It's a privilege to be among
you. And I'm glad we got here this
time before the snow came. We normally don't get a lot of
snow down in Southeast Missouri, but when we get weather, we usually
get ice, and you can't go anywhere on that. Traveling is very interesting,
to say the least. Okay. Turn with me, if you would,
to John chapter 19. John chapter 19. We'll look at the first five verses
of John in the 19th chapter. And we look at a phrase that's uttered
about our Lord. Then Pilate therefore took Jesus
and scourged him. And the soldiers plaited a crown
of thorns and put it on his head. And they put on him a purple
robe and said, Hail, King of the Jews. And they smote him
with their hands. Pilate therefore went forth again
and saith unto them, that is, the people who were gathered
together, behold, I bring him forth to you, that you may know
that I find no fault in him. Then came Jesus forth, wearing
the crown of thorns and purple robe, and Pilate said unto them,
behold, the man, behold, the man, that's what we're gonna
consider this evening. And as we consider such a sober
and shocking event that is laid out before us in these first
five verses, I desire us to behold the man Christ Jesus as he is
revealed in the scriptures. But what is said here in mockery
and derision, let us who name the name of Emmanuel Do so in
reverent adoration, reverent adoration. Let us behold him
in the first place in his incarnation and in his birth. Turn to Matthew
chapter one, Matthew chapter one. It is said in Matthew chapter
one, starting in verse 20 to 23, and while he thought on these
things, that is, Joseph, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared
unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear
not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived
in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son,
and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his
people from their sins. Oh, hearer, listener of the word
tonight, I beseech you, nay, I implore you to behold the incarnation
of the Son of God. This event was prophesied many
years before the event actually took place in Bethlehem. I want
us to behold our King, behold our salvation cometh. And he
does so with a very specific end of purpose. And he says in
verse 21, to save, to deliver, to redeem his people from their
sins, from themselves and from our own abominations. May we
behold the pure and sovereign king, reverence him, worship
him, and plead unto him for mercy. Indeed, behold the Lord Jesus
Christ in his incarnation. Secondly, let us behold the Lord
Jesus Christ at the time of his dedication, Luke chapter two. Turn with me to Luke chapter
two. Starting in verse 25, Behold
there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon and the
same man was just and about waiting for the consolation of Israel
And the Holy Ghost was upon him And it was revealed unto him
by the Holy Ghost that he should not see death before he had seen
the Lord's Christ And he came by the Spirit into the temple
and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for
him after the custom of the law and Then took he up in his arms,
and blessed God, and said, Lord, now let us thy servant depart
in peace according to thy word. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
which thou hast prepared before the face of all people, a light
to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of thy people Israel. Behold the man in his dedication,
And I will say those who truly look upon him have peace. He says, let now thy servant
depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation. And
I've made this comment to our folks time and time again. When
Simeon was holding up a physical, actual child, he called him God's
salvation. And there is salvation in no
other. Don't look within. Don't look
without in the improper glance or views upon other men's abilities
or worth or worthiness or merit. We have none, but we look to
Christ and we, like Simeon, will have peace, salvation, light,
and glory. See the pure, sovereign king and indeed honor and glorify
him. Thirdly, behold the man as he grows. Luke chapter two,
stay there. And in verse 40, it says specifically
about Christ, the child grew and waxed strong in spirit, filled
with wisdom. And the grace of God was upon
him. Now his parents went to Jerusalem
every year at the feast of the Passover. And when he was 12
years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.
And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child
Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem, and Joseph and his mother knew
it not. But they, supposing him to have been in the company,
went a day's journey, and they sought him among their kinfolk
and acquaintance. And when they found him not,
they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. And you know the
story, they looked and they looked, And in verse 50, and his parents
understood not the saying which he spake unto them. And he went
down with them and came to Nazareth and was subject unto them. But
his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus increased
in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. No man was ever filled with the
spirit. or ever had the wisdom or ever
had the grace as this young man did. Behold him now able to give
grace for grace is that which he possesses. Ask my dear sinful
friend or my dear weak brother or my dear stalwart saint for
wisdom and favor him who always hears the cry of mercy. Ask ask
mercy whether you're a sinner and we all are sinners here,
whether we're weak and trodden down or whether we're considered
or we think we're a stalwart saint. We ask for wisdom and
favor because he had favor with God and men. We will never be
satisfied with man's wisdom or man's supposed grace, but this
man is worthy of implicit trust. For he is holy, true, and he
is worthy. Worthy indeed, as Joe closed
last night, he said, worthy is the lamb. Worthy is the lamb
that received power, glory, and honor from God. Fourthly, behold
the Lord Jesus Christ at the time of his baptism, Matthew
chapter three. Matthew chapter three. Matthew chapter three, verse
13 through 17. Then cometh Jesus from Galilee
to Jordan unto John to be baptized of him. But John forbade him,
saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Suffer it to be so now,
for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered
him. Jesus when he was baptized went
straight up out of the water and lo the heavens were open
unto him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove
and Lighting upon him and lo a voice from heaven saying this
is my beloved son In whom I am well pleased See him fulfilling
all righteousness all the righteousness of God and on our behalf. I And
only the Son of God is able, capable of doing so. Never, never
ourselves. Hear the Father say, this is
my beloved Son in who I am well pleased. This one, no other. This one, like no other. And this one is the conclusion
of the matter. I like that in Ecclesiastes.
And this is the conclusion of the whole matter. Vanity of vanities,
all is vanity. This scripture has a conclusion,
and that is, what think ye of Christ? Behold the man. Behold your sovereign king. Behold
him in righteousness. Don't behold yourself. Don't
be duped by false religion and freewillism or universal love. Behold him and observe him and
adore him. All those in the sun indeed are
pleasing to God, for he sees us in Christ. Oh brethren, may
we be found in Christ. Fifthly, let us behold the man
in his time of temptations, Matthew chapter four. And starting in
verse one, then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness
to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted 40 days
and 40 nights, he was afterward of hunger. And when the tempter
came to him and said, if thou be the son of God, command that
these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, it
is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every
word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil
taketh him up to a holy city and setteth him on a pinnacle
of the temple. And saith unto him, if thou be
the son of God, cast thyself down, for it is written, he shall
give his angels charge concerning thee in their hands, they shall
bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a
stone. And Jesus said unto him, it is written, thou shalt not
tempt the Lord thy God. And again, the devil taketh them
up into exceeding high mountains and showed him all the kingdom
of the world and the glory of them. And saith unto him, all
these things will I give thee if thou will fall down Worship
me and then Jesus said unto him get thee hence Satan For it is
written thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt
thou serve Then the devil leaveth him and behold the angels came
and ministered unto him behold the man how he crushes the serpent's
head as He was to endure trial and temptation. Oh bless God.
He never sinned and but more than met the challenge of our
eternal fall. Satan found nothing in him. We find everything in him. And we need him for everything,
for he says in another place in the New Testament, for without
me, you can do nothing. We can do nothing. He must, it
behooved him to fulfill all Old Testament laws, types and shadows,
to honor God and satisfy all things written against us. So
we behold the man in his temptation. Sixthly, let us behold the man
as he calls out his own. Mark chapter one, Mark chapter
one. Verses 16 through 22, Mark chapter
one, verses 16 through 22. Now, as he walked by the Sea
of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, his brother, casting
a net into the sea, for they were fishers. And Jesus said
unto them, come ye after me, and I will make you to become
fishers of men. And straightway they forsook
their nets and followed him. And when he had gone a little
further, thence he saw James, the son of Zebedee, and John
his brother, who were also in a ship mending nets. Straightway
he called them and they left their father's ebony in the ship
with the hired servants and went after Christ And they went into
Capernaum and straightway on the Sabbath day He entered into
the synagogue and taught and they were astonished at his doctrine
for he taught them as one that had authority not as the scribes
Not as the scribes chapter 3 of Mark and verse 13 and Chapter 3 in verse 13 and 14. Behold the man as he calls out
his own. And Christ goeth up into a mountain
and he calleth unto him whom he would. And they came unto
him and he ordained 12 that they should be with him and that they
might send that he might send them forth to preach. See how this man calls whom he
would. Our Savior was not sent to redeem
all men everywhere without exception. But those whom he calls, those
whom the Father gave them before eternity, they will come that
they may have life. If we are said to follow Christ,
It is only so because of the free unsolicited sovereign grace
of God. He calls through his truth. You're
going to hear the word. He lives and we die daily. He
dies and we live forevermore. Knowing and understanding this
causes all of his children to humbly worship him. To be ever
have ever thankful heart and attitude. And that we adore him
beyond compare. All that, we just sang that song,
all that thrills my soul is Jesus. He is more than life to me because
Christ is our life. If we beheld him, if we behold
him correctly. Seventhly, let us behold our
Redeemer. Let us behold the Son of God
as he suffers and dies at Calvary's tree. And this would be found
in the first five verses, actually through the 18th verse of 1 John. We won't read there, I will read
you what somebody says about this passage. Behold the man. If there be one place where our
Lord Jesus most fully becomes the joy and comfort of his people,
it is where he plunged deepest into the depths of woe. Come
hither, gracious souls, and behold the man in the garden of Gethsemane. Behold his heart so brimming
with love that he cannot hold it, so full of sorrow that it
must find a vent. Behold the bloody sweat as it
distills from every pore of his body and falls upon the ground. Behold the man as they drive
the nails into his hands and feet. Look up, repenting sinner,
and see the sorrowful image of your suffering Lord. Mark him
as the ruby drops stand on the thorn crown and adorn with priceless
gems the diadem of the king of misery. Behold the man when all
his bones are out of joint and he is poured out like water and
brought into the dust of death. God hath forsaken him and hell
compassed him about. Behold and see, was there ever
sorrow like unto his sorrow that was done unto him? All ye that
pass by, draw near and look upon this spectacle of grief, unique,
unparalleled, a wonder to men and angels, a prodigy unmatched. Behold the emperor of woe. who had no equal or rival in
his agonies. Gaze upon him, ye mourners, for
if there be not consolation in a crucified Christ, there is
no joy in earth or in heaven. If in the ransom price of his
blood there be not hope, ye harps of heaven, there is no joy in
you, and the right hand of God shall know no pleasures forevermore.
We have only to sit more continually at the cross foot to be less
troubled with our doubts and woes. We have but to see his
sorrows, and our sorrows we shall be ashamed to mention. We have
but to gaze into his wounds and heal our own. If we would live
aright, it must be by the contemplation of his death. If we would rise
to dignity, It must be by considering his humiliation and his sorrow. Behold the man in his sufferings
and agonies. Eighthly, let us behold the God
man resurrected and seated at God's right hand. Ephesians chapter
one. Ephesians chapter one. Verses 15 through 23, Ephesians
1, wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith, says Paul, in
the Lord Jesus and love unto all the saints, cease not to
give thanks for you make any mention of you in my prayers
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the
knowledge of him. The eyes of your understanding
being enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope of his
calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance
in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power
to us who believe, according to the working of his mighty
power, which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead
and set him at his own right hand in heavenly places. For far above all principality
and power and might, and dominion in every name that is named,
not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. And
hath put all things under his feet and gave him to be the head
over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness
of him that filleth all in all. Behold the man Death could never
hold him back. Satan could never dominate him. Our sins could never finally
sink him. He must prove successful. He
must achieve triumph in the singular act of our redemption. Behold
the man, says Hebrews, who have obtained eternal redemption. He made an open show of his enemies
and crushed the serpent's head. He led captivity captive, raising
up in the show of total supremacy and lordship. Behold the man,
the resurrection glory. And I close with this thought.
Can you and can I look singularly, solely, and simply to behold
the man in this book. We sing this song at home, and
I'm sure you have it here as well. May we forget about ourselves
and concentrate on him and worship Christ the Lord. Worship him,
Christ the Lord. Joe.