John 19:1-5The Crown of ThornsPilate then took Jesus and scourged him. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and put a purple robe on him; and they began to come up to him and say, "Hail, King of the Jews!" and to give him slaps in the face. Pilate came out again and said to them, "Behold, I am bringing Him out to you so that you may know that I find no guilt in Him." Jesus then came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, "Behold the man!"
Pilate's words, "Behold the man!", are a fulfillment of Zechariah's prophecy:Zechariah 6:9-15The Symbolic CrownsThe word of YHWH also came to me, saying, "Take an offering from the exiles, from Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah; and you go the same day and enter the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, where they have arrived from Babylon. Take silver and gold, make an ornate crown and set it on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Then say to him, 'Thus says YHWH of hosts, 'Behold the man whose name is Branch, for he will branch out from where he is; and he will build the temple of YHWH. Yes, it is he who will build the temple of YHWH, and he who will bear the honor and sit and rule on his throne. Thus, he will be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices.' Now the crown will become a reminder in the temple of YHWH to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah and and the gracious one, the son of Zephaniah. Those who are far off will come and build the temple of YHWH. Then you will know that YHWH of hosts has sent me to you. And it will take place if you completely obey YHWH your God."
Notice that, besides the direct parallel of the words "Behold the man", there is also the parallel of a crown, and another in the very name of the recipient of that crown, Joshua (the Hebrew form of Jesus).This is clearly a Messianic reference. It also seems, quite clearly, to foretell the Gentile Mission with the words "Those who are far off will come and build the Temple of YHWH".PS: The Romans slap Jesus in the face (John 19:3). This is clearly because they had heard, and were mocking, Jesus' famous commandment (Matt 5:39; Luke 6:29) to "turn the other cheek" when slapped in the face. Reference:http://www.christiancourier.com/articles/read/behold_the_man
