In John 18 and 19 we read of Jesus’s arrest. Then He was sent to Caiaphas, then to Pilate who questioned Him and scourged Him. After that, Pilate brought Him out to the crowd and said, “Behold the Man!” John 19:5
Pilate was essentially saying, "Here is Jesus. He is not your
Messiah, He is not your king, He is not God. He is just a man."
Let us consider the man... Who
for the joy set before Him endured
the cross.
What
joy could possibly be worth enduring the pain, torture and humiliation of
crucifixion? Could it be that Jesus would be exalted above all else in Heaven
and Earth? Or that He would be King of Israel... and the world? Wouldn't that be selfish and vain of Jesus? The joy set
before Jesus was redeeming the human race and all of creation, for God so loved the
world.
See
also John 10:11.