Often lost in the mix of the Passover story and the wonder of an empty tomb is the process of the Lord’s sacrifice. Before He walked up the Hill of Skulls,
Jesus was given a tightly woven crown of thorns. Every aspect of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection speaks to both prophecy and our salvation. Nothing happened in those 72 hours without great weight of redemption hanging in the balance.
Consider with me the multiple curses levied against Adam and Eve and upon mankind. From pain in childbirth to headship, their departure from Eden was layered with strife. Sin came with a price and it is never more clear than when God cursed the ground saying that it would produce thorns and thistles (Genseis. 3:18). The most basic aspect of life, food, would be difficult to obtain. Instead of fruit and vegetables, the earth would bring forth thorns and thistles. Thorns were always considered a curse; both on people and on the earth.
I submit for your consideration the infallible Word of God:
Hebrews 6:7 For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: Hebrews 6:8 But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.
Thorns remove peace. Thorns have no nourishment. Thorns cut and pierce. Thus pressing of the Crown of Thorns into His brow was the emblem of our mental and emotional anguish. He paid for our peace when He wore the Crown of Thorns. Isaiah prophesied that “the chastisement of our peace” was upon Him. (Isaiah 53) Isaiah was writing about the pressing of the Lord’s Crown of Thorns. Not only did the prophet speak of the Lord’s bruised, wounded, and beaten body, but he spoke about the Lord’s head covered with thorns. Each part of the Lord’s suffering spoke to the needs of people. Thorns deal with our minds: the great battlefield of our lives. Matthew, Mark, and John wrote, “they twisted together a crown of thorns and pressed it on Him.” The scripture is replete with this image. Abraham is walking up Mount Moriah as he obeys God’s commission to sacrifice his son, Isaac. It was the Type of Christ being sacrificed on Calvary, but on that trek, Abraham had to walk through a sea of low hanging thorns, cutting his feet and ankles. In the end, Isaac is spared because a lamb is caught in the thistles. Thorns and Thistles. The curse and it’s redemption has come to light on the mountain of sacrifice.
Hebrews speaks to the Lord’s suffering and subsequent glory: 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 honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
Jesus was first crowned with Thorns. He took the pain of our lives upon His brow. When He walked out of the tomb, He brought with Him the victory of every pain, disease, emotional issue, anxiety, and anguish we would ever suffer. He is the Victor. He is the Conqueror. He purchased our salvation and our deliverance. He also became the Prince of our Peace because He wore the chaos of our minds upon His head. He is our King Eternal, and today He wears a Crown of Honor. Jesus is the Lord of All. He is the Resurrection and the Life. He is the Peace that surpasses all understanding.
Pastor Jeffrey Harpole