Siding With the Many

Is the Majority Always Right?

1   “You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a malicious witness.   2  You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many, so as to pervert justice. - Exodus 23:1-2 ESV

In his book, Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis has this to say:

​"We are all the time being tempted to say, 'It's alright, everyone else is doing it,' or 'It doesn't hurt anyone.' But a Christian does not measure right and wrong by what the crowd is doing. The standard of behavior was given to us by the Architect of the world, not by a majority vote of the inhabitants."

In his book, The Weight of Glory, Lewis goes on to say:

When the whole world is running towards a precipice, he who runs in the opposite direction appears to have lost his mind.

Augustine is quoted to have said:

Wrong is wrong even if everybody is doing it. Right is right even if nobody is doing it.

In our modern democratic societies, many of our decisions are made by a vote of the majority. The goal is to please the most people possible. Public opinion determines the laws of the land, and people become the authority and the determination of what is right and wrong. 

Note, however, what the apostle Paul told the Galatians in Galatians 1:10:

 10  For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. - Galatians 1:10 ESV

Throughout His ministry, large crowds followed the Lord Jesus, listening to His teaching and experiencing His healing touch. The religious leaders, however, jealous of His attention, wanted to kill Him but feared the people and their response:

 45  When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them.   46  And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet. - Matthew 21:45-46 ESV

It was the majority opinion that kept Jesus from being arrested in those days. The problem with the majority, however, is that it can quickly change. When Pilate sought to save Jesus from being crucified, the same crowd turned against our Lord and called for His crucifixion. Listen to Pilate’s interaction with this crowd:

14  Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!”   15  They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.”   16   So he delivered him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus, - John 19:14-16 ESV

The question we are left with is this? What caused this crowd who followed after Jesus to turn against Him? Matthew 27:19 gives us the answer:

 20  Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. - Matthew 27:20 ESV

The chief priests and elders knew the power of the majority and did their utmost to sway them to their opinion. Having succeeded in doing so, the death of Jesus was a sure thing.

In Acts 21, the apostle Paul was in Caesarea on his way to Jerusalem. While there, a prophet by the name of Agabus came to see him. Agabus took Paul’s belt and binding his own feet and hands with it, declared:

 11  …“Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘This is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.” - Acts 21:11, ESV

Observe the response of the people present that day to Paul after hearing the prophecy of Agabus. In Acts 21:12, we read:

12  When we heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem.  Acts 21:12, ESV

It was the opinion of the majority that Paul not go to Jerusalem. The wisdom of the crowd said that only trouble would befall him there. His life was at stake if he continued his journey. Consider Paul’s response to the majority opinion, however, in verse 13:

13  Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”  - Acts 21:13 ESV

Paul rejected the majority opinion, deciding to go against their wishes and pursue his trip to Jerusalem. The predictions of Agabus came true. Paul was imprisoned and brought to Rome. The result, however, was a number of letters written from prison that we still read in our day. He also emboldened many Christian servants by his example. 

 12  I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel,   13  so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.   14  And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. - Philippians 1:12-14 ESV

Paul defied the majority and went on to accomplish the purpose of God for his life. 

In his old age, Joshua the mighty warrior, challenged God’s people saying:

 14   “Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness.  Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.   15   And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD,  choose this day whom you will serve, whether  the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or  the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.  But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” - Joshua 24:14-15 ESV

Standing before them that day, Joshua called the people of Israel to put away their false gods and serve the one true God. Note, however, that he was determined not to be influenced by their choice in this matter. He and his family would serve the Lord. 

Understand that this was not the first time that Joshua was willing to go against the majority. In Numbers 13, when Israel arrived in Kadesh-barnea, Moses sent twelve spies into the land God was giving them to explore it and bring a report. For forty days, these men travelled through the land. Returning to Moses, they brought him their report. They told of a land flowing with milk and honey, a land abundant with fruit. It was also, however, a land filled with mighty people who were strong and lived in large fortified cities. Ten out of twelve spies advised Moses against going up against the land saying:

 31   “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are… The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height.   33  And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.” - Numbers 13:31-33 ESV

These men discouraged the people of Israel from going in to possess the land. Among them, however, was a minority of two who disagreed with their brothers. We read in Numbers 14:6-10:

 6   And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes   7  and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land.   8  If the LORD delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey.   9  Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them.”   10   Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But the glory of the LORD appeared at the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel. - Numbers 14:6-10 ESV

Joshua and Caleb tore their clothes in grief as they listened to their brothers counsel the nation to walk away from the purpose of God. They were, however, merely two voices among twelve, and the nation listened to the majority opinion and walked away from the promise of God to give them a nation of their own. For the next forty years, they would wander the wilderness because they did not listen to the voice of the Lord through the minority.

Consider the words of Genesis 6 about the state of the earth in Noah’s day:

 5   The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.   6  And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.   7  So the LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.”   8  But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. - Genesis 6:5-8 ESV

God looked down from heaven and saw the condition of the human heart. He described it as altogether evil. The evil of their thoughts and intentions was such that it grieved God that He had made them. There among them, however, was a single man by the name of Noah who found favour in the eyes of the Lord. One man on the earth whose heart was directed toward God. There could not have been a smaller minority. This one person alone, however, stood strong and firm in the truth. As the Lord unleashed his judgment, we read:

 23  He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark.  - Genesis 7:23 ESV

One family out of all the families of the earth were saved because Noah stood against the majority for the truth and walked with God.

David was a powerful military leader in his day. The reason for this, in part, was because of the type of men God had given to fight with him. Consider Eleazar, the son of Dodo, for example. 2 Samuel 23 tells us that on one occasion, when he fought for David against the Philistines, the Israelite army withdrew. Listen to his story

 9  … among the three mighty men was Eleazar the son of Dodo, son of Ahohi. He was with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel withdrew.   10  He rose and struck down the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clung to the sword. And the LORD brought about a great victory that day, and the men returned after him only to strip the slain. - 2 Samuel 23:9-10 ESV

What would you do if your fellow soldiers withdrew for fear of the enemy before them? Would you stand alone, or would you withdraw with everyone else? Eleazar chose to stand alone, and through him, God brought about a great victory that day.

Then there was Shammah, the son of Agee, whose story we read in the very next verses:

  11 … next to him was Shammah, the son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines gathered together at Lehi, where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the men fled from the Philistines.   12  But he took his stand in the midst of the plot and defended it and struck down the Philistines, and the LORD worked a great victory.  - 2 Samuel 23:11-12 ESV

When everyone fled, Shammah also took his stand and struck down the Philistines –one against the many.

David himself was no stranger to the minority. Visiting his brothers on the battlefield, he learned about a giant named Goliath who was about 9 feet tall. He defied the entire army of Israel, challenging them to send just one person against him. Not one soldier among all the men of Israel was willing to take up the challenge:

 11  When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid. - 1 Samuel 17:11 ESV

When no one in all the army of Israel was willing to stand up, David went to King Saul asking permission to go up against him with a sling shot. Through that one shepherd boy, God gave overwhelming victory. When the majority stood paralyzed in fear, through the minority, God gave victory.

On one occasion, the Philistines came up with three companies against Israel. 1 Samuel 13:16 tells us that the oppression of these Philistines was so great that the army of Israel was without weapons. They sharpened whatever tools they had available to them to defend themselves, but it was insufficient against the Philistine army.  Speaking to his armour bearer, Saul’s son Jonathan said:

 6  … “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the LORD will work for us, for nothing can hinder the LORD from saving by many or by few.” - 1 Samuel 14:6 ESV 

Climbing up a rocky crag, Jonathan and his armour bearer killed twenty Philistines. 1 Samuel 14:12 tells us what happened that day:

 15  And there was a panic in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and even the raiders trembled, the earth quaked, and it became a very great panic.  - 1 Samuel 14:15 ESV

When King Saul heard a noise of battle, they went to investigate and found that, in the confusion, the Philistines had turned against each other. Israel pursued the fleeing Philistines and had a tremendous victory that day. All of this was because two men had the courage to stand up when the majority was paralyzed in fear.

God is often looking for a minority. Consider the words of God in Ezekiel 22:30-31:

 30   And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none.   31  Therefore I have poured out my indignation upon them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath. I have returned their way upon their heads, declares the Lord GOD.” - Ezekiel 22:30-31 ESV

The land was destroyed because God could not find a minority. He sought just one man to stand between Him and the outpouring of His anger upon His rebellious people. He could not find that minority, and so He consumed them. A minority, or even just one person, would have made all the difference and saved the nation, but everyone had sided with the majority.

We read in Matthew 7:13-14: 

 13   “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.   14  For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. - Matthew 7:13-14 ESV

Jesus told his followers that the majority would enter the wide gate that led to destruction, but only the minority would find the narrow gate for the salvation of their souls. If you want to find the path to destruction, just follow the majority; they will lead you straight to it.

Doing what the majority does may be acceptable in our culture, but it is never the basis upon which a believer should base his or her life or actions. The believer does not follow the majority opinion. Listen to the challenge of the apostle Paul in Romans 12:2:

 2   Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.  - Romans 12:2 ESV

Have the courage to be different, Paul tells believers. You are not like the world. You are guided by a different set of principles. You play by different rules. 

The writer of Proverbs 1 says this:

 10  My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent.

  11  If they say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood;

 let us ambush the innocent without reason;

  12  like Sheol let us swallow them alive,

and whole, like those who go down to the pit;

  13  we shall find all precious goods,

we shall fill our houses with plunder;

  14  throw in your lot among us;

we will all have one purse”—

  15  my son, do not walk in the way with them;

 hold back your foot from their paths, - Proverbs 1:10-15 ESV

The passage we began with from Exodus 23:1-2 commands us not to fall with the many to do evil or side with the many to pervert justice. 

1   “You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a malicious witness.   2  You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many, so as to pervert justice, - Exodus 23:1-2 ESV

God’s people are a people of conviction. They stand for truth even if it means standing alone. Like Daniel’s friends, they prefer the raging furnace to bowing before the king’s image. They take their stand guided by the principles of God’s Word and the leading of His Spirit. Will you commit yourself to do what is right? Will you stand alone when it is necessary? The majority is not always right. The popular opinion of the masses can lead us astray. God is looking for those who will stand firm in the truth when everyone else is turning from it. He is looking for a people who will not be swayed by the majority opinion but will commit themselves to His Word and the leading of His Spirit. By His grace, may we be that godly minority.