The most positive incident involving a crowd in the Bible was on Palm Sunday, as a crowd in Jerusalem acclaimed Jesus as King.

But that crowd was fickle. In short order, the crowd either vanished or turned against Jesus, so that a few days later there was a crowd shouting “Crucify.”

Most of the crowds in the later New Testament story were crowds of angry people opposing the apostles.

The gospel is advanced not via big crowds but through individual witnesses for Christ, sharing the good news and love of Christ with others.

We are each called to be one of those witnesses! If we have experienced God’s grace, we can share the story of how God has been at work in us.

So we acclaim Jesus today as King, not simply by cheering him along with a crowd, but by going forth to bear witness to the love of Christ in the world.

Sunday’s Scripture Readings:
John 12:12–15
Matthew 21:8–9
Acts 1:6–8

About the Author

Dr. David A. Palmer has been the senior pastor at the United Methodist Church of Kent since 1995. He has a B.A. from Wittenberg University, a Master of Divinity from Duke University, and a Doctor of Ministry from Princeton Theological Seminary. A native of Wooster, Ohio, he has served three other churches in east Ohio before coming to Kent. He and his wife, Mavis, have three children.