Crowds are fickle. The same people who shouted “Hosanna!” as Jesus entered Jerusalem later cried “Crucify Him!” It didn’t take long for admiration to turn to outrage, or for the focus to shift from His miracles to His words that offended the powerful.

We see that same spirit alive today. A person speaks boldly, and even if much of what they say comes from conviction or even love, their harshest words are isolated, replayed, and magnified. The crowd pounces. The call for crucifixion is louder than the call for compassion.

This doesn’t mean people don’t have a right to be hurt by words — Jesus Himself offended many. But what it does mean is that we often judge too quickly, too harshly, and too completely. We define someone by their sharpest moment instead of their whole life.

Jesus warned us about this spirit of judgment. He said, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged” (Matthew 7:1). And He modeled something radically different: while being crucified, He prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).

Maybe the challenge for us is this: when the crowd rushes to condemn, can we resist joining in? Can we see the whole person — not just the worst words? Can we choose forgiveness instead of crucifixion?

Because the truth is, if every word we’ve ever spoken in anger, ignorance, or passion was magnified for the world to see, how many of us would escape the crowd’s call for judgment?

Published by Jeff

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