Jesus came to the world for you and me to be saved and to have eternal life. This didn’t just happen automatically, it has a very great story behind it. Jesus went through the highest order of suffering of death, torture, and trials. He was flogged until the point his flesh was ripped, and wounded, and suffered a lot of blood loss from bloody nails.
The Roman soldiers made a cap in the form of a crown as a mockery for him as a prisoner and placed it upon his head to ridicule him. The Crown of Thorns is a description of evil mankind at its extreme. Jesus made himself the lamb to be slain for us to take back the glory that was lost in the Garden of Eden.
What a merciful Jesus. Let us deep dive into this subject.
The Meaning of Jesus’ Crown of Thorns
The statement “Jesus’ Crown of Thorns”, a mockery by the Roman soldiers has a completely different meaning to the believers. To them is a crown of thorns hammer into Jesus’ head but to Christians it is priceless treasures.
For the Christians, this means the suffering of Jesus who later became the true king.
Isaiah 53 gave a good account of the pain and agony that Jesus went through.
Jesus was despised and rejected by men and became a man of sorrows acquainted with grief, yet he was not esteemed. He borne our griefs, carried our sorrows; wounded for our transgressions, and was bruised for our iniquities. God put all our sins upon Him.
Therefore, God gave him a very strong promising word in verse 12 of Isaiah 53,
“Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death,
And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many,
And made intercession for the transgressors.”
This promise led to the victory of Jesus. He became the conquering Messiah, the king of Kings, The Lord of lords, and the everlasting King of heaven and earth.
Revelations 19 verses 11 to 16 described the glory.
“Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”
What does the picture of Jesus’ Crown Of Thorns Stand for?
The significance of the crown of thorns is the thorny plants or wreath of thorns turned into a golden crown. This crown of gold is the treasure of the church and a symbol of royalty in the human race today.
The depiction of the crown of thorns is the most popular image of Jesus’s crucifixion. The image is a graphical representation of the death of Christ. The religious symbol with the sharp thorns represents the savior of the world.
The day the thorn was worn is being celebrated by the entire world today as Good Friday. Most Christian churches hold a special service on that day in remembrance of Jesus.
What does the Crown of Thorns teach us?
Thorns are generally associated with negative events such as pain, agony, sorrow, devastation, curses, death, and lots more. Jesus despises all this shame, humbles Himself, bears the burden of all on the cross, and surrenders Himself to all the highest levels of pain until the point of death.
Hebrews 12 verses 1 and 2 admonish,
“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Our soul is very valuable to Him. Our Lord Jesus would do anything to ensure you and I do not miss heaven. Jesus was on a mission. He was not a weakling. He surrender Himself so the word of God shall be fulfilled.
In John 10 verses 17 to 18, Jesus says,
“Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.”
What does Thorn symbolize in the bible?
The thorn simply symbolizes the crown of suffering and shame that Jesus wore in exchange for his crown of glory. The good news is Jesus took His crown back at the resurrection.
According to bible scholars, the authentic crown of thorns was made from date palm which according to medical science is harmful as it possesses toxins that can cause, inflammation, bruising, and tissue damage. It is said to be very thick and hard and about twelve inches long.
It Is not a coincidence in the Garden of Eden. The presence of thorns and thistles represents the curses that were released unto humanity because of the sin of Adam.
The following are some of the mentions of thorns in the bible and what they represent.
Torment
Apostle Paul gave an account of himself in 2 Corinthians 12 verse 7 when he spoke concerning humility, a thorn of flesh was used by Satan to torment him.
“And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.” ( 2 Corinthians 12 verse 7)
Challenges
Thorns are sometimes mentioned as challenges, obstacles, or barriers. Isaiah said I am not infuriated. Who would set briers and thorns against me in battle? I would go through them, and burn them together. He was saying he would crush every obstacle set against him. We also saw it used in Ezekiel 2 verse 6,
“And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you dwell among scorpions; do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their looks, though they are a rebellious house.”
Discomforts
Thorns hinder growth and development. The parable of the sower gave a good illustration of the impeding nature of thorns. Jesus referred to thorns as destroyers.
“Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” ( Matthew 13 verses 3 to 8)
Those that received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.
Where else can we find the word “Thorn” in the Bible?
Thorn can be found in the Old Testament and the New Testament. A lot of scriptural references talked about thorns all in the same way. These texts confirm the negative meaning of the word and the devastation related to it.
“For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.” ( Hebrews 6 verses 7 to 8)
“Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall [f]bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field.” ( Genesis 3 verses 17 to 18 )
“And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.” ( Matthew 13 verse 7)
“So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him. And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe ( scarlet robe). Then they said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they struck Him with their hands.” ( John 19 verse 1 to 3 )
Conclusion
The pain that Jesus suffered cannot be over-emphasized. It is the highest degree of pain according to medical experts. The crown of thorns was planned to be used as a humiliation of His claim of being the King of Jews who He is.
Jesus has redeemed us from the curse of the law, as it is written a curse is every one that is hanged on a tree. The part of the curse is the curse of sin.
Jesus went through the sorrow for the sake of the whole world including the soldiers of the governor that set him up. This is the great love that He has shown for the entire world.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” ( John 3 verses 16 and 17)
All these were done for believers to translate us from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of marvelous light. It also grants us access to the redemptive packages prepared for us.
The components of those packages are mentioned in Revelations 5 Verse 12,
“Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.”
I refer to this as the sevenfold benefits of redemption. Give Jesus the first place in your heart, you shall live a triumphant life all days of your life and have eternal life.