John 19:5: “Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, ‘Behold the Man!'”

March 26th, 2022 by Pastor Ed in devotional

The Roman Procurator Pontius Pilate probably spoke to the crowd in Latin, and in that language this statement was only two words, “Ecce Homo.” Little did Pilate know the exact weight of what he said in that moment. From our vantage point in history, looking back, there is a beautiful prophetic symmetry found in this statement. Zechariah had prophesied these same words more than 500 years earlier: “Thus says the LORD of hosts . . . ‘Behold, the Man whose name is the BRANCH!'” (Zech. 6:12). Twice in Isaiah and twice in Jeremiah the Lord is referred to as “The Branch.”

We believe Pilate said this because he was utterly in awe and impressed with Jesus’ character. He was saying that they, the crowd, should look carefully at a real man. No doubt the guards had told him how Jesus had silently taken the brutal scourging they had inflicted on Him. Rome had a reputation for routinely using scourging to get confessions and names of accomplices out of their victims. But in this case, the names Jesus would have to have given would be your name and mine.

Pilate was trying to evoke sympathy from the crowd by displaying Jesus this way. No doubt His face was bruised, bloodied, and swollen. He was wearing the crown of thorns, and, according to the prophecy of Isaiah 53, His beard had been pulled out. We imagine awe in Pilate’s voice, meaning, “I have never seen such a man.” But this should impact each believer who reads it in a more personal way. Behold the man is a command to each and every man, woman, and child alive. We are all commanded to “Behold” or carefully look at and consider this Man and come to a conclusion about who He is. Is He our personal Savior? Have we confessed our sin, turned, and accepted His rule over our life as Lord and Master? Look and see the God-Man who died for you and me.

“Thank You, LORD, that You still desire a personal relationship with broken sinners like us this day. Cleanse us from our sins and use us we ask in Jesus’ name.”