Behold!

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29 NKJV)

Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, “Behold the Man!” (John 19:5 NKJV)

Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” (John 19:14 NKJV)

What does it Mean to Behold?

The word means to see or pay close attention to something or someone.  This word should make us stop and think about the subject that is being introduced.  For example, the Lord says three times in the book of the Revelation to behold because He is coming quickly:

Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. (Revelation 3:11 KJV)

Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. (Revelation 22:7 KJV)

And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. (Revelation 22:12 KJV)

HIs coming quickly means that when He comes He will come suddenly.  So we need to pay special attention to this promise.  It should cause us to remain faithful in Revelation 3:11.  It should cause us to guard (keep) the truth of the book of Revelation in Revelation 22:7.  It should cause us to be zealous in our service since the day of rewards is coming in Revelation 22:12.  

So the word behold is sort of like an exclamation point drawing our attention to a very important truth.

Three Beholds to Consider

First, we are to Behold the Lord as the Lamb of God.  The Lamb is the sacrificial animal that dies for sins.  The Lord is that Lamb.  John says sin and not sins and much has been made of that.  I let the simple explain the difficult and I believe that the word sin which has to do with our nature includes the acts of sin that are the result of our nature.  It is obvious that the Lamb of God died and made provision for the forgiveness of sin and for a change of heart that causes a believer to have a conscience about sin.  Has the Lord “taken away” the sin of the world?  Look around!  It is not hard to believe that provision has been made for taking away the sin of the world (society), but that only believers enter into the good of that provision.  But I believe in a coming day, the Lord will reign in a world that is not dominated by sin.  And sin that is committed will be judged righteously and immediately.  Unfortunately that is not our day.  But individual believers who have come as lost sinners to the cross can and do enjoy the fact that the Lamb of God has “taken away” their sin.   

Second, we are to Behold the Man! Yes, the Lord was a real man who had all the temptations and emotions that a real man has.  But of course he did not yield to the temptations caused by sin.  He understands us.  In Hebrews we read,  “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15 NKJV).” I repeat, He does understand us and He sympathizes with the weaknesses and problems of life.

Third, we are to Behold your KIng!  One wonders if Pilate realized who the Lord really was.  He asked them, shall I crucify your King?  The Jews said they had no king but Caesar.  However, they chose Barrabus rather than the Lord and Barrabus was an insurrectionist and a murderer, but he could lead an army (and possibly overthrow the Roman government).  The Jews as a nation have still rejected the Lord’s claim to being their king, but those of us who are saved look forward to the day when He will be King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  It would be nice if that were the case with everyone claiming to be a Christian today.  

One Last Behold!

If we are truly saved, this last Behold should be a great encouragement to us.  It goes like this, “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him (1 John 3:1 NKJV).  Not everyone is a child of God in spite of what is commonly taught in the religious world.  But the moment we trusted in this One who is our Lamb, our perfect Man, and our King, we came children of God.  

See, lo, take notice, behold.  What are we beholding today?

Bruce Collins

Meditation for the week of January 25, 2026

If you would like further conversation about the issues in these meditations, contact me at collinsbd@yahoo.com and I will try to accommodate you with a virtual Bible Study.