“Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged.
The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head.
They clothed him in a robe of purple and went up to him again and again saying, ‘Behold, the king of the Jews!’ and slapped Him in the face.
Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, ‘Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.’
When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them:
‘Here is the man!’”
These 4 words are a simple, 2-word phrase in Latin: Ecce homo. Behold the man.
The Passion of Our Lord begins not with a reminder of His divinity, but with a simple statement of His humanity.
Christ, possessing both a divine Nature and a human Nature, stood before the taunting crowd as fully God but also fully man. The crown of thorns pierced a human Head. Christ would let His human Flesh be torn, His human Hands be pierced, and He would offer up His fully human Body as a living sacrifice for our sins.
Ecce homo. This simple Latin phrase, words that Pilate uttered without grasping the full depth of their meaning, now serve as a powerful reminder of the cost Christ paid for our salvation, a cost He paid willingly with His life.
By prayerfully considering the human wounds and human pain suffered by Our Lord, we can immerse ourselves more deeply in the way of the Cross this Lent. This beautiful Ecce Homo Tennerdoes just. Intetionally deisgj—intentionally designed to reflect Christ’s Two Natures, human and divine—helps you do just that. Order yours today from The Catholic Company!
