How critically important it is to be an objective listener! Too often today people just believe what they hear without evaluating what they hear. We must examine the evidence! We must not let what “everyone is saying” become “the truth”! We must search out the truth!
In Luke 23, the crowd was making false accusations against Christ (23:1-5), and they were shouting, “Away with this Man…Crucify Him!” (23:18-21). Pilate repeatedly asked, “What evil has He done?” But no reasonable explanation was given. So, Pilate announced three times, “I find no fault in this Man” (23:14-22). Later that same day, while the crowds around the cross were mocking Jesus, one thief examined the evidence and concluded, “This man has done nothing wrong” (23:41).
Pilate was an objective listener and drew the proper conclusion, but then he made the wrong decision. The thief was also an objective listener and drew the proper conclusion, and he made the right decision. What will you do? It starts with being an objective listener, then drawing only conclusions demanded by the evidence!