Behold The Man
WRITTEN BY DREW MATZ
“For he will be our way out of this current darkness, as he has always been and always will be.”
A Reflection on the Most Holy Weekend
“Pilate went out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!” When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him.”
John 19:4-6
The winter we just endured felt as if it lasted longer than any winter we can remember. It’s no news that things are tense. A year’s long pandemic in the midst of social strife has caused many people to retreat within themselves, to reappraise what is important to them, and to be forced to confront ultimate questions in a culture that deemphasizes notions of truth and purpose. Thus, it is quite an occasion for the Lenten season this year as the Christian community looks again to the Lord, casting our eyes upon the crucified savior just as those wandering in the desert looked upon the serpent Moses lifted up.
As Christians, we rejoice in the hope and joy we have in Christ. It is perhaps more confusing for us then, that there should be those who are not so much opposed as they are indifferent. While there have been many this past year who have been shaken by the illusion of their own immortality, there are still plenty yet who are rather unmoved – who still go about life without reflection, without direction, without God.
Pilate was a man concerned chiefly with his earthly vocation. He, like most Romans, was a man of the law. He hadn’t the time for the inefficient squabbles of the Jews. If anything, he seemed rather annoyed to have to play umpire in this religious dispute (John 18:31). For him, he wanted no part in the matter. His interrogation of Jesus sheds light on his mindset as his questions to Jesus get turned back against him: “For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice” (John 18:37). Being the good politician he was, Pilate dodges the question, asking “what is truth?” (18:38).
It is timely that we should be reading about Pilate at this time of the Church year, for he presents a challenge and exhortation to all of us as we look forward to that blessed day of resurrection. On that first Good Friday, Pilate presents to us Jesus – beaten, mocked, ridiculed, and forsaken by the world. Not much of a man, much less a king. The crowd agreed. This man’s throne? A cross. His crown? Thorns. Nothing to see here, world. Better luck next time.
It is a good analogy of our current malaise. Politicians concerned only for themselves and the preservation of whatever stake they have in this miniscule life. Promises that they cynically know they can never keep – promising things they don’t even have. Wisdom is a tough thing to come across, but we might find some hidden wisdom in Pilate’s words.
“Behold the Man!” Yes, indeed. Look upon him as his arms are stretched out and nailed to the tree. Look upon him as he is lifted up, casted outside the walls of the congregation of Israel. Behold him as he is suspended between heaven and earth – like Jacob’s ladder with angels ascending and descending, bridging the gap between heaven and earth. For you must recognize, like the centurion, “truly this was the son of God” (Matt 27:54). We must confess, along with Pilate’s wife, that this was no mere man (Matt 27:19), but God-made-man, fully human, fully divine. Behold…the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
Behold.
Behold.
Behold.
For this man you look upon has died with your sin bore out in his body. He has descended into your depths, my darkness, our death. God himself has tasted the full darkness of the human experience, so that we may encounter him in those depths in our own lives. Thus, he is present in our own crosses, in our own trials and tribulations. And he doesn’t stop there, for he does not remain in the depths. No. He is risen again in glory, trampling upon death itself and bestowing life to those in the grave.
So yes, this weekend, behold the man suspended upon the tree. Behold the man buried in Joseph’s tomb. And behold your risen savior, and take not your eyes off of him. For he will be our way out of this current darkness, as he has always been and always will be. He will lead us to himself, and in doing so will lead us to one another.