Rēad to Read …Again
Daily Reading: John 19-21
John 19:5
Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man!
What a scene. Jesus standing there, blood streaming down His face and pouring out of the wounds ripped into His body by the horrible scourging He endured. Those hard as nail thorns pressed down into His cranium. His hair plucked off. The contusions on His face and limbs from the beating He suffered. Mockingly clothed in a purple robe. Purple being the color of royalty, richness, and refinement. But there He was: beaten, bloodied, and booed.
Then, the most unexpected of voices makes an announcement, a proclamation really. From the lips of Pilate comes the phrase that could be considered the theme of the entire Bible.
Behold the man!
When this was first spoken the Lord was before them. Humbled, hurting, and human, He stood there. The man. Every bit as much God as though He were not man, and every bit as much a man as though He were not God. As a man He hungered, thirsted, felt pain, grew tired, worked, stayed on course, obeyed His Father, fought the fight of righteousness, and condescended to men of low estate. In His humanity the Lord became a Lamb. Yes, there were glimpses of His undeniable power and zeal, but in all things, He was the lowly Lamb of God. What a man!
In the Gospels He is beheld in four different portraits.
Matthew presents Him as the King of the Jews.
Mark presents Him as the faithful servant of Jehovah.
Luke presents Him as the Son of man.
John presents Him as the Son of God.
This man, Jesus Christ, was superiorly unique in many ways. After all, who could say and prove that He was/is:
The Light of the world
The Door of the sheep
The Bread of life
The True Vine
The Way
The Truth
The Life
The Resurrection
He was all this and so much more. Indeed, Behold the man!
Dr. William T. Howe
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