September 21, 2025

I know a couple of Latin expressions: carpe deim — “seize the day”) and et tu, Brute? (“and you, Brutus?”) — but that’s about it, so when I first saw the words ecce homo, I had no idea what they meant. Do you?

Turns out that they mean, “Behold the man,” and there’s an arch by that name in Jerusalem along a road called the Via Dolorosa (“the Way of Suffering”) that runs through the Old City of Jerusalem and that many believe to be the road that Jesus walked on his way to the cross. The arch is named for Pontius Pilate’s words in John 19:5, “Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, ‘Behold the Man!’” The crowd reacted by chanting, “Crucify him!” And we know the rest of the story.

Although the arch does not date to the time of Jesus, it’s still quite old, dating to the time of Roman Emperor Hadrian around 135 A.D. Archaeologists believe that what’s visible of the arch today from street level is actually the central arch of what was once a triple-arched gate that led into a large Roman plaza. Even so, standing before the arch on Jerusalem’s modern pavement, it reminds us still of that bittersweet day so long ago when Jesus bore a beating, mockery and an unspeakable death by crucifixion so that we might be saved. “So they took Jesus and led Him away” (v. 16).

– Daniel McCabe

Trivia (answer below)

Which of the following was NOT a king of Israel?

Life in the Land: The Hyrax

This is not an animal name that I know. Maybe you don’t know it either. What about a coney? Does that name ring any bells? Perhaps you thought about Coney Island in New York with its beaches, amusement parks and hot dogs or the popular restaurants by the same name. Coney Island took its name from the large population of rabbits that once roamed the area, for coney comes from a Latin word for “rabbit.” So, is a hyrax the same as a bunny? No, but it does look like a bunny, and because the hyrax loves rocky terrain, it’s often called a “rock bunny.”

The King James Version translation of Psalm 104:18 reads, ”The rocks [are a refuge] for the conies.” In an attempt at modernization and clarification, the New King James Version reads, “The cliffs are a refuge for the rock badgers,” arguably the most popular word choice of modern translations, for evidently “rock badger” is a synonym for the hyrax. The Holman Christian Standard Bible stands alone among the major translations in directly referring to these cliff-loving animals as “the hyraxes.” The Hebrew word here in v. 18 literally means “the hidden ones,” evidently describing an animal that prefers to hide among the rocks, and perhaps in order to stay safe, the New American Standard Bible simply prefers a transliteration of the Hebrew, which yields, “The cliffs are a refuge for the shephanim.”

The hyrax, found unsurprisingly in rocky areas throughout Israel, weighs about ten pounds, and it’s approximately 12-24 inches long. Its brown or grey fur, small rounded ears, short legs and padded feet, used for gripping the rocks, do indeed resemble the characteristics of a bunny or perhaps a guinea pig, but the hyrax is actually more closely related to the elephant and the manatee. Hyraxes are very social creatures, living in colonies that can number into the dozens, and they’re active during the day, thus allowing visitors at En Gedi and Qumran, for example, to get a good look at them as they groom, play fight or sunbathe atop rocks alongside the parks’ hiking trails. The hyraxes are not among the list of clean animals in Scripture (Lev. 11:5; Deut. 14:7), so they are spared from Israeli cook pots and frying pans.

The only other mention of the hyrax or rock badger appears in Proverbs 30:26, which reads, “The rock badgers are a feeble folk, yet they make their homes in the crags.” It’s true that rock badgers are not powerful animals, and they have certainly found safety in the cleft of the rocks, which isn’t a bad idea to be sure. Just ask Moses (cf. Exodus 33:22).

– Daniel McCabe

Scripture Study: The High Priestly Prayer of John 17, part 5

In v. 20 Jesus prays, “I do not ask for these only,” and here’s how we build the bridge between the disciples and us. “I do not ask for these [disciples] only, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word.” Not only the converts in their own generation, but this evidently applies to all believers of all time, all “those who will believe in Me through their word that they all may be one, just as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me.”

How transforming would it be if we as believers were actually one, if we were as united as the Father is with the Son? Can you imagine the effect this would have on our testimony for Christ? If believers were united as one? Surely we all want that, but sadly our instinct is to think that we’d have it already if it weren’t for that other person over there, when in reality we are probably the stumbling block to unity. But to have a unity like that of the Father and the Son would be so much sweeter, and it will be one day.

We are really good at removing specks from other people’s eyes while ignoring the logs in our own whereas obviously we should always consider first if we may be the stumbling block to unity. Just as the disciples weren’t perfect, neither are we. Obviously Jesus knows everything and He knows that at no point in history has the church ever been united as are the Son and the Father, but that doesn’t mean that the ideal isn’t still there, and, of course, that is our goal. We ought to be united even if we’re not.

But look at the context of this unity in vs. 20-21. For what effect is Jesus looking? If we are united, then our testimony would be greater. “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word,” their testimony, “that they may all be one, just as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us that the world may believe that You have sent Me.” If we had true unity, if we really sought to work together to be in unity and harmony as was the Apostle Paul’s goal for the church in Philippi (Phil. 2:1-11), and if we had more and more of that unity, then how much more effective would be our witness before the world so that others would believe that Jesus was sent by the Father?

Jesus continues in v. 22, “The glory that You have given Me, I have given to them that they may be one even as We are one. I in them and You in Me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that You sent Me and loved them even as You loved Me.” Wow, that the Father loved us, you and I, even as He loved Jesus Christ! That’s amazing!

“Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, may be with Me where I am to see My glory that You have given Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world.” This is all according to the sovereign plan of the Father.

He closes out His prayer, “O righteous Father, even though the world does not know You,” and it’s a tragedy that the creation does not know its Creator, “even though the world does not know You, I know You, and these know that You have sent Me,” meaning the disciples—Peter, James, John and the others, and through their testimony, future believers will know that “I made known to them Your name, and I will continue to make it known that the love with which You have loved Me may be in them and I in them.”

So, that’s the High Priestly Prayer of John 17, and there’s nothing overly complex in it. Actually it’s rather simple, but there are some interesting contextual things one could unpack. For example, the effectiveness of the disciples’ witness to future generations and how necessary it is to strive for unity in order for that witness to be effective. Also, the love the Father had for Jesus Christ is just wonderful, just as the love that the Father has for you and I. Jesus’ desire too for us to know the Father as He does, to be one with the Father as He is, and that we would make it known to others, so that the world may know that Jesus was sent by the Father.

It’s great to read about the Lord praying for us and for the disciples in His day, and although it’s a simple prayer, it’s a powerful one, and never forget that even today the Lord is praying for us.

– Adam Keim

Trivia Answer

E. They were all kings of Israel.