"Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, 'Behold the Man!' ... And he said to the Jews, 'Behold your King!'"
(JOHN 19:5, 14, NKJV)

Psalm 22:1-31
Pilate, the ultimate organization man, was struggling about condemning a man he could clearly see was innocent. He admitted that he “found no fault in him.”


He had Jesus – already scourged nearly to death – paraded before the crowds and wearing the cruelly painful crown of thorns. Perhaps Pilate hoped that this pathetic sight might soften the peoples’ hearts. He says, “Behold the man!” – one of the most poignant phrases in the Bible. And yet, we dare not pity Jesus as Pilate might. We are to pause and consider, to behold, God’s perfect man, glorious in His utter human weakness. Luther wrote, “This man is God,” and nowhere does He shine more as God than at this point.


So, a prophet despite himself, Pilate proclaimed, “Behold your King.” Pilate showed them a man so degraded that He could hardly be seen as a threat to them. But God’s purpose is to have us behold our King who is never more regal than when He exercises power through mingled divinity and humanity, in total self-giving, vulnerability and suffering.



Scripture Focus

Psalm 22:1-31

Insight

JESUS REIGNED MAGNIFICENTLY IN HIS PASSION. THE GREATEST ACT OF "WEAKNESS" BECAME THE MOST POWERFUL ACT OF HISTORY: THE SALVATION OF MANKIND!

Bible In A Year

  • 1 Chronicles 24-25
  • Psalm 5
  • Matthew 6-7

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