Behold the Man
Behold the Man
John 19:1–7
When Pilate presented Jesus before the crowd and declared, "Behold the Man," he unknowingly issued a divine summons. History, theology, and eternity converge in that moment because Scripture does not merely invite us to acknowledge Jesus; it commands us to behold him. To behold is not only to look, but to contemplate, examine, trust, and respond. Jesus Christ is not an abstract idea or a distant religious figure, but a real man in real time, with real flesh, real sorrow, and real glory. When we behold him in Scripture, we see his true identity revealed with clarity, authority, and beauty.
As a man to behold, Jesus Christ was tender, compassionate kind, gentle, loving, angry, authoritative, austere, listening, answering, healing, helping, hungry, fed, forgiving, wept, rejoiced, patient, longsuffering, direct, firm, faithful, and sinless. He is the perfect man as a son, brother, friend, husband, soldier, shepherd, and physician. He is everything man desires to be but fails to become.
Jesus revealed himself first as the Messiah, the promised Redeemer who would come to save his people from their sins. In John 4, Jesus plainly declared that he was the one whom Israel had long anticipated, the fulfillment of every shadow and the answer to every prophecy. He was not a revolutionary seeking political power, or a philosopher adding another voice to the noise of history, but the Messiah sent to rescue sinners from eternal death. The woman at the well was surprised that this weary, thirsty Jewish man was the long-awaited Savior. Yet, it is in this unexpected disclosure that we discover the humility and intention of God’s redeeming plan. Jesus is the Sinless Saviour.
Jesus, the Messiah, is also the Man of Sorrows. Isaiah 53 describes him as despised and rejected, acquainted with grief, and familiar with pain. His suffering was not accidental or tragic, but purposeful. He bore grief, carried sorrow, and endured rejection so that those who trust him would not bear the eternal weight of sin and guilt. Jesus did not come to avoid the sorrows of humanity, but to enter them fully and redeem them completely. His life was marked by tears, loneliness, misunderstanding, and betrayal, not because he lacked power or wisdom, but because he chose the sufferings of mankind over the pleasures of sin for a season. In the soul and spirit, he was equal with God, but in the likeness of flesh, he chose to be equal with those he came to save, but without sin. Jesus was a Suffering Servant.
Jesus is also the Mediator. There is no Mediatrix. The only one who can reconcile God and mankind is Jesus Christ, the Mediator. In 1 Timothy 2, Paul explains that there is "one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." No priest, no saint, no ritual, no denomination, no baptism, no good works, and no religion can stand in that place. Jesus is the mediator because he alone possesses both natures, human and divine, and because he alone offered himself as the sufficient sacrifice for sin. Without him, God is unreachable, and judgment is unavoidable, but through him, sinners are brought to God, forgiven, and reconciled. The cross is not merely a symbol of suffering; it is the place where mediation occurs and where mercy triumphs over damnation. Jesus is the Standing Son of God.
Finally, Jesus is the Master-Builder. Zechariah prophesied of The BRANCH who would build the temple of the LORD, sit upon his throne, and rule with perfect wisdom and righteousness. Jesus, is that BRANCH. He is the Builder and the Ruler of the coming millennial kingdom. He will come in his glory with all of his saints. He will come as the Sun of Righteousness with healing in his wings. He will construct a temple and a kingdom that will endure one thousand years of history on the earth, wherein dwells righteousness. The nation of Israel will be subject to him, the devil will be chained in hell, and the body of Christ will rule and reign with Christ as kings and priests with earned crowns of gold, silver, and precious stones. Those who suffer with him will also reign with him as joint heirs with Christ. Jesus will be the Shining Sceptre.
Therefore, we are commanded to behold the Man who is the Savior, the Servant, the Son of God, and the Scepter of Righteousness. We are called to behold him in his identity, his humility and suffering, in his glory, and authority. To behold Christ is not merely to admire him from a distance, but to trust him, to follow him, and to submit to him. The invitation to behold is both a summons and a promise, because those who fix their eyes upon Jesus find life, forgiveness, and hope. Behold the Man, that you might believe. Believe so that you will be saved.
John 19:1–7
When Pilate presented Jesus before the crowd and declared, "Behold the Man," he unknowingly issued a divine summons. History, theology, and eternity converge in that moment because Scripture does not merely invite us to acknowledge Jesus; it commands us to behold him. To behold is not only to look, but to contemplate, examine, trust, and respond. Jesus Christ is not an abstract idea or a distant religious figure, but a real man in real time, with real flesh, real sorrow, and real glory. When we behold him in Scripture, we see his true identity revealed with clarity, authority, and beauty.
As a man to behold, Jesus Christ was tender, compassionate kind, gentle, loving, angry, authoritative, austere, listening, answering, healing, helping, hungry, fed, forgiving, wept, rejoiced, patient, longsuffering, direct, firm, faithful, and sinless. He is the perfect man as a son, brother, friend, husband, soldier, shepherd, and physician. He is everything man desires to be but fails to become.
Jesus revealed himself first as the Messiah, the promised Redeemer who would come to save his people from their sins. In John 4, Jesus plainly declared that he was the one whom Israel had long anticipated, the fulfillment of every shadow and the answer to every prophecy. He was not a revolutionary seeking political power, or a philosopher adding another voice to the noise of history, but the Messiah sent to rescue sinners from eternal death. The woman at the well was surprised that this weary, thirsty Jewish man was the long-awaited Savior. Yet, it is in this unexpected disclosure that we discover the humility and intention of God’s redeeming plan. Jesus is the Sinless Saviour.
Jesus, the Messiah, is also the Man of Sorrows. Isaiah 53 describes him as despised and rejected, acquainted with grief, and familiar with pain. His suffering was not accidental or tragic, but purposeful. He bore grief, carried sorrow, and endured rejection so that those who trust him would not bear the eternal weight of sin and guilt. Jesus did not come to avoid the sorrows of humanity, but to enter them fully and redeem them completely. His life was marked by tears, loneliness, misunderstanding, and betrayal, not because he lacked power or wisdom, but because he chose the sufferings of mankind over the pleasures of sin for a season. In the soul and spirit, he was equal with God, but in the likeness of flesh, he chose to be equal with those he came to save, but without sin. Jesus was a Suffering Servant.
Jesus is also the Mediator. There is no Mediatrix. The only one who can reconcile God and mankind is Jesus Christ, the Mediator. In 1 Timothy 2, Paul explains that there is "one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." No priest, no saint, no ritual, no denomination, no baptism, no good works, and no religion can stand in that place. Jesus is the mediator because he alone possesses both natures, human and divine, and because he alone offered himself as the sufficient sacrifice for sin. Without him, God is unreachable, and judgment is unavoidable, but through him, sinners are brought to God, forgiven, and reconciled. The cross is not merely a symbol of suffering; it is the place where mediation occurs and where mercy triumphs over damnation. Jesus is the Standing Son of God.
Finally, Jesus is the Master-Builder. Zechariah prophesied of The BRANCH who would build the temple of the LORD, sit upon his throne, and rule with perfect wisdom and righteousness. Jesus, is that BRANCH. He is the Builder and the Ruler of the coming millennial kingdom. He will come in his glory with all of his saints. He will come as the Sun of Righteousness with healing in his wings. He will construct a temple and a kingdom that will endure one thousand years of history on the earth, wherein dwells righteousness. The nation of Israel will be subject to him, the devil will be chained in hell, and the body of Christ will rule and reign with Christ as kings and priests with earned crowns of gold, silver, and precious stones. Those who suffer with him will also reign with him as joint heirs with Christ. Jesus will be the Shining Sceptre.
Therefore, we are commanded to behold the Man who is the Savior, the Servant, the Son of God, and the Scepter of Righteousness. We are called to behold him in his identity, his humility and suffering, in his glory, and authority. To behold Christ is not merely to admire him from a distance, but to trust him, to follow him, and to submit to him. The invitation to behold is both a summons and a promise, because those who fix their eyes upon Jesus find life, forgiveness, and hope. Behold the Man, that you might believe. Believe so that you will be saved.
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