“Jesus then came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, “Behold, the Man!”
John 19:5 (NASB)
After being arrested, beaten, mocked and scourged, John describes the scene in this scripture of Jesus standing beside Pilate, who presents Him to the crowd, saying
“Behold the man.”
Jesus stands there wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, which the Roman soldiers placed on Him to mock Him, after He claimed to have a kingdom that is not of this world. It’s a brutal image but it’s also an image that can change people’s lives. It definitely left an indelible mark on mine.
I remember being in the theater and watching this exact scene at the Passion of Christ movie. Jesus stood beside Pilate, trembling in pain with blood dripping down His face from a thorn pierced brow. Every part of His body hurt, causing Him to tremble while He stood there. I remember starting to tremble just watching it.
Whenever I hear the words, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,” that image comes to my mind every time. That scene from the movie stayed with me and changed me in a good way. It’s a visual of how much God loves us, and gave us His son, who is the scourged and trembling Jesus.
The first time Jesus was introduced to the world, it was by His cousin, John the Baptist, pointing to Him, saying, “Behold the Lamb of God.”
Later, Pilate introduced Him, saying, “Behold the man.” Jesus is actually both, the divine, incarnate God-man, who became the Lamb of God, who was scourged and slain for all of us.
There is a time in each person’s life, when they may envision Jesus as their personal sacrificial lamb. As Pilate tells the crowd to “behold” the man, it’s as if God is speaking to every individual person who has ever been alone or abandoned, or in some way suffered mockery, or the physical pain of illness or knows the sting of injustice in this world.
God is calling all those people who are hurting, through Pilate’s words, “Behold the man.” It’s an invitation to come to Jesus, the One who understands all suffering because, as a man, He experienced it all.
My late husband was very outgoing and friendly. He usually struck up conversations with total strangers everywhere he went, about golf, sports, politics and occasionally religion. He took his faith seriously, but was in no way, an evangelist or a debater for Christianity. Once in a while, when he met someone who was an adamant atheist, he listened to them and responded in kindness with one simple phrase;
“Eternity is a long time to be wrong.”
There is not much to say after that, and it leaves someone thinking about who Jesus really was. God wants everyone to stop and think about who Jesus is. The scene of Him standing beside Pilate, makes me think about who He is. He is the man who became the Lamb, who was slain, resurrected and became the King of Heaven, our High Priest, who is interceding for us every day.
There are many ways for believers to visualize and behold Jesus. While Christians are far from perfect, we are committed to following a perfect Savior. The image that still inspires me most, is to behold Jesus the man, who became the Lamb, who gave us His body, His blood, and His name above all names, so that we could receive the grace of forgiveness, mercy, healing and newness of life.
He is no longer suffering today, but He understands our suffering, and is always calling everyone to behold Him as their Savior. He now receives endless glory in heaven, as angels perpetually worship and praise Him saying, “Worthy is the Lamb of God and King of kings.
Lord, help us to behold you in our own special way. You suffered for us and understand all that we suffer. Thank you for the grace of your constant intercession for all people. Amen
