Vol.15 No.5
Behold the Man!
World history can be rightly understood and appreciated only in the light of the influence of Jesus Christ.
By Taylor G. Bunch
“Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the Man!” John 19:5
History is chiefly the record of the character and exploits of the men and women who exerted the greatest influence upon their generation and nation. We cannot think of the empire of Babylon apart from Nebuchadnezzar, its greatest ruler and Daniel, its greatest statesman. Cyrus, Darius Hystaspes, and Xerxes were the makers of Persian history; and Greece revolved around a small galaxy of her mighty men, including Socrates, Plato, and Alexander.
Roman history was made by a few generals, scholars, and Caesars. And modern nations owe their existence and reputation to their national heroes. The careers and influence of earth’s mighty men and women, however, have been short-lived. Like shooting meteors, they blazed amid darkness for a few brief moments, then burned out and disappeared in virtual oblivion.
The Man of Men
Just as national history and heroes are inseparable, so world history can be rightly understood and appreciated only in the light of the deeds, character, and influence of Jesus Christ. He is the man of men, the
hero of heroes, the beacon of all history, the great I AM of all time. He is the “Son of man,” indicating that He belongs to all mankind in every age. He is the arbiter of individual and world destiny. True history is really “His story.”
One of the greatest of earthly rulers, after a humiliating experience in which he learned the true principles of sovereignty, said: “At the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes to heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honoured Him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation: and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest Thou?” Daniel 4:34, 35.
The Scriptures were written, not so much to record the history of the past, or to forecast the events of the future, or to enunciate a system of theology, although they do all this, but to reveal to the human family a Person. The Bible is not so much a book of theology as it is a biography of its author and chief subject, Jesus Christ.
A Man for All Needs
The Bible deals with various sciences so that scientists, while searching for light in their particular fields, might discover the science of salvation. It deals briefly with geology, that men interested in that subject may be to led to the Rock of Ages. The Scriptures contain a great deal of invaluable information regarding medical science, so that those who devote their lives to healing might become acquainted with the Great Physician, who alone can heal the malady of sin and give eternal life.
Astronomers may find much to inspire them in the Bible, but—best of all—it will lead to the “the Bright and Morning Star” and “the Sun of Righteousness.” In the Holy Word, botanists may find “the Lily of the valley” and “the Rose of Sharon,” and zoologists will have revealed to them “the Lamb of God” and “the Lion of the tribe of Judah.” The principal purpose of Scripture is to make known to people “the One altogether lovely,” “the Chiefest among ten thousand.”1
From the viewpoint of His humanity alone, Jesus is incomparable. “Jesus of Nazareth, our divinest symbol! Higher has the human thought not yet reached,” said British historian Thomas Carlyle. German philosopher Johann Herder declared: “Jesus Christ is in the noblest, and most perfect sense, the realized ideal of humanity.” French historian Joseph Ernest Renan testified that “the Christ of the Gospels is the most beautiful incarnation of God in the most beautiful of forms. His beauty is eternal; His reign will never end.”
And Johann Goethe, the German scientist, said: “I esteem the Gospels to be thoroughly genuine, for there shines forth from them the reflected splendor of a sublimity, proceeding from the person of Jesus Christ, of so divine a kind as only the divine could have manifested upon earth.”
“Will Jesus ever be surpassed?” asked one editor of the Los Angeles Times. He then answered: “Nineteen hundred years have passed, and His equal has not risen. This is not true of the world’s other great ones. Every generation produces geniuses worthy to be compared with those who have gone before. It can be said of no one man, ‘He stands alone; he has no rival; no equal; no superior.’ But this is true of Jesus. Nineteen hundred years, instead of diminishing His greatness, have accentuated it.”
One day, while in banishment on the island of St. Helena, Napoleon Bonaparte was talking to his attendant regarding heroes and asked, “Can you tell me who Jesus Christ was?” As the officer hesitated, Napoleon said: “Well, I will tell you. I think I understand somewhat of human nature, and I tell you all these were men, and I am a man, but not one is like Him; Jesus Christ was more than man. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and myself founded great empires; but upon what did the creations of our genius depend? Upon force. Jesus alone founded His empire upon love, and to this very day millions would die for Him…He asks for the human heart; He demands it unconditionally, and forthwith His demand is granted. Wonderful! All who sincerely believe in Him experience that remarkable supernatural love towards Him. Time, the great destroyer, is powerless to extinguish this sacred flame.”2
We shall close with a statement regarding the character and mission of Christ made by American lawyer and politician William Jennings Bryan: “Reared in a carpenter shop, with no knowledge of literature save Bible literature, with no acquaintance with philosophers living or with the writings of sages, dead only about thirty years old, He gathered disciples about Him, promulgated a higher code of morals than the world had ever know before, and proclaimed Himself the Messiah.
He taught and performed miracles for a few brief months and then was crucified; His disciples were scattered and many of them put to death; His claims were disputed, His resurrection denied, and His followers persecuted; and yet from this beginning His religion spread until hundreds of millions have taken His name with reverence upon their lips, and millions have been willing to die rather than surrender the faith which He put into their hearts.
How shall we account for Him? Here is the greatest fact of history; here is One who has with increasing power, for nineteen hundred years molded the hearts, the thoughts, and the lives of men, and He exerts more influence today than ever before.”
Like those quoted above, there are many who today also join in the exclamation, “Behold the Man!”
References
- Revelation 22:16; Malachi 4:2; Song of Solomon 2:1; John 1:29; Revelation 5:5; Song of Solomon 5:16, 5:10.
- “Scripture of Truth,” Sidney Collett, “The Life and Words of Christ,” Cunningham Geikie, pp. 2, 3
* Taylor G. Bunch (1885-1969) was a religious writer. He authored several books including The Law of Liberty, The Perfect Prayer, and The Beatitudes. Adapted from Behold the Man, 1946, public domain.
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