And the latter part of verse 5. John chapter 19 and the latter part of verse 5. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man. Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe, and Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man. And that is a subject before us this evening. Behold the man. When Pilate presented the Lord before the chief priests and the people declaring, Behold the man, it seems that all present at that event failed to register the profound significance of this statement. Behold the man was actually a statement made hundreds of years before, thus foretelling the Messiah. In Zechariah 6, 12 we read, then speak to him saying, thus says the Lord of hosts saying, behold the man whose name is the branch. From his place he shall branch out and he shall build the temple of the Lord. And now here is fulfillment. Behold the man, the Messiah, standing in the precincts of the temple in Jerusalem. But here a man rejected, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Here is the perfect man, having been mocked, having been scourged, having been spat upon, having upon his head a crown of thorns. But as they behold him and they look upon him in his sufferings, they cry, crucify him, crucify him. Furthermore, they cry, we have no king but Caesar. And this remains the cry of the old nature today, does it not? By nature, we are born in sin and shaped in iniquity. And by our old nature, There is a voice within us saying, we have no king but Caesar. Crucify him. We do not want by nature the Lord Jesus Christ in our life. Now, we know they shouted this demand, thinking to destroy Jesus, thinking to kill him, out of sight, out of mind, to punish him in their unbelief. But the wonder of it all this evening is despite their wickedness, despite their wrath, God and His wisdom remained in control. He was overruling all events to ensure from this place Christ will branch out. This is a wonderful assurance this evening when we wonder what is God doing in situations and how can God overrule? We go to Calvary, we go to the cross, and we see here in a wonderful way how while wicked men put Jesus upon the cross, God overruled. That that sacrifice, through his sufferings, might be the very means to satisfy God's justice. And from this place in Jerusalem, he will build his spiritual temple, the church of the living God in this world. And Calvary will be at the very heart of the gospel, as it is this evening, unto salvation, unto everyone that believes, everyone in the world that truly believes. Now, Pilate was a double-minded man. Nevertheless, he did make some true statements. I find no fault in this man. And despite the attitude in which Pilate, having scourged Jesus, stated, behold the man, these words are nevertheless wise. And they speak to us this evening, friends. They speak to us this evening. When you are discouraged, when you are oppressed, when maybe you're succumbing to self-pity, or you're feeling dry, and you're feeling the burden of your sin, behold the man. Behold the man. So it is for your encouragement and my own encouragement this evening, I direct your attention to this vital exercise of faith. When Paul was writing to the persecuted Christians, the Hebrew Christians, he writes in his letter to the Hebrews in chapter 12 and verse 1 some remarkable words which are of great comfort to the Lord's people. And in chapter 12 he says, wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus. the author and the finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Behold the Lamb. Here is the answer then this evening, friends. Behold the man. Behold the man. Well, it was this exercise of faith that John the Baptist directs us to at the very beginning of his public ministry. Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Behold the Lamb of God. for the sacrifice to be sufficient for you and for me. It must be pure and holy and undefiled and to absolutely satisfy God's justice. And here we have it. Behold the Lamb of God. The sacrifice must be sufficient and therefore for it to be sufficient it must be provided to us from God himself. So God gave from himself his only beloved Son. Behold the Lamb of God. Here is God's provision for needy sinners coming from his heart of love. And my dear friends, if you ever doubt the love of God, behold the Lamb. Behold the Lamb. Now behold means to take serious consideration. It means here, in the original, we need to stop. Just for a few moments this evening, God is calling us through His Word to stop and take time to think and to look by faith to Jesus. Behold the Lamb of God. Behold the man. Here is God's greatest gift to this undeserving world. And it still remains His gift today, this evening. It's a gift of His grace. It's a gift of His mercy. It's a gift of His love. Here is God's wisdom manifested in a person, His only beloved Son. And when sin overwhelms us, as it does at times, and circumstances and affliction and trials overwhelm us, What to do, friends? Well, here is the answer. The answer to the strength to persevere. The answer to deal with our sin lies in a person. the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. And for those who truly trust in Him, we are told, the government shall be upon His shoulder. Isn't that wonderful? That as we come to the Lord Jesus and we lay our load upon Him and we look to Him and behold Him, Jesus undertakes to carry us to bear our burden, to deal with the burden of our sin, to walk with us in the trial, and when we are too weak even to walk, He will carry us like a lamb, as the Good Shepherd. Behold the man, here in his security, Herein is the hope. Herein is the refuge for sinners. He undertakes to ensure your security, friends, as you trust in Him. He leads. He goes before us even in the valley. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. He's with His people in the valley and on the mountain. He understands your case. He knows. He knows. Behold the man, a refuge for sinners then. The gospel makes known. It's found in the merits of Jesus alone. Behold the man. What about his character then? What about his ministry? How may we describe the ministry of the Lord Jesus in a way which assures us this evening that comes to where we are in our own particular case and condition that we find ourselves in? Well, in Matthew 12, 18, there was a quotation from the prophet Isaiah that was with reference to the forthcoming Messiah. Behold my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom my soul is well pleased. What sort of person is he? I will put my spirit upon him and he shall show judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not strive nor cry. Neither shall any man hear his voice in the street. A bruised reed. shall he not break? And the smoking flax shall he not quench till he sent forth judgment unto victory? And in his name shall the Gentiles trust? And that's where we come this evening, friends. We are Gentiles. And the Lord says, in his name, behold the man, behold the Lamb of God, in his name shall Gentiles trust. Are we part of that prophecy this evening? when tempted to act perhaps in your own spirit and rise up in your own self-justification, behold the man and remember when he was reviled, he reviled not again, but committed it to him that judges righteously. When tempted to be harsh on a person struggling in the way, remember this man, this perfect man, A bruised reed shall he not break, The smoking flax shall he not quench. Behold the man restoring, caring, And when you are seeking wisdom, Remember, a greater than Solomon in all his wisdom is here. The Queen of the South made an incredibly long journey. Why did she come to see Solomon? She'd heard of his wisdom. And it was his wisdom that attracted her. She wanted to learn. She wanted to see it for herself. But a far greater than Solomon is here this evening. The Lord Jesus, the one in whom is hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Are we willing to take a journey to Jesus this evening? That we might find in him the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, my dear friends. And when you are seeking assurance, stability and direction, to rest in, a person to rest in, to have confidence in, to rely upon, to rely your whole life upon, with absolute assurance, absolute confidence, that He will never leave you, nor forsake you, and a person that has your best interests at heart. You see, the Gospel is a doctrine, it's a truth, but it's much more than a truth. It's a person. It's truth in a person. And we are called to know Jesus. We're called to come into relationship, not just with the truth, but with truth alive, the one who is the way, the truth and the life, who is the cornerstone of the church. Behold the man upon whom we can rely. Behold our lay in Zion, a chief cornerstone, elect, precious. And he that believeth in him is not confounded, not confused, not condemned. Here is a wonderful promise then to those who believe in Him. Despite circumstances that may contradict this statement, in experience the promise will remain true. Ultimately, the Lord's people who behold the man, trusting in Him will be more than conquerors through Him that loved them. Remember, a Christian is a person who is looking beyond time to eternity. We are pilgrims. Those of us who are in the way, we are pilgrims in a journey. And this journey is just for a little time. And we're walking to eternity. Everybody is actually walking to eternity, but there are just two destinies. And when we trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, and all our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness, we're on a journey. And the end of that journey is glory, heaven. And the victory is certain. Why? Because you will never fail or stumble or let God down. No. The victory is certain because of Christ. The victory is certain because of the covenant of God's grace in Christ Jesus to needy sinners. The victory is certain because of Christ. Behold the man, he has done it all. He will fulfill his redemption purposes. Thanks be to God then that giveth us the victory in our Lord Jesus Christ. And we are given a foretaste of that victory while here upon earth the Lord Jesus Christ was transfigured on the Mount of Transfiguration, so called. And there he was, glorified before Peter, James and John, talking with Moses, talking with Elijah. And they were talking about the sufferings to come, the wonder of it all. In that holy moment, that pure moment here on earth, when Jesus in his purity, Moses and Elijah now in their purity, are talking with Jesus. A perfect conversation, a holy conversation. And what do they choose to speak about? Calvary. Behold the man. And so it is for us this evening. Behold the man. And we know that the Father called from heaven, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, hear him. And we know that the disciples when they heard this sound, this voice, they were terrified, they went down onto the ground in fear and trembling. And we read that Jesus came. this compassionate one, this one that knows exactly where we are, this one that stoops right down to where we are. And when we're on our knees, Jesus comes to us. And they look up, and they see no man but Jesus only. And there he is, the fulfillment of the law under Moses, the fulfillment of the prophets under Elijah. Jesus, the one above all others, everything in a person, Jesus only. But we come again to this statement of Pilate, behold the man. Now here is Jesus. He's in a totally different situation, but it's the same person, friends. He'd been glorified on the Mount of Transfiguration. The glory that he had within himself, who he was, It was evidence to Peter, James, and John, and Moses, and Elijah. But here is the same Jesus, the same man. But look at him now. Look at this man now, this evening. Think about this, friends. Here is the perfect Son of God made man. And he's bruised. And he's beaten. And he's bleeding. and he's scourged, and he has upon his head a crown of thorns, and he's despised, and he's rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, the perfect holy Son of God made man, walking a pathway of suffering towards the cross at Calvary, not for himself but for you, as a needy sinner. all part of his obedience, his life of obedience to the permissive will of the Father. Behold the man being hung upon a cross, meekness, no resistance, led as a lamb to the slaughter before its shearers is done. Behold the Lamb of God on that cross entering into that great transgression of grace. wherein the punishment for the sins of all his people are laid upon him. Behold the man smitten of God and afflicted." Smitten of God. Think about this, friends. Why was he smitten? He'd done nothing wrong. He'd obeyed his father's will perfectly. He had no sin of his own. Why was he smitten? for you and for me." That's why he was smitten. Smitten of God. Behold the man entering into that experience of feeling forsaken of God. The pain of the why. Why hast thou forsaken me? Speaking as the perfect man. But then entering into that period of darkness, the three hours of darkness, and coming out of that darkness, the cry of victory, it is finished. What a glorious man is this, who did all on behalf of needy sinners. He went before us and for us. He has done it all. Here is, and I say this with reverence, here is the world's strongest man who has gotten the victory over sin and death and hell. This was the strongest cry the world has ever heard. The greatest cry the world has ever heard. It is finished. Nothing can be taken away and nothing can be added. And if you trust in those words, and who spoke them, the person of the words of it is finished, it'll take you to glory. It is finished. Now finally this evening, by way of application, my dear grandson recently sold me his iPhone at a very good price. The deal was that he had to put the apps on for me, transfer the apps so I could use it, because I'm not very technical-minded like grandchildren are. Well, he dropped it. And this was the problem. It no longer took selfies. Now, this was a serious problem. A phone that no longer took selfies. Well, for young people, that's a major problem, because selfies is very much part of the program of the use of the television, of the phone. A phone that does not allow you to take a picture of yourself is a problem. But this evening, I commend you to look beyond yourself to Jesus and behold the man. Far better than taking selfies of yourself, in terms of constantly having introspective thoughts, constantly thinking about yourself. That is not the answer, friends. That really is not the answer for you. People might, therapists might say, that is the answer. Keep looking within yourself, digging and digging and digging into the past. But the Word of God says, no, look unto Jesus. Come just as you are, as a needy sinner. He invites you to come to Him. He will not turn you away. The answer is looking out of yourself unto Christ. That's the answer this evening. Every one of us this evening are sinners before our holy God. And there's none righteous, no, not one, friends. We've been bitten by Satan the serpent. And we've been infected in our inner being with sin. And the Lord Jesus, in dealing with this problem of all problems, makes reference to this in an event back in the Old Testament in the wilderness. And there the children of Israel had complained to God. And they were bitter, and they were angry, and there was hatred. that was coming out against God despite his wonderful care. And in God's justice, he sent fiery serpents into the camp. And many were bitten and dying in their unbelief. And the Lord commanded Moses to mould a similar fiery serpent. So Moses moulded one in brass and fixed it to a pole that all could see. Everyone had the possibility, like this evening, to look to Jesus, to look to the serpent, but only those who looked lift. Those that kept looking around themselves and in themselves and all about their situation, sadly they died in their unbelief, in their rebellion. But those that looked lift. Behold the man. What does it really mean then in conclusion this evening? What does it really mean? to behold the man in a saving way. Well, firstly, it means that the Spirit of God will start this wonderful work within you as he quickens, regenerates, and one of the first fruits of this work, this step, will be to behold a holy God, and you will realize that God is holy. Absolutely holy. think rightly about God. Secondly, you will begin to think rightly about yourself. And you will realize that, actually, I'm not such a nice person after all. I'm a rebel. I've offended God. But then The wonder of it all, the Spirit of God grants to us the gift of repentance of our sin and we look away from ourselves and from the world and we look to Jesus and we come to Him in repentance. But we come in such a way that it's not some of you and some of Jesus. It's not some of self and some of Jesus. It's all of Jesus. None but Jesus can do helpless sinners good. So you come with your whole being, all that you are, all the baggage, all the sin, you just come as you are, because Jesus has not come to save the righteous, but sinners to repentance. This is not a cursory glance. This is not doing God a favor by coming. This is not a religious exercise. This is a look that includes eternity. On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. To whom else can I go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. Behold the man that has done everything for needy sinners, in their place and in their stead. We sometimes sing there is life for a look at the crucified one. The dying thief looked, by faith to the Lord. Lord, remember me. The centurion, having observed Christ and the events said, certainly this was a righteous man. At the end of the world, we are told that every eye shall see him. And in that solemn day, believers and unbelievers will all be looking in the same direction. There was no one that could not see Jesus. No one would be allowed not to see Jesus. It says in the Word of God, every eye shall see Him. Every eye shall behold Him. There'll be people wanting the rocks to fall down upon them as they look at the glory of the judge of the whole earth. But believers will look to Him and they will rejoice. Here is my Saviour. Here is my Lord. the King of kings and Lord of lords. What does he mean to you this evening? The hymn writer John Newton said this, if asked what of Jesus I think, though still my best thoughts are but poor, I say he's my meat and my drink, my life and my strength and my store, my shepherd, my husband, my friend, my savior from sin and from thrall, my hope, from beginning to end, my portion, my Lord, and my all. Amen. We conclude by singing hymn number 125. Hymn number 125. Immortal honors rest on Jesus' head, my God, my portion, and my living bread. Number 125. Immortal honours rest on Jesus' head. My God, my portion, and my living bread. In Him I live, upon Him cast my head. He saves from death, destruction and despair. He is my refuge in each day's distress. The Lord my strength and glorious righteousness With floods and flames He leads me safely on, And daily makes His suffering goodness known. My every need He richly will supply, Nor will His mercy ever let me die. If that was a treasure, O Divine, And matchless grace has made that treasure mine, ♪ To God and praise him more ♪ ♪ His guilty straights, his majesty adore ♪ ♪ Him build his sons on earth, of his fruit shall be ♪ O pray His voices and all His witnesses see. Gracious God and Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for Thine only Beloved Son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. We thank and praise Thee for all that He has done for needy sinners, We thank Thee that He came from heaven to this earth and fulfilled all that was required of Him and is now back in glory, risen from the dead, ascended up on high, ever living to make intercession for all those that come unto God through Him. O gracious God, we thank Thee for Calvary. We thank Thee that the Lord Jesus Christ was willing to go to the cross and to shed His precious blood and to give His body lifted up upon the cross. And as we come to partake of the bread, we thank Thee for His body. We thank Thee, Lord, for His willingness to obey Thy will absolutely and perfectly as the Savior. We thank Thee for His precious blood so signified by the wine that we will drink, reminding us that all our sins are washed away through the Lord Jesus. and be with our brother as he leads us now in the Lord's Supper. And may we know that blessed fellowship of brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus. Cleanse us, we pray, in Jesus' precious name. Amen.