The nineteenth chapter of John sets forth a vivid portrayal of that memorable hour when Pontius Pilate delivered Jesus to be crucified. The Roman procurator of Judea presented the Saviour, thorn-crowned, to the people. The Scripture reads: "Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man!"
Mary Baker Eddy, the beloved Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, writes (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 201), "Even the crown of thorns, which mocked the bleeding brow of our blessed Lord, was over-crowned with a diadem of duties done."
In their endeavor to behold God's man, Christian Scientists strive to put into practice in the minutiae of their daily duties the lofty standard of conduct the Founder of Christianity set for all to achieve. They understand the Way-shower to be the ideal human expression of the divine idea, the perfect pattern for thought and action. The glorious career and spiritual grandeur of the master Christian wondrously testified to the real man of Love's creating. His impeccable example points the way for all who would manifest true selfhood. In the second chapter of I Peter we are told, "Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps."
