You never hear about a “lynch person;” it’s always a mob. There’s a reason for that. Mobs do things individuals would think twice about. Even the individual driver in the recent assault in Charlottesville was motivated by the mob. When Jesus confronted a mob about to stone a woman caught in adultery, he broke it up by speaking to individuals, not the whole group.
When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7)
Conversely, when the priests wanted to get rid of Jesus, they did it by inciting the mob.
Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.
“What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.
“Crucify him!” they shouted. (Mark 15:9-13)
It would have been interesting to interview people who shouted those words, individually, after a couple of weeks had passed. My guess is it would have been hard to find anyone who admitted being there. Because mobs do things individuals wouldn’t.
Be careful. Back then, the mobs gathered in response to a bunch of loud-mouths. These days you can gather a mob with a Tweet, a TV news story, or a post online. As a result, we have way too much angry shouting. Not enough listening. Don’t join a mob if they are doing something you would not do on your own.
Well put, Tom. Thanks for telling it straight. Love ya