I hate crowds!

There are very few things as frightening as a crowd. They can be swayed by anyone with a silver tongue or by a few agitators. All the great, and infamous men of history have been able to sway a crowd by their oratory. Think of Hitler and his Nuremberg address, or Barak Obama in his inauguration address, or Winston Churchill in his famous speeches during World War II.

This power can be used for good or ill. The issue for me is the fact that many in most crowds have a limited understanding (if any) of the facts involved, and are swayed by the speaker, or the planted agitators.

Act 19:32 NIV  The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there.

Paul was in Ephesus for one of the most strategic times in his journeys. He had been preaching about the uniqueness of Jesus in a city which was the centre of the worship of Diana via  the meteorite which looked like a multi breasted women. The economy of Ephesus was dependent on the silversmiths who manufactured images of this meteorite for the pilgrims who came to worship at Diana's temple. Her temple was one of the wonders of the ancient world.

This trade was at risk since many were abandoning the temple and turning to "The Way".  This was enough reason for Demetrius on behalf of the silversmiths to bring charges against Paul.  This soon ended in a near riot. The mob was out of control.

Any attempt by Paul or his companions to explain the situation was drowned out by the crowd. They cried "Great is Artemis (Diana) of the Ephesians." The mob was out of control.

A few years ago a team of Intercessors from the UK and Australia visited the open air arena at Ephesus and took up the cry "Great is Jesus the Son of God!" This time it was the mob of demons that were put to flight.

With Paul's situation we see the true effect of a mob and how a few agitators can stir up a mob. It was not a matter of what the reason for the assembly was, it was just the mob effect in action. Most did not have the faintest idea why they were there. They were just caught up in the mob.

This same effect is at work in many of the controversies we face in our society. Complex issues are reduced to simple slogans without the majority of the people really knowing what the full issues are.

We see this in the homosexual debate and the same sex marriage debate. A small minority of the population reduces the debate to an emotional level and agitates through the media and demonstrations, while the majority are manipulated to agree with the small minority. Even some Christians are taken in by community attitudes and emotionalism.

What are we as Christians supposed to do?

We are citizens of another world, the Kingdom of God. We are not meant to be caught up in the agitation of the mob. We are to be like Paul and his companions and stand up for Jesus. We are to be like the city clerk in Ephesus who calmed the crowd. He drew attention to what was really happening and so became the voice of reason.

Act 19:35-38 NIV  The city clerk quieted the crowd and said: "Fellow Ephesians, ..... you ought to calm down and not do anything rash.  (37)  You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess.  (38)  If, then, Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a grievance against anybody, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. They can press charges.

He enabled the issue to be discussed properly with all the facts able to be determined. He defused the emotion and so overcame the stirring of the silversmith agitators.

We can act in the same way as the voice of reason. However it involves taking the heat out of the argument and examining the facts in a reasoned way.

We can enable the truth to be seen as we refuse to play by the rules of the mob and call for the voice of reason to be heard. The old adage "All truth is God's truth" can be applied as we calmly demonstrate the truth of God's Word by action as well as words.

Who will you follow, the crowd represented by general community values, or the single voice of Jesus standing against the crowd and in the process, overcoming the world? His Kingdom overcomes all other kingdoms and lasts forever.

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