John 19:1-16 Behold the man!
Pilate is still searching for a way to not kill Jesus. Scourging was a terrible punishment but it wasn’t death. The soldiers are permitted to mock and beat Jesus, but not to kill him. Then, with thorns causing blood to run down his face and his back flayed open, he is paraded out to show the Jews that Jesus is just a man, not a god, not a messiah, not even a criminal.
Pilate does not want to crucify an innocent man but the Jews will force his hand. They threaten to tell Caesar that Pilate let an insurrectionist get away. Pilate is not in Caesar’s good books; he can’t afford another bad report. Pilate’s choices are kill Jesus and maybe get in trouble or don’t and the Jews will make trouble for him. Between his conscience and his paycheck there was never a chance.
Pilate is supposed to be the one in charge with the weight of the Roman Empire behind him but on this day he is being pushed into doing what he does not want to do. Even the prisoner, now bleeding all over the floor in front of him, will not recognize his authority. Ultimately, Pilate is not in charge that day and he does the only thing he was ever going to do. He sends Jesus to the cross.
The Gospel of John highlights the divinity of Jesus but here we see his humanity. As Pilate says, “Behold the man.” Remember that Jesus was born into the world just as we were. Luke 2:52, ” And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” In other words he grew up. He learned to walk and talk just like us. He was tempted, just like us.
Hebrews 2:14-18, “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered, being [j]tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.
One of the earliest heresies was that Jesus only appeared to be a man but that he never really had a human body. This was because in the first couple centuries after Jesus ascended to heaven the eyewitnesses and their testimonies were irrefutable concerning all the miracles Jesus did. His divinity was easier to believe than his humanity.
Two thousand years later, it seems like it’s easier to disbelieve the miracles and think of Jesus as just a man. A wise man, a teacher, even a good man but just a man. We lose the sense of the miraculous life that lived in this world, yet without sin. Hebrews 4:15,” For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”
Do we face injustice? Jesus understands. Do we have physical pain, emotional pain, loss, betrayal? Jesus understands, he suffered it all. Am I ever tempted to take the easy way out? Jesus faced that temptation too.
In the end Jesus said, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do.” And that is most of the problem, we just don’t know what we’re doing. We don’t know why we keep hurting ourselves and others when that is not our intention. We don’t know how to fix things. We need Jesus to empathize with us and give us the compassionate grace and condescension that patiently but assuredly transforms us from misery to majesty. 2 Corinthians 3:18, ” But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
brotherpayne 