"Behold the Man!" John 19:5

If there is 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, behold the Man in the garden of Gethsemane.
Behold His heart so brimming with love, that He cannot hold it in.
Behold the bloody sweat as it distills from every pore of His body and falls upon the ground.

Behold the Man upon the bloody tree.
Stand amazed as they drive the nails into His hands and feet.
Look up and see the sorrowful image of your suffering Lord.
Mark Him as the ruby drops stand on the thorn crown.
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 has forsaken Him--and hell encompasses Him.

Behold and see--was there ever sorrow like His sorrow?

Gaze upon Him!

We have only to sit longer at the cruel cross--to be less troubled with our trials and woes.

We have but to see His sorrows--and we shall be ashamed to mention our sorrows.

We have but to gaze into His wounds--and heal our own.

If we would grow in grace--it must be by considering His humiliation and His sorrow.
If we would live holily--it must be by the contemplation of His sin-atoning death.