We all know not to follow the crowd, but aim to be different.  Unique is good.  Peer pressure is the devil.  We know.  But are there not exceptions?

Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve.  And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus.  They were delighted and agreed to give him money.  He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.                                    Luke 22:3-6

I have often wondered, just as did Jesus Himself, why it all had to go down as it did, why did they have to sneak out in the night to arrest Him.  Jesus even asked them, “Wasn’t I teaching in the Temple every day and yet you come out to arrest me with armed guards in the dark of night?”  His executioners knew where to find Him every day, why did they need a betrayer, why was Judas worth paying?  They stood before Him at the Temple every day that week and yet needed to find Him at night.  Why make it so difficult?

There is a lesson in the answers.  It’s actually there twice in this one little passage.

It has everything to do with the crowd.

The chief priests couldn’t seize Him during the day because of the crowd.  The crowd loved and adored Him and kept Him safe by day.  It was only at night, in the dark, in solitude with His chosen few that He was vulnerable.  There was a problem there though, it was dark.  There were no street lights spaced throughout the Garden, there was no residence to sneak in the back door of.  It wasn’t easy to find Him without an His enormous entourage and it wasn’t easy to find Him without the sunlight!

The people were the level head.  The second that the priests and officers escaped the eye of the grounded and loving crowd, they sank into the depths of their own insipid desires.

Then there’s Judas.  Judas too had a crowd to keep him grounded.  As long as he stayed with the Twelve, he was safe from the voices that called him wayward. There was safety in numbers, but alone, he was defenseless, vulnerable to attack.

Most crowds these days probably don’t keep us in check.  Most may not be beneficial for our ‘keeping the faith.’  There’s a good chance that most crowds today will contribute to our downfall rather than our upholding.  But not every crowd is ‘most.’

When we feel we must step away from believers before we answer the call or carry out the habit or conversation or action or vent the angst, anger, or grief, then we may be walking away from the one crowd that could keep us from being vulnerable to attack.  That crowd may keep us grounded.  That crowd may be there to keep us safe.

What if Judas had refused to leave the table that night?  He and Jesus both knew what he had in mind.  What if he refused to go it alone, refused to step away from those who helped to hold him up, what if he didn’t leave the faithful crowd for the darkness outside?

The plan would have still happened, it was necessary.  But he might have been able to rewrite his lines.

Perhaps there would be no cemetery at Potter’s Field.

Chose your crowd wisely.  Find strength in numbers.  Don’t walk life alone.

Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.  A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.                   Ecclesiastes 4:12