From: May 30, 2020
BEHOLD THE MAN!
The Roman governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate, brought Jesus out to stand before the accusing crowd. He had been scourged, beaten, mocked, and spit upon. A crown of thorns was pressed down upon his bruised brow and a purple robe thrown across his torn and bleeding shoulders. He stood silently before his accusers.
“Behold the man!” shouted Pilate, no doubt hoping to provoke pity from the multitude. In other words, “Look at him! He’s no threat to anyone. He probably won’t even survive the beating we just gave him. We’ve made him a laughing stock, a dead man walking. He’s no threat to Rome nor to you. I find no fault in him.”
Yet the crowd shouted, “Crucify him!” So he was crucified on a hill in Jerusalem called Golgotha, between two thieves.
Have you looked upon this man? Have you given him careful consideration? Have you truly beheld this man, Jesus? For although John quotes Pilate, he surely invites us to stand in the crowd and “behold the man” too.
John began his gospel “in the beginning,” declaring Christ as the Word of God made flesh (See John 1:1, 14). He was present and active in creation. Perhaps if we could have been present on the sixth day of creation we might have heard the Lord Himself say, “Behold the man!” For Adam was the crown of God’s creation, made in His own image, fashioned by His own hand and brought to life with His own breath. The Lord gave him authority over all the earth. But Adam rebelled and sinned, exchanging his king’s crown for a curse of thorns and death.
Now John invites us to behold this new Adam, this man named Jesus. Take a closer look. He wears the crown meant for the first Adam, albeit made from the twisted thorns from sin’s curse. He wears the purple robes of royalty meant to clothe God’s naked image bearers, yet humanity has hung them on His beaten back in unholy mockery. His face and body bear the wounds of the hands that took the forbidden fruit. His blood is shed, His body pierced, He dies the death meant for sinful man, so that we might receive eternal life through faith in Him.
“Idou ho anthrōpos! Ecce homo! Behold the man!”
“Look upon the One whom you have pierced!” (Zech. 12:10, John 19:37).
PRAYER: Dear Father, we have looked upon the one whom we have pierced. We are undone. Yet we are set free and forgiven. What wonder! What love and mercy! We have beheld the man, the Son of God, Jesus. We have believed. We are Yours! We will follow Him wherever He leads. In His name, we pray and live, amen.