When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha. And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King! But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar. Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away. (John 19:13-16)
Think about the summons that came from Pilate to the Jews. He summoned them to the courtyard and then summoned them to behold their king. He spoke far more than he realized, and we won’t speculate on how much he knew or his motives in stating what he did. Picture it all. The betrayal, arrest, Peter’s denial, the visit with the High Priest, Pilate, Herod, and back to Pilate—Jesus had a long night. This all speaks to us and verifies the identity of Jesus. He was being tried because he was the Son of God. The people, the disciples, many could have told others who he was. The High Priest said “I adjure you” to tell me who you are. When Jesus answered that he was the Messiah, the people could have run up and bowed down. They didn’t. God knew how people would respond to Jesus and what they would do it to.
Jesus was ragged, torn, and bleeding, with a voice weak from all he’d been through. Shivering with pain, he staggered into the presence of the people. Pilate said “behold the man.” Indeed he was God, the man Christ Jesus. He was the man who would be our Savior. Our stripes were laid on him. How awful it would have been to behold a man in such physical condition. Had we lived then, we would have rejected him too. We are a rebellious lot. We do contrary to the will of God. We live according to the flesh more than the spirit. We complain more than we pray.
Jesus was before the people in this condition. Pilate was in his procurator robes. He told the people to pay attention and look at Jesus. Perhaps he was trying to show he was not a threat. Jesus didn’t come to upset the governments of this world but to set up a kingdom of the heart. He came to throw out the devil and overthrown sin in the hearts and lives of people. The throne that is occupied by sin is what Jesus wants to sit on. This is what we are summoned to see. Two thousand years later we are again being told to “behold your king.” Through all of it, even being rejected, Jesus was still declared the King. You can love him, hate him, believe him, disbelieve him—whatever you do with Jesus, he is brought forth before you as the Savior who suffered to the death and is distinctly declared your King.
“Behold the man.” You must believe that God became man. He was like us, but he didn’t sin. Jesus had no sins to die in. He had sins to die for—our sins. Pilate looked a lot better than Jesus that day. The devil always looks better. Pilate had the robes, the crown, and the lifestyle that appeals to people. We still have to behold the king. He looked like he was losing. He had healed others, yet he stood bleeding and didn’t heal himself. Through his agony and suffering, he prepared a throne of redemption that would reign over sin and the devil.
Pilate told Jesus he had power to kill him or release him. By his suffering Jesus has power to release the soul and remove the torments of sin. Behold your king! In his worst moment, he made a throne. He’s on it now. The only way you can be saved is through Jesus. The people in that day rejected Jesus. Except you believe that this man is your King, you won’t see heaven. Your sins won’t be forgiven outside of this man doing it. Jesus reconciled God to man and man to God by his death and resurrection. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. Without Jesus there is no removal of the devil, no removal of our Adam nature, and no freedom from sin. Jesus could have destroyed everyone that day, but he chose to hang in there and complete the mission.
Behold your king. Let the thorn-crowned king sit on your throne. Only then can you go free. Sin does not have to have dominion over you. We make a mess when we take charge. The only time our life makes sense is when Jesus is on the throne of our heart.
What are you going to do with this summons? What are you going to do with the King? You have no future without him. Will you say “away with him” as the crowd did that day or will you receive him? He died for you. Give yourself to him.
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53)
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 