles my mind…
    • But here we are… you can tend to tell someone’s political leanings based on their preference of mask wearing.
      • Not always, but most of the time…
    • But not only that… people have become so obtuse about their mask wearing preferences.
      • Arguing with one another…
      • Name calling…
      • Yelling…
      • Sometimes literally shooting or stabbing one another, which has happened more than once over masks…
        • BUT WHY?!
        • It’s not doctors stabbing each other.
        • It’s not immunologists yelling at each other in line at Walmart…
        • It’s not virologists blocking people on Facebook because they have a different view on masks.
      • It’s people who have done some google searches, made opinions, and are now willing to fight for those opinions… because their mob of choice tells them they have to fight for those opinions.
      • And this mob mentality kills… I have seen it happen.
        • Families split a part. Relationships between brothers and sisters, children and parents… killed… I have literally seen these relationships killed OVER MASKS.
        • People’s relationship with the church… Killed. We have lost LEADERS in this church because I won’t bow down to party politics. Because I say crazy things like “Be a Christian and follow Scripture… don’t just do what party X is telling you to do”.
        • I have seen the gifts of the Spirit basterdized because some guy named QANON said some thing… “Thus sayith the Lord”. If you publicly prophesied Trump would retake the office, and you didn’t repent… then you just killed your witness!
        • People’s livelihood killed… because the mob says we have to do XYZ that means I don’t care if it costs 800 thousand jobs, the mob has spoken.
        • People’s freedom killed.
        • PEOPLES INDIVIDUALITY GET’S KILLED WHEN THEY GET INTO A MOB.
      • And I get it… masks drive me crazy, every time I see a “Masks required” sign I want to pull it down and burn it.
        • But then I remember… you know what… Christ died for these people… if they came to a different conclusion about masks then me, so be it… I will love them as unto Christ.
        • So no, I don’t wear masks when I go out… but if someone asked me to, I would.
          • Because at the end of the day, masks have become a Mob issue, not a Salvation issue.
        • And no, I am not going to ask you to wear a mask in church… because masks have become a Mob issue, not a salvation issue.

Conclusion – Don’t Be Yourself, Be Christlike

• In conclusion, here is what I want you to take home…
  • Forget all the political stuff…
  • Throw out all the mask talk…
  • If you can only take one thing home, take this home.
• Don’t be a part of the mob… be Christlike.
  • Christ was an individual… He didn’t follow mob rule.
  • Now He still went to church… every weekend He was teaching in the temple.
  • And He still loved people who were in the mobs, even the mobs trying to kill Him.
  • And He still identified as a part of a people group.
  • BUT HE NEVER JOINED INTO MOB MENTALITY.
• What did Jesus do, whatever the Father told Him.

John 5:19 ESV  So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.

• This church, is how we live the Christian Life. We do what we see the Father doing…
  • In other words, Open Your Bible, Read it, and do what it says.
  • Open Your Bible, Read it, and do what it says.
    • Let this be your defining feature.
    • Some of y’all need to cancel your cable TV subscription… and with that new found time you should…
      • Open Your Bible, Read it, and do what it says.
    • Some of y’all need to stop watching that news channel you like… and with time you save not watching mob-mentality news shows you can…
      • Open Your Bible, Read it, and do what it says.
    • Some of y’all need to unsubscribe from that newsletter and…
      • Open Your Bible, Read it, and do what it says.
  • What if you are the guy at work or at school who people know not because of:
    • What sports team you follow.
    • Not because of what conspiracy theories you have studied.
    • Not because of what political agenda you adhere too.
    • Not because of what stance you take on police shootings.
    • What you believe about masks, or elections, or whatever…
  • What if you become the guy who people know as:
    • That’s the dude who LOVES reading the Bible.
    • That’s the lady who LOVES praying for people.
    • That guy wont shut up about Jesus!
    • That’s the gal who just loves everyone, all I see her do is read her Bible and help people.
    • That’s the fellow who I can come to with any problem and I know he will listen and offer good Biblical advice.
  • BE THAT PERSON. BE LIKE JESUS! An individual.
    • We are individuals, part of a body, who’s head is Christ.
    • We are not a mob who gets angry and burns down buildings, societal constructs, and relationships.
    • We are the Body of Christ, we each take our own faith as our own… we seek out our own salvation… we take responsibility… we open our Bible, we Read it, and we Do what it says… and then TOGETHER as a body of many different members, we serve Christ.

Gospel Call