A Crown of Thorns
Vicky Moots
Matthew 27:27-30: “Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto Him the whole band of soldiers. And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it on his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, hail, King of the Jews! And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.”
The placing of the crown of thorns on Jesus’ head is also recorded in Mark 15:17-20. When we read these accounts of the crown of thorns, we obviously think of the amount of pain which Christ endured physically and emotionally. He was a true king, but he was mocked and scorned and rejected even though they bowed their knees to him. But I believe that the thorns on his head had a more significant meaning than just pain and rejection.
Thorns entered into this world because of man’s sin in the Garden of Eden, as we read in Gen. 3:17-18. God told Adam after he had eaten of the fruit of the tree which he was commanded not to eat, “…cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee...” This means that thorns were a part of the curse, and are identified with sin. Therefore, the crown of thorns being placed on Jesus’ head represented Him being identified with our sin. Even though He was sinless, He was made sin for us so that He could bear our penalty.
The Mosaic law also pronounced a curse on all those who could not keep it, as God declared in Deut. 11:26-28: “Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day: And a curse if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord your God…” However, no one could keep the law, so Christ had to die to redeem us from the curse of the law.
In Duet. 21:22-23 we read further regarding the curse: “And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree: His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God)...”
But, praise God, Christ bore the curse of the law for us, as Paul proclaimed in Gal. 3:13: “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.”
As Christ hung upon the tree of Calvary, His blood poured down upon the ground, which was cursed, just like the blood from the sacrifice of the sin offering was poured out at the bottom of the Altar of Burnt Offering in the Tabernacle in the wilderness. (Lev. 4:18). He became our sin offering on that day.
His crown of thorns became a Victor’s crown as he cried out, “It is finished.” He no longer wears a crown of thorns, for He is now crowned with glory and honor, as Paul stated in Hebrews 2:9: “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God, should taste death for every man.”
