“This is an ordeal!”
I wiped the copious sweat from my brow as I reached for a bottle of water. “Jake! This is waaay harder than you let on!”
“Sorry Bro! Didn’t know it was going to be so hot!”
I was helping my buddy. Jake, with his new home. To save money, he decided to lay the sprinkler system in his yard himself which meant digging trenches to lay the pipes and place the sprinkler heads. I didn’t know what I was getting into. It was the Southern California high desert and on this July 4th weekend, the temperature was already 100F at 9 AM.
Another hour passed and I began to get dizzy. I couldn’t continue but didn’t want to let my buddy down but I was ignoring the danger signs of heatstroke. Fortunately, Jake was a fellow physician and he realized what was happening. He immediately stopped and brought me into the house, hydrated me, and placed a cold towel on my head. I wanted to help my friend but my body broke down and I couldn’t continue, no matter how hard I willed it to happen.
So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!”
John 19:5 (ESV)
Ecce homo is the Latin translation of Pontius Pilate’s declaration, “Behold the man!”
Was this a cynical statement? Oh yes. Here was the ruler of the people mocking the person who called Himself the King of the Jews. Yet, He could be beaten and tortured like any other man. A King? There was nothing special about Him. He was just a man! He was broken, wasn’t He?
…looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:2 (ESV)
No one will ever know or understand the suffering and pain that Jesus Christ experienced. The entire weight of the sin of all mankind was borne upon His broken body. Most people would have given up or collapsed, but He willed Himself to continue because of His love for everyone who has and ever will live.
When I attempted to help my friend, I viewed it as a grueling hardship; Jesus Christ embraced it as joy. I tried to help a friend and my broken vessel failed him. The Body of Jesus Christ was broken on the Cross and He saved us.
Ecco homo. Behold the Man!
There is no Man like Him! Jesus Christ is wholly Man and wholly God.
Praise God!
Love and trust the Lord; seek His will in your life.
The Bereans Blog 