Jesus was wearing the mockery of the Romans with kingly dignity and in so doing was bearing part of the shame of the cross (Heb 12:2).

Hebrews 12:2  Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Pilate’s whole intention is that the crowd will see that it is insane to think that this poor pitiful figure could ever pretend to be a king. Jesus is covered with blood and spit and the very sight of Him ought to demonstrate that He could never attain that position or even be thought by others to be worthy of kingship, and Pilate should be able to release Him.

Pilate’s words “Behold the man” (“Ecce Homo” in Latin) sound a little like the words of Caiaphas in (John 18:14) and in a sense echo the words of the Father on the Mount of Transfiguration (Luke 9:35). They will become a true declaration throughout history (1 Cor 15:45). Ironically, by this declaration of “Behold the man” Pilate has effectively answered his own question recorded in (John 18:38).

John 18:14  Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it would be good if one man died for the people.

Luke 9:35  A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.”

1 Corinthians 15:45  So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.

John 18:38  “What is truth?” Pilate asked. With this he went out again to the Jews and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him.

There is more here than meets the eye. Pilate saw one thing when he looked at the man Jesus and the crowd another. Perhaps even as Pilate made his famous statement, his view of Jesus changed. What do we behold when we look at the “Man” Jesus?

Richardson makes an interesting observation: “Adam (a Hebrew word meaning ‘man’) was created by God to be a king over the whole created world (Gen 1:28); all creation was to be ruled by a son of man (Hebrew, ‘ben adam’) (Psa 8:4-8). In Christ, the Son of Man, God’s original intention in the creation is fulfilled. He is the new Adam, the Messianic King. Thus, we have in Pilate’s words a striking example of Johannine double entendre; whereas Pilate might merely have meant, ‘Look, here is the fellow,’ his words contain the deepest truth about the person of Christ.”

Genesis 1:28  God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

Psalms 8:4-8  what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?  You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honour.  You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet:  all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field,  the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.

Pilcher notes that, “Jesus summed up in His own Person the ideal Humanity – and this was how humanity treated Him.”

Behold the Man

He was chosen before the world was created but revealed only recently:

1 Peter 1:20  He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.

The importance of knowing Jesus was a man:

1 John 4:2  This is how you can recognise the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,

2 John 1:7  Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist.

He was God but became man:

Philippians 2:5-8  Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
  Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,  but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!

Word became flesh:

John 1:14  The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Prepared body; came to do God’s will:

Hebrews 10:5-7  Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me;
  with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased.  Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—I have come to do your will, O God.’”

He appeared in a body:

1 Timothy 3:16  Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.

Fullness of Deity lives in bodily form:

Colossians 2:9  For in Christ all the fulness of the Deity lives in bodily form,

He was real flesh and bones:

John 20:27  Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

Luke 24:39  Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”

Witnesses to His humanity; we can fellowship with Him, too:

1 John 1:1-3  That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.  The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.  We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

Descendant of David and Abraham:

Matthew 1:1  A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham:

Acts 13:22-23  After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’  “From this man’s descendants God has brought to Israel the Saviour Jesus, as he promised.

Romans 1:3  regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David,

He was called ‘Son of Man’:

Daniel 7:13  “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence.

Ezekiel 1:26-2:1  Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man.  I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him.  Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell face down, and I heard the voice of one speaking.  He said to me, “Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.”

John 3:13-15  No-one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.  Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,  that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

Came to serve:

Matthew 20:28  just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Was rich but became poor so we could become rich:

2 Corinthians 8:9  For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

No permanent residence:

Matthew 8:20  Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

Ate, drank, and socialized with sinners:

Matthew 11:19  The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and “sinners”.’ But wisdom is proved right by her actions.”

Tempted like us; sympathizes with us:

Hebrews 4:15  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.

Why He became man:

Romans 8:3-4  For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man,  in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

Romans 8:29  For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

1 John 3:5-8  But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.  No-one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No-one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.  Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.  He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.

Hebrews 2:9-18  But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honour because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.  In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.  Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.  He says, “I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises.”  And again, “I will put my trust in him.” And again he says, “Here am I, and the children God has given me.”  Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.  For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants.  For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.  Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.