John 19:5-7 "Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man! (6) When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him. (7) The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God."
"Behold the man!" What was it about this man that caused these
people to hold such hatred and disdain toward Him? What had He done to stir
such anger within them? When you look at His life, you find nothing but love
and compassion toward others. Even from His birth, He lived under the
guidelines of the law, which law by the way they were holding to be their
assurance. If these Scribes and Pharisees had listened to any of the
people whose lives had been touched by Jesus, surely they knew He was so much
different than anyone else. Ahh, maybe that's the problem! He was
different from all others, but more specifically, He was different from them.
They held to the law as being their righteousness; yet, they had to know of
their many failures to keep the law. They had to know that deep within
themselves was the very sin nature which prevented them from truly being
righteous in the sight of God. Surely their own hearts would tell them that
this law, by which they were condemning Jesus, actually condemned them.
If they were truly honest with themselves, they knew there was fault within
each one of them. Now they hear Pilate proclaiming, "I find no fault in
Him." Pilate would then go on to say, "Take ye Him, and crucify
Him." These men, knowing the law, also knew Pilate was correct. They
had no basis by which to drive nails through the hands and feet of Jesus. They
knew there was no rightful accusation by which He could be counted as guilty.
"We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself
the Son of God." This was their final accusation hurled against
Jesus. This was the one by which Pilate finally consented to having Jesus
crucified. Yet, this was the accusation that was totally, absolutely
wrong. You see, He did not "make Himself to be the Son of God."
He is the Son of God and He made Himself of "no reputation."
He left heaven's throne to come to this earth. He, Who had been
accustomed to angels crying out "Holy, Holy, Holy," now stood before
an angry mob crying out, "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!"
"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me
to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the
brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the
prison to them that are bound." (Isaiah 61:1) He, Who had been
anointed by the Father as the Great High Priest, was now about to offer the
ultimate sacrifice unto God. He is the Great High Priest who now was
offering Himself as the Lamb of God as the perfect and sinless sacrifice for
the sins of His people. He was about to accomplish that which He came to do.
The deep love exhibited by Jesus during this time is the basis by which our
broken hearts can be mended, the chains that bind us in addiction can be
broken, and the good tidings of God's love are loudly proclaimed!
"Behold the man!" This man is the same as that baby which was
born and laid in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. Now,
there was no room for Him in the hearts of these Scribes and Pharisees and that
One which was laid in the manger is now to be offered unto the Father. And may
I add just now - He offered Himself unto the Father and the Father is the One
Who accepted that offering on our behalf. He indeed has eternally saved
His people from their sins!