Behold Him

John 19:5 – Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, "Behold the Man!" (NKJV)

In a few previous devotionals, I've testified to the Lord's merciful and various healings in my life, for which I gratefully praise His ever-gracious name. Indeed, every merciful healing from our Lord Jesus of every kind in our lives is exceedingly precious, and is according to His eternal Word and purposes.

But the greatest healing of all is that before we are born again of Jesus' Spirit, we are all spiritually dead and spiritually blind, without hope of recovery, healing reconciliation, relationship with God, or seeing His kingdom. But now, through our belief in Jesus Lord and obedience to Him, amazingly, we are healed, rescued, redeemed, and restored to see Him clearly. Through His love, we have all received so much healing to our spirits, souls, emotions, and bodies by Jesus' amazing power, plus the many gracious forgivenesses, transformations, lifestyle changes, renewed minds, and so very much more, for which to praise and thank our Lord, including the wonderful gifts of His Holy Spirit Who leads us into all truth with needful spiritual insight. So, through this Easter season and beyond, let us use these healing changes and gifts to see, to "Behold the Man!" — to remember our Saviour Lord's sacrifice, and to bear witness to the extreme price paid by Him for all believers, and indeed for the whole world.

As we behold our Lord Christ, first in the Gethsemane garden, can we see His love-filled heart, brimming over with sorrow and grief so burdening Him that the bloody sweat bathes His body and drips to the ground? Can we see Him mockingly attired in the purple royal robe with the exceedingly painful, deeply stabbing thorn-crown adorning His head?

Then can we see ourselves alongside Him as He struggles under the awkward shape and crippling weight of His ruggedly-made cross, climbing the people-crowded, ascending way to Golgotha?

Dare we behold our Saviour Lord on the Calvary mount as the rough nails are hammered so cruelly into His loving hands, and into His beautiful, obedient feet that took Him far and wide to bring the "good news" of life eternal, healings, forgiveness, deliverances, and the raisings of the dead, of people's spirits, souls, and bodies?

Can we bear to see our suffering Lord's agony as He bore so willingly all the griefs, diseases, and sins of the whole world, including mine, including yours, because Father God "so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life"? (John 3:16 NKJV)

His sockets are out of joint; the rivers of blood are constantly oozing down His face from the pressed-down crown of thorns on His royal head; the bloody water spurts from the open wound in His side. Has His Father now forsaken His Son as all hell surrounds Him, Jesus our Saviour, bearing all our iniquities, sins, and separations from God? Yet, we hear the voice of all grace and mercy beg for the forgiveness of the people, the perpetrators of such agony of spiritual and natural death!

Has there ever been such ravishing aloneness thrust upon such a godly, holy, righteous, obedient one: such grief, heartbreak, and unequalled agony of soul?

Beloved in Christ, as we behold our Jesus Lord thusly, through our God-given spiritual eyes this weekend, perhaps we will want to reaffirm in refreshed zeal and resolve to love Him much more dearly and follow His Word much more obediently, with heart-filled thanks for the privileged blessings of our abundant salvation life, our callings, to His truths!

Prayer: Loving Saviour, how we adore You in all Your love, grace, and mercy, displayed unmistakably through Your sacrificial crucifixion, "who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2b NKJV) We desire so very much to live in the completeness of all You wrought and bought for us. Thank You, precious Lamb of God. Amen and Amen!

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