September 2 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). Jesus stands before an angry mob, dressed in mock-royal robes, with a crown of thorns pressed on His bleeding brow. He is bruised and pale from His repeated flogging. Turning to the mob, Pilate exclaims, "Behold the Man!" Pilate's introduction was intended to excite pity and dramatize the absurdity of the Sanhedrin's charge against such a pitiable figure. Quite unintentionally, unwittingly Pilate does what he had not intended do--call attention to history's most imposing Man, Jesus Christ. In the words, "Behold the Man!", Pilate uttered a profound spiritual and theological truth. The prisoner before him was no ordinary man. He was the greatest Man that has ever lived. He was the eternal Word that had become flesh (see John 1:1-14); the Son of Man (see Matthew 1:1; Mark 2:10) and at the same time, the Son of God (see Luke 1:35). This extraordinary Man, is the Man Christ Jesus. As Man, Jesus possessed a natural body. Physically, He was like any other man (see Matthew 26:38). He had the bodily, spiritual, and emotional faculties of humanity. He was born of a woman and grew up as a normal child (see Luke 2:5, 7, 52). He was a man of sorrows (see Isaiah 53). Though fully man, Jesus was free from hereditary depravity or any sinful acts (see John 8:46). This extraordinary Man is one human and divine person--joined, yet divided; distinct, yet united. As man, Jesus knows all about human needs; as God, He can supply all those needs. May we indeed, "Behold the Man!" "If you strive to live as He lived, you are saying to the world, 'Behold the Man of Calvary.' By precept and example, you are leading others in the way of righteousness."--In Heavenly Places, p. 233. My Prayer Today: Lord, by faith, I behold the Man through whom I have redemption. Amen.