“Ecco homo! Behold the man!” Pilate exclaimed, “Look at your king!” There stood Jesus, scourged, draped in a cloak of royal purple with a crown of thorns. Jesus’ royal stature dominated this astounding trial. At first, Pilate appealed to the crowds in sympathy, then later in ridicule, he jested, “Behold your king!”
Behold him, they did, demanding not pardon but death. “Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!” What an about face from the triumphant entry Jesus had experienced when he rode into Jerusalem, mounted on a donkey a few days before. The crowds had waved palms and thrown their cloaks on the ground, proclaiming, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord.” He whom they had greeted wildly was now being scorned.
Pilate asked, “Shall I crucify your king?” The chief priests responded, “We have no king but Caesar!” Their answer must have startled Pilate, perhaps even taken his breath away. Intent on killing Jesus, they had just denied a fundamental precept of their faith that no one was their king but God alone. Had we been standing in the crowd that day, would we have made the same response? “We have no king but Caesar!” By definition, a king is seen as a ruler, so to rephrase the question, who rules our lives, Caesar or Christ? Who is our king?
What matters most to you? Many values long considered sacrosanct have fallen by the wayside in recent years. Values that were once deemed immoral have become legally allowed and socially acceptable such as euthanasia, abortion, and fornication. Because we have become tolerant of values that run contrary to the teachings of our faith, life is not so sacred, much less safe.
If Jesus were our king, he would say to us what he said to Pilate, “Every one who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” He would challenge us for holding values that are not true to God’s commandments. Caesar may be long gone but the decadent spirit of ancient Rome lives on in a society where many have abandoned the gospel of Jesus Christ in pursuit of selfish pleasures or worldly goals that they think will provide a better life. Is it the values of a pagan world that shapes your life or the gospel of Christ the King?
The English poet, TS Eliot observed, “The dripping blood our only drink, the bloody flesh our only food, in spite of that, we call this Friday good.” Yes, we call this day good, because to spare the world any more suffering, Jesus died on the cross. His death is intended to be our exodus from the slavery of sin. Before he was put on trial, he shared the good news of salvation, teaching a gospel of love, compassion, mercy, and forgiveness. He gave his listeners the blocks for building his kingdom in their hearts. If all the peoples of the world had accepted him as their king, and thus obeyed him, sin would not have prevailed. But that did not happen for “Caesar” has ruled the lives of many.
With every sin, we crucify our other worldly king, driving yet another nail into him. When we reject Christ as our king, we put aside all that he stands for and all that he calls us to be. The consequence is sin. Sooner or later, the result is suffering.
One cannot think of Good Friday without thinking of the suffering that is going on in our midst. But we should also consider how much of that suffering is a consequence of our personal choice to choose Caesar as our king instead of Jesus of Nazareth.
We are urged this day to behold Jesus as our king for no other king can promise us the lasting peace we so desperately want. Behold the man! Ecco Homo! Behold your king! He alone provides the truth we ultimately seek. How can we not choose him to be our king? He alone is the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him. He is the master of all time.