Mark 15 9-15
But Pilate answered hem, saying, Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews? For he knew hat the chief priests had delivered him for ENVY. But the chief priests moved the people, that they should rather release Barabbas unto them. And Pilate answered and said AGAIN unto them, what will ye then that I shall do unto him whom ye call the King of the Jews? And they cried out again, CRUCIFY HIM. Then Pilate said unto them, why, what evil hath He done? And they cried out the MORE EXEEDINGLY, CRUCIFY HIM. And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified.
It is easy this side of the narrative above to accuse the perpetrators of actions that are disagreeable to the base human sentiment of protecting those who might be innocent of any real criminal act, or who might be considered by some to be the less desirable of society and in need of extermination. The old adage, "Those that do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it." as history is replete with numerous instances of actions though many might be on lesser scale at least in the consciousness of the vast majority of society. Things like, how could policemen, sworn to serve and protect use fire hoses and batons to
inflict harm to a segment of society who were trying to get their basic civil rights? Escalating to Mao Tse-Tungs extermination of millions who opposed his Maoism agrarian and communistic revolution to Stalin's brutal sentencing of millions to the gulags and certain death in Siberia, and the most atrocious activity known by most people, Hitlers antihalation of between 6-7 million people mostly Jews, homosexuals, gypsies, homeless people, mentally ill and any other segment of society deem useless thus worthy to be removed from humanity. Don't misunderstand me, I am not saying that some facets of human behavior do not need attention and correction or that I agree with it like homosexuality which I believe is a scourge of society and unless mitigated is a danger especially to the young, but, not to the extermination of the people engaged...So, how could THEY, people who are decent and conscientious and even loving and caring allow such atrocities as those perpetrated by Hitler to happen?
I am not a proponent of phycology or psychoanalysis as being the cure all, fix it to every problem of human behavior. But some studies within the field produces light into questions like how THEY could do certain things without blinking an eye.
In 1963 a famous psychologist at prestigious Yale University Stanley Milgram conducted what is known as the "Shock Experiment" The picture does not give adequate explanation to the experiment; reality is that
almost ALL of the people engaged in giving shocks that caused severe pain and two thirds went beyond that and gave critical shocks to the victims. You can read variations to the study in several well knowns psychology journals, here is one link.
So how could people who are caring, considerate and even loving participate in such heinous actions that would bring some kind of harm to others?
Let me illustrate in a lesser degree by a story from my past. I have a friend who was a pastor in a small community in the state where I reside. We went to college together and he graduated a class in front of me. While at this church his wife became pregnant, the church paid a meager salary, hardly enough to live on much less save enough money to do anything above just existing. The time came for a vote on his staying for another year, the church voted him out leaving him homeless and a baby on the way. Why? a few leaders in the church did not like his preaching style for some reason. You may be thinking, well that is not anything close to what Hitler or other dictators did nor what was done to Jesus! Isn't it, or doesn't it though lesser in degree show that the propensity to do EVIL exists in every single person unless checked by Holy Spirit and biblical principles that guide our actions. When a few who may or may not have an air of authority they can steer a whole segment of society to do things that God would by His very nature abhor it's detestable.
On a side note I have over the years pondered several narratives in the Old Testament especially those where God told Israel to utterly wipe out everyone who opposed them...did God really say that or did those who heard what was said misinterpret or misunderstand what God said? My conclusion comes in the scripture where God initially informed Israel to inhabit the land. Read all of Exodus 23. Verse 20 Behold, I send and Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. 23 and I will cut them off. 24 Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works; but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images. (Note, not people, idols and ways) 27 I will send my fear before thee and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee. 28 And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite and the Hittite, from before thee. 29 I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest he land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee. 30 By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased and inherit the land. PERIOD!!!
What happens every time when people get impatient with God's plan? Ask Abraham when he planned with Sarah to concoct a way to have an heir, Jacob when he devised a method to steal the birthright, Josephs brothers when they decided to do away with his grandiose visions, David when he decided to move the ark of the covenant to its rightful place and allowed it to be moved on an ox cart instead of the process laid out by God for moving it. Solomon when he started listening to other advisors instead of his God. In fact in every case where God's plan is interdicted by man's insistence that he can manage his own affairs, a mess is made!!!
Today there are voices of supposed reason and authority that are speaking to almost every issue, like whether to get a shot or not. Personally, I do not plan to get one, but if you want to, get it! I do not wear a mask, but if you want to wear one, wear it! But to force others into doing something that they might object to just because an authority suggests it is the right thing to do, might not be close to the level of what one of the above nefarious people did, or even crucifying Jesus, but it certainly moves in that direction.
Another well known psychologist Dr. Mattias Desmet coined a term for what happened in Germany during Hitlers reign. Germany was a country of very educated and sophisticated people who were steeped in religious precepts. How could they ever allow over six million people to be systematically exterminated?
The term is MASS FORMATION PSYCHOSIS.
A short analysis
As mass formation progresses, the group becomes increasingly bonded and connected. Their field of attention is narrowed and they become unable to consider alternative points of view. Leaders of the movement are revered, unable to do no wrong.
Left unabated, a society under the spell of mass formation will support a totalitarian governance structure capable of otherwise unthinkable atrocities in order to maintain compliance. A note: mass formation is different from group think. There are easy ways to fix group think by just bringing in dissenting voices and making sure you give them platforms. It isn’t so easy with mass formation. Even when the narrative falls apart, cracks in the strategy clearly aren’t solving the issue, the hypnotized crowd can’t break free of the narrative.
Here's a short video that describes the phenomenon.
So how could they? How could the people who were in the crowd when Jesus was crucified do such after observing the ministry of Christ, being fed miraculously by a few loaves and fishes, seeing blind eyes opened, deaf ears unstopped, dead raised and hearing words like no other man had ever taught?
This same thing is being perpetrated by the enemy of the soul of mankind today. I'm not talking just about taking a jab, it runs deeper and wider than that. People are being convinced about everything from a-z that doesn't have adequate evidence to back it up. But the bottom line is that there is a force that is teaching, propigandizing, hypnotizing people that there is no God. How could people who can see the evidence of God all around them ever be drawn away and inticed to believe a lie? Its time to check our bearings and move away from the magnetism that is drawing towards the wrong pole and move back to a faith based approach in every area of life.
Scripture teaches us to acknowledge God in ALL our ways and that if done, He will direct our paths.