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The Man

#1 · August 25, 2004, 10:36 am

Quote from Forum Archives on August 25, 2004, 10:36 am
Posted by: henkf <henkf@...>
"Behold the Man!"

Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, "Behold the Man!" (John 19:5, NKJV)

He must have been quite a sight standing before that crowd. He had been through a lot: a sleepless night, humiliating arrest, hours of Inquisition, lied about, laughed at, slapped and punched, lashed by Roman scourges, a crown of thorns smashed into His scalp, a ridiculous purple robe—"the King of the Jews."

Not even Pilate, evil man that he was, wanted to put this pitiful Jew to death. He paraded Jesus before the blood-hungry multitude and tried to gain some pity from them. 'Look at him! He's not a threat to anyone.'

Pilate's words encourage us to take another look. We need to pause and rethink our own attitude about Jesus. We need to look deeper into the gospel story and see what the Bible really says about Him.

Behold the man! What did they see? Who was this man that stood before them in disgrace and dishonor?

Pilate saw yet another Jewish teacher—one more visionary in a nation where passions always ran high—guilty only of being more popular than the Jerusalem elite:

For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy. (Mark 15:10, NKJV)

To the chief priests He was a dangerous heretic who might cost them their position of authority:

If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation. (John 11:48, NKJV)

Who knows what the stirred-up mob was thinking! He was a disappointment that was sure:

Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?" . . . From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. (John 6:60-66, NKJV)

Not even His closest disciples who had seen Him perform many wonderful works—not even they were sure anymore:

Then they all forsook Him and fled. (Mark 14:50, NKJV)

And He stands before us even now. We still look on with wonder. What will we make of Him?

"Who do men say that I am?" (Mark 8:27, NKJV)

Behold the man! The people of Galilee, Samaria and Judea had many different ideas.

He was an outspoken rabbi who stood up to the hypocritical teachers of their day:

But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!

(Matthew 23:13, NKJV)

He was a poor man:

"Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." (Matthew 8:20, NKJV)

But He was not after wealth and offered no plan for economic prosperity:

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. . . ." (Matthew 6:19, NKJV)

He was bold:

Jesus answered him, "If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why do you strike Me?" (John 18:23, NKJV)

But He was not looking for earthly rule:

Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone. (John 6:15, NKJV)

To some, He was a meal-ticket. He burst their bubble on that (John 6:26-27). He was a healer that was often taken for granted (Luke 17:17). He was a handy mediator. Could He be used to take money from a brother (Luke 12:13)?

He was a hard teacher, sometimes very hard to understand:

Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." (John 2:19, NKJV)

He was highly demanding:

Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." (Matthew 19:21, NKJV)

He could be harsh, even to His closest followers:

But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men." (Matthew 16:23, NKJV)

To some, He was the hope for the nation (Luke 24:21); to others, He was the country's enemy (John 11:48).

"But who do you say that I am?" (Mark 8:29, NKJV)

Behold the man! Are you sure that He is what you think?

You know the catchy billboard slogan: "Jesus is the answer." Well, I suppose that depends upon the question. For most people of His day He was not the answer to their desires: no warrior-priest (Acts 1:6), no grand philosopher (1 Corinthians 1:23), no path to personal glory (Matthew 18:1).

He is not what most people want today. They may fool themselves—call themselves Christians— but He does not fill their wish. He is not, nor was:

1)   A great political reformer

Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here." (John 18:36, NKJV)

2)   A "do your own thing" pop-leader Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." (Matthew 16:24-25, NKJV)

3)   A feel-good, "don't worry about sin" psychologist Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you." (John 5:14, NKJV)

4)   A "faith only" preacher

"But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46, NKJV)

But we need Him for what He truly is. Behold the man with the crown of thorns, the robe, and the bruises. Behold the man who will not answer in His own defense. Behold the man who came from Heaven for the one purpose of suffering like this.

Who is He really?

1)   The true friend

Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. (John 15:13-14, NKJV)

2)   The comforter

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30, NKJV)

3)   The Savior

". . . just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:28, NKJV)

4)   The example—and the way—to achieve God's favor Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name .... (Philippians 2:5-9, NKJV)

Before you take the name of Christ make sure He is what you think He is, make sure He is what you want, make sure He is the answer to your hopes and dreams.

It is quite a responsibility to claim His name.

Take another look.

Behold the man!

CHAKAM SCHOOL OF THE BIBLE

http://www.worldoutreach.ca/CHAKAM/

…..
  ************************************  Weekly messages of hope and comfort for those who want to learn more about Jesus and His glorious plan for our lives.  To find out more about our ministry go to : worldoutreach.ca/sotn.htm  visit our "Ultimate Bible Quiz Site"  folsom.sk.ca/k4j/BQuiz/Quiz.html  *************************************                                                                              --  To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: [email protected]  

Posted by: henkf <henkf@...>

"Behold the Man!"

Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, "Behold the Man!" (John 19:5, NKJV)

He must have been quite a sight standing before that crowd. He had been through a lot: a sleepless night, humiliating arrest, hours of Inquisition, lied about, laughed at, slapped and punched, lashed by Roman scourges, a crown of thorns smashed into His scalp, a ridiculous purple robe—"the King of the Jews."

Not even Pilate, evil man that he was, wanted to put this pitiful Jew to death. He paraded Jesus before the blood-hungry multitude and tried to gain some pity from them. 'Look at him! He's not a threat to anyone.'

Pilate's words encourage us to take another look. We need to pause and rethink our own attitude about Jesus. We need to look deeper into the gospel story and see what the Bible really says about Him.

Behold the man! What did they see? Who was this man that stood before them in disgrace and dishonor?

Pilate saw yet another Jewish teacher—one more visionary in a nation where passions always ran high—guilty only of being more popular than the Jerusalem elite:

For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy. (Mark 15:10, NKJV)

To the chief priests He was a dangerous heretic who might cost them their position of authority:

If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation. (John 11:48, NKJV)

Who knows what the stirred-up mob was thinking! He was a disappointment that was sure:

Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?" . . . From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. (John 6:60-66, NKJV)

Not even His closest disciples who had seen Him perform many wonderful works—not even they were sure anymore:

Then they all forsook Him and fled. (Mark 14:50, NKJV)

And He stands before us even now. We still look on with wonder. What will we make of Him?

"Who do men say that I am?" (Mark 8:27, NKJV)

Behold the man! The people of Galilee, Samaria and Judea had many different ideas.

He was an outspoken rabbi who stood up to the hypocritical teachers of their day:

But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!

(Matthew 23:13, NKJV)

He was a poor man:

"Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." (Matthew 8:20, NKJV)

But He was not after wealth and offered no plan for economic prosperity:

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. . . ." (Matthew 6:19, NKJV)

He was bold:

Jesus answered him, "If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why do you strike Me?" (John 18:23, NKJV)

But He was not looking for earthly rule:

Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone. (John 6:15, NKJV)

To some, He was a meal-ticket. He burst their bubble on that (John 6:26-27). He was a healer that was often taken for granted (Luke 17:17). He was a handy mediator. Could He be used to take money from a brother (Luke 12:13)?

He was a hard teacher, sometimes very hard to understand:

Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." (John 2:19, NKJV)

He was highly demanding:

Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." (Matthew 19:21, NKJV)

He could be harsh, even to His closest followers:

But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men." (Matthew 16:23, NKJV)

To some, He was the hope for the nation (Luke 24:21); to others, He was the country's enemy (John 11:48).

"But who do you say that I am?" (Mark 8:29, NKJV)

Behold the man! Are you sure that He is what you think?

You know the catchy billboard slogan: "Jesus is the answer." Well, I suppose that depends upon the question. For most people of His day He was not the answer to their desires: no warrior-priest (Acts 1:6), no grand philosopher (1 Corinthians 1:23), no path to personal glory (Matthew 18:1).

He is not what most people want today. They may fool themselves—call themselves Christians— but He does not fill their wish. He is not, nor was:

1) A great political reformer

Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here." (John 18:36, NKJV)

2) A "do your own thing" pop-leader Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." (Matthew 16:24-25, NKJV)

3) A feel-good, "don't worry about sin" psychologist Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you." (John 5:14, NKJV)

4) A "faith only" preacher

"But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46, NKJV)

But we need Him for what He truly is. Behold the man with the crown of thorns, the robe, and the bruises. Behold the man who will not answer in His own defense. Behold the man who came from Heaven for the one purpose of suffering like this.

Who is He really?

1) The true friend

Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. (John 15:13-14, NKJV)

2) The comforter

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30, NKJV)

3) The Savior

". . . just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:28, NKJV)

4) The example—and the way—to achieve God's favor Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name .... (Philippians 2:5-9, NKJV)

Before you take the name of Christ make sure He is what you think He is, make sure He is what you want, make sure He is the answer to your hopes and dreams.

It is quite a responsibility to claim His name.

Take another look.

Behold the man!

CHAKAM SCHOOL OF THE BIBLE

http://www.worldoutreach.ca/CHAKAM/

…..

  ************************************  Weekly messages of hope and comfort for those who want to learn more about Jesus and His glorious plan for our lives.  To find out more about our ministry go to : worldoutreach.ca/sotn.htm  visit our "Ultimate Bible Quiz Site"  folsom.sk.ca/k4j/BQuiz/Quiz.html  *************************************                                                                              --  To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: [email protected]