Here Is the Man!

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
John 19 (click the link)


KEY VERSES:
1 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2 The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe 3 and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face.

4 Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” 5 When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!” (John 19:1-5, NIV)


REFLECTIONS:
As we know, Genesis 1 tells the story of God creating the heavens and the earth. He makes the sea, the dry land, the plants, the fish, the birds and the animals. This is his world. This is the world over which he now rules. This is the world he wants to respond to him in love and gratitude. 

And so, God places within this new world, a living, breathing image of himself. He creates man in his image and likeness, and places him into this new world to serve as his representative. God's desire was that man might rule in his place, displaying his wisdom and love. His plan was that man might represent him in the fullest possible sense, so that creation would come under his rule, and in so doing honor him as the Creator of all things.

This is all described in wonderful detail in Genesis 1:26-28: 

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 

So God created mankind in his own image,

in the image of God he created them;

male and female he created them. 

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” 

Within the six-day creation story, mankind is created on the sixth day—or, Friday. After that, God rests. The work is complete.

 

Now, as we know, man utterly failed. Rather than displaying God's character, wisdom, and love, man lived selfishly and brought a curse upon the whole world.

 

…………

 

Fast forward to John 1. When we read the opening of John's gospel, we can't help but notice that it sounds an awful like Genesis 1. And, this is precisely because John structures his gospel as a re-telling of the creation story—the new creation story that came about through the life and ministry of Jesus. In John 1:14, we read: 

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. 

The one who was with God, the one who was God, alongside the Father reflecting his character and love, became a man. God stuck with his original plan of having man represent him in the world—only now, the man he chooses to represent him is Jesus, his Son. He sends Christ as the ultimate image-bearer. “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation” (Colossians 1:15). Jesus does, in the fullest possible sense, what God had desired of man all along—he serves as a showcase, displaying God's character, wisdom, and love.

 

In God's way of thinking, sending Jesus to dwell among us was the most utterly appropriate thing to do. It was like the sixth day of creation, only more so. Christmas isn't simply the story of Jesus being born. It's the revolutionary tale, the extraordinary news that God's image has come into the world as part of God's new creation project.

 

…………

 

Fast forward to John 19. In this chapter, we find ourselves on Friday morning—on the sixth day of the week—looking at the Roman governor and his prisoner. Pontius Pilate allows the soldiers to dress the prisoner up as a king, of sorts. But the soldiers' mocking—the crown of thorns and the slaps to the face—tell us what they really think of such a claim. And then, Pilate says the words that haunt us: “Here is the man” (verse 5). He undoubtedly spoke these words with disdain, mocking Jesus as the supposed king of the Jews. But his words, similar to Caiaphas' statement in 11:50, hold a cryptic message of truth. John undoubtedly records Pilate's scornful words of “praise” because they hold a truth, hidden deep within them, that's essential to John's gospel story.

 

“Here is the man!” Here is the true man, the true image of the true God. Here is the embodiment of God, the one who has made the invisible God visible. Here is the living and breathing image of God who has come into the world so that all creation might know what the Creator and Ruler looks like. Here is the true king. And all his rebel subjects can do is mock, and slap, and scream for his blood. “He claimed to be the Son of God,” they say (verse 7).

 

Having read John's gospel up to this point, we recognize that Jesus has indeed behaved as the one who reflects God in the world. Through his teachings and his "signs," he has revealed his intimate knowledge of the Father. And what's he got in return? Nothing but disdain, insults, accusations, mockings, and beatings. But—and here's the new thing, the thing not mentioned in Genesis 1—this is all part of what it means to be God's image, planted in a territory which belongs to God but which is in rebellion against him. “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him” (John 1:10-11).

 

When the living, loving God comes in person, in the person of his own Son, to live among us rebels, in the world he made and still loves, the appropriate form for him to take is not the superhero, sweeping through the rebel state with horses and chariots, defeating the rebellion in a blaze of glory. Instead, the appropriate form for him to take is the form Jesus has now taken. The king of the Jews, crowned with thorns. The innocent king, the true man, the image of God who told the truth and was accused of blasphemy. 

 

“Here is the man!” These words hang over the entire chapter as Jesus goes to the cross. It's as if John is saying: This is the true reflection of God. This is what it means that Jesus, the eternal Word, became flesh and dwelt among us. Look at this man, and you'll see your living, loving, bruised, and bleeding God. Our God is a God of self-giving love, and when we see Jesus—the ultimate man, the representative of God, the image of the Creator—we see nothing but self-giving love. A perfect reflection of the Father.

 

 

POINT OF ACTION:

Throughout the years, many artists have sought to portray this scene from John 19. Here is Antonio Ciseri’s painting “Ecce Homo.” (Ecce homo is the Latin phrase translated as “Here is the man.”) 

 

 

 

After seeing countless portrayals of Jesus' birth over the last month or so, almost all of which show him donned with a halo and surrounded by angels or cattle or worshiping wise men, it's hard for me to get my mind around the events that are described in this chapter. Here we see the suffering Jesus—the ultimate display of God's character and love. 

 

Focus upon this painting. Let your God-given imagination take over. Picture the bruised, battered, broken body of Jesus standing before the blood-thirsty mob. Envision yourself as one of the Jewish leaders shouting: “Crucify! Crucify!” Now, imagine Jesus lifting his bleeding head and looking straight into your eyes. In his eyes, there's no resentment… no hatred… no vindictive rage ready to strike back at you. Instead, his eyes are filled with love and compassion and "grace upon grace." Let yourself contemplate the humble, self-giving love of Christ.

 

 

WHO AM I?
I am Tres Sansom, and we’re still enjoying the frosty temperatures of Maine.  Thankfully, however, we have a nice warm home in which to thaw out.  Kate’s dad is a Timber Framer and, to make things easier for us, he built an accessible barn-style cottage for us to stay in when we travel to Maine (here's a link to it).  When we’re not here, her parents rent the cottage out to folks visiting Freeport.  It’s a cozy little place that is just perfect for a crippled guy and his family.  J  Our son Benjamin has been going on lots of adventures with Grampy.  On Friday, they cut down a Christmas tree from the woods behind Kate’s parents’ house.  It bears a slight resemblance to Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree, but we think it’s just perfect.  J