Then came Jesus forth. — The verse describes the scene as the writer remembers it. The figure of the Lord whom he had himself followed and loved, and of whom he thinks as ascended to the throne of the King of kings, led in the cruel mockery of royal garments, was one which left its mark for ever in his mind.
Behold the man! — Pilate’s “Ecce homo!” is an appeal to the multitude. That picture of suffering — is it not enough? Will none in that throng lift up a cry for mercy, and save Him from the death for which the Sanhedrin are calling?
(5) That St. John’s narrative is that of an eyewitness, relating what he himself saw and remembered. (Comp. Chronological Harmony of the Gospels, p. 35)