Behold the Man!

“One of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth..." (John 19:34,35).

In the providence of God, John, standing at the foot of the cross, saw something that others may not have seen: When the soldier pierced Jesus side with his spear, blood and water flowed out of the wound. John swore it was true. He saw it with his own eyes! 

Why was this sighting significant? It indicated that Jesus was an authentic, flesh and blood man. On another occasion, John wrote similarly, "This is he who came (a reference to the incarnation) by water and blood" (1John 5:6-8). Jesus was a material man, just like you and me.

And yet he was God! Not a half-god, half-man hybrid, but one who, though fully man, was fully God. 

In the 5th century, a council at Chalcedon (a city in Asia Minor) struggled to hammer out a creedal statement that would validate this logical "fallacy" (It violates the Law of Noncontradiction). The participants in the council could not explain the phenomenon; they could only state it: “We confess that in these latter times the only begotten Son of God appeared in two natures, without confusion, without division, without change, without separation, the distinction of natures not having been taken away by the union.” 

This formulation is helpful to some, I suppose, though I must say it's cold comfort to me. For me, the incarnation, though a profound mystery, means that Jesus, because he was a man, thoroughly understands my discouragements.

Picture this: Jesus standing before an angry mob, a broken man. "Ecce homo!" Pilate shouts to the crowd. "Behold the man!” Exactly. Not a super-human Olympian god, but a weary, disheartened man. Just like me. If that were not true he would be of no help to me this morning. 

Another writer said this: "(Jesus has been through everything we've been through.) Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:15,16).

David Roper

3.25.19